Bible Department Chair and Faith & Philosophy Faculty

Join the SBS faculty for the 2027-2028 school year!

The Stony Brook School seeks a visionary, mission-aligned teacher-scholar to serve as Grace Palmer Johnston Chair of the Bible Department. This is the most consequential academic chair in the life of Stony Brook, and it is central to our mission. The person who holds it sets the vision for how students across every grade come to understand Scripture, and how Christian faith, reason, culture, and moral imagination belong together. It is a calling to steward a program with both vision and execution, to form the teachers who carry it, and to build something faithful and lasting.

The ideal candidate will lead from a place of genuine standing: deep biblical and philosophical literacy, distinguished teaching, and the judgment to shape curriculum, develop faculty, and champion biblical and theological formation within the school's wider academic leadership. This person leads not just by title but also by service, modeling the intellectual rigor, theological fidelity, and pastoral care they ask of the department.

The chair's primary teaching assignment is Faith & Philosophy, our capstone academic course taught around the Harkness table in a discussion-based, seminar format. This is a genuinely rare teaching opportunity. Students from more than forty countries and from across the belief spectrum gather around the table to take up the biggest questions of human life: What is true? What is good? What does it mean to be human? How should we live? What can we know? How do Christian faith, reason, culture, and moral imagination belong together? The work is to lead students from wonder to wisdom, to read with care and dialogue with charity, and to help them form reasoned convictions rather than merely repeat inherited answers.

About The Stony Brook School

Founded in 1922, The Stony Brook School is a co-ed Christian college-prep boarding and day school for grades 7–12 on Long Island's North Shore. For over a century, SBS has held a distinctive place in Christian education, bearing witness to its mission "to challenge young men and women to know Jesus Christ as Lord, to love others as themselves, and to grow in knowledge and skill, in order that they may serve the world through their character and leadership." Today, that mission continues in a global community where students are formed to seek truth, grow in wisdom, and engage the world.

All candidates should have a demonstrable Christian commitment and an educational philosophy that is consistent with The Stony Brook School's mission. For more information on the many benefits of working at The Stony Brook School, please view the full Opportunity Profile.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• A master's or doctorate in Bible, Theology, Philosophy, Humanities, or a related field, with exhibited scholarly depth
• Several years of distinguished teaching, ideally in a college-preparatory, classical, or seminar-based setting
• Deep biblical literacy and the ability to teach Scripture faithfully, thoughtfully, and winsomely
• Real theological and philosophical range, especially in systematic theology, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, anthropology, worldview, and the history of ideas
• Demonstrated mastery of discussion-based teaching, whether Socratic seminar, Harkness-style dialogue, or other student-centered approaches
• A passion for The Great Conversation and for helping students wrestle faithfully with the enduring questions in light of the Christian tradition
• A genuine love for teenagers and a proven gift for forming meaningful relationships while holding high academic and moral expectations
• An eagerness to serve in a community devoted to faithful Christian scholarship, character formation, and the integration of faith and learning
• The capacity to lead a department with both vision and execution: clarifying curricular goals, supporting teachers, and stewarding the Bible program as a vital expression of the school's mission

Department Chair Responsibilities

The Bible Department Chair will:

• Teach three to four sections, with the primary assignment in Faith & Philosophy
• Steward the department's curricular vision in partnership with the Academic Office, ensuring it is biblically faithful, intellectually rigorous, developmentally appropriate, and intentionally sequenced across grades
• Support, evaluate, encourage, and develop Bible Department faculty through regular collaboration, feedback, and professional conversation
• Help recruit and hire new Bible Department faculty
• Coordinate departmental resources, course materials, assessments, and shared expectations
• Attend Academic Committee meetings and contribute to schoolwide academic leadership
• Strengthen the place of biblical and theological formation within the broader academic program
• Model servant leadership through proactive communication, thoughtful organization, and care for both faculty and students

Beyond teaching, SBS faculty are active members of our boarding school community, sharing in evening (typically once a week) and weekend supervision (5-6 weekends a year), coaching athletics or leading co-curriculars, chaperoning events, proctoring study halls, and attending community meals. Full-time faculty typically teach 4–5 classes, lead or assist with 1–2 co-curricular commitments, and participate in our residential life program. Department chair responsibilities may adjust the standard teaching and co-curricular load.

Employee Benefits Include:

The Stony Brook School offers a highly competitive total compensation and benefits package that reflects our commitment to supporting faculty and their families.

• Complimentary on-campus housing, including utilities and maintenance
• Complimentary meals for you and your family while school is in session
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and hospital insurance with 100% of premiums paid by the school
• 403(b) retirement plan with immediate vesting and a 7.5% employer matching contribution
• School-paid insurance coverage, including life insurance, long-term disability, short-term disability, and AD&D coverage
• 100% tuition remission for faculty children attending The Stony Brook School
• Relocation assistance through a moving reimbursement program
• Access to campus facilities and amenities, including the school fitness center
• Professional development support, with opportunities for continued learning and growth
• The opportunity to live and work in a collaborative, faith-centered community committed to excellence, growth, and lifelong learning

Compensation

Salary Range: $45,000 - $85,000 exclusive of housing for the candidate and their family. Final salary will be commensurate with experience, qualifications, and role responsibilities.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Stony Brook School is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions at The Stony Brook School are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, national origin, age, citizenship, genetic predisposition, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.

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