Agroecosystem Management for Food System Resilience

Position

Assistant or Associate Professor

Department

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; Department of Horticulture & Crop Science

Focus Area

Food and Agricultural Transformation

Description

This is a full-time, 9-month faculty position in the Departments of Horticulture & Crop Science (60%) and Animal Sciences (40%) at The Ohio State University Columbus campus. Responsibilities include research (70%), teaching (15%), and extension (15%).

The successful candidate will join a large distinguished team of faculty members from across the university collaborating on the Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation (see more), to develop a comprehensive, transformative approach to food security, part of the Discovery Themes transformative initiative of The Ohio State University focusing on critical societal needs (see more).

This position will focus on understanding how agroecosystems function and how management affects resilience in a changing climate at the field, landscape, and/or food system scale in applied plant and/or plant-animal food production systems.

Potential research experience and interests may include, but are not limited to:

  • Multi-factor agroecosystem functionality, sustainability and resilience as affected by manipulation of management practices in the context of climate change;
  • Factors that affect resilience of agroecosystems, such as how plants, animals, or microbes and their interactions respond to management and climate change;
  • Understanding fluxes of C, N, and P through plant and animal agroecosystems and the processes that influence them at various spatial and temporal scales;
  • Multi-year analysis of large scale databases to evaluate agroecosystem functionality and resilience at the farm or landscape scales in response to land use and management.

Qualifications

Ph.D. in Animal Science, Plant Science, Agroecology or related field; evidence of excellence in teaching and research. We seek candidates who exhibit the following:

  • Leadership experience or potential for leadership in collaborative research and interest in strengthening interdisciplinary study of food security across the university.
  • Experience or potential to effectively engage partners including faculty, extension educators, students, citizens, business and industry, policy makers, or other stakeholders
  • Demonstrated holistic approaches to study agroecosystem health at the local, national or global levels.
  • Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion in research, teaching, extension, and service activity.

Desirable qualities of the successful candidate:

  • Analysis of large multi-scale datasets (e.g., farm to landscape to regional and beyond);
  • Ability to incorporate university lands and campuses in aspects of teaching, research, or extension;
  • Engagement in interdisciplinary work on the implications of agricultural technologies for ecological, economic, or social well-being;
  • Experience with or potential for acquiring extramural funding

Expectations and Responsibilities

  • Establish a nationally or internationally recognized scholarly research program supported by extramural funding;
  • Work closely with current and future faculty and staff working with climate effects on agriculture and data analytics, and engage with a broad range of interdisciplinary programs across the university (see more);
  • Be involved in resident instruction or co-curricular activities at the undergraduate or graduate level in their area of expertise and advise graduate students;
  • Extend research findings by engaging with stakeholders and promoting adoption of resilient and sustainable food systems.

Salary / Support

Salary depends on qualifications and experience. The Ohio State University offers one of the most comprehensive benefits packages in the nation, which includes medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; tuition authorization; paid vacation and sick leave; ten paid holidays; and State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) or an Alternative Retirement Program. A competitive start-up package, including discretionary funding, will be provided.

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit: 1) a cover letter summarizing their qualifications, areas of expertise, and experience appropriate to the position, 2) curriculum vitae including course work in the sciences pertaining to this position, 3) statement of their research interests (up to 2 pages), 4) statement of teaching and outreach that describes their experience and philosophy, as well as experience mentoring underrepresented groups and commitment to diversity and inclusion, and 5) a list of three references, including complete mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.

Please address applications to: Dr. Mark Sulc, Search Committee Chair, Dept. Horticulture & Crop Science, The Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1086 (Email: sulc.2@osu.edu).Applications will be considered starting January 15, 2018, and will continue until the position is filled.

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Our Commitment to Diversity

The Ohio State University is committed to fostering a culturally and intellectually diverse environment and encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential. We are responsive to dual-career families and actively promote work-life balance to support our community members through a suite of institutionalized policies. We are an NSF ADVANCE Institution and a member of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education Recruitment Consortium.