Assistant Professor (Biology/SEEMS – Urban Ecology and Sustainability Science)

Assistant Professor (Biology/SEEMS – Urban Ecology and Sustainability Science)

The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley is seeking applications for a faculty position (Assistant Professor) within the College of Sciences with cross appointment in the School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences (SEEMS) and the Department of Biology.  This is a 9-month, tenure track position involving teaching, scholarly research and service. She/he should be able to teach a variety of courses offered by these departments, as well as create new classes that focus on urban ecology and sustainability.  The candidate is expected to mentor undergraduate and graduate students in research. UTRGV is a distributed campus and faculty may be required to teach at different locations, however this position will have a primary assignment on the Edinburg campus. UTRGV faculty will be expected to demonstrate a strong commitment to research, student success and to advancing the university, college, and program missions and are committed to UTRGV’s guiding principles (http://www.utrgv.edu/en us/about-utrgv/transition-plan/guiding-principles).

The successful candidate is expected to build a strong, extramurally funded research program that examines the sustainability of novel ecosystems, linked socio-ecological systems, or coupled human/natural systems.  We are especially interested in candidates with a research focus on one or more emerging areas of that examine sustainability and resilience of urban/suburban systems, including (but not limited to):  landscapes including native plant restoration/conservation, urban green spaces, urban ecology, sustainable urban food systems, eco-tourism, and conservation of ecosystem services in urban areas.  The person hired for this position will be expected to participate in community engaged research and teaching, as the position includes administrative duties at the Center for Urban Ecology, a collaborative university-public partnership with local government to integrate research and education to promote sustainability practices among community participants (homeowners, local area schools, city and county government).   Required Qualifications:  A Ph.D. in Urban Ecology, Conservation Ecology, Environmental Studies, Geography, Sustainability Science, or a related discipline. Preferred Qualifications:  Demonstrated commitment to student success (e.g. innovative teaching approaches and pedagogies, experience mentoring graduate and undergraduate student, etc.) Strong theoretical grounding in one or more disciplines, with experience using mixed quantitative methods, (e.g. survey design, empirical data collection, geographic information analysis, network analysis, quantitative conservation ecology, etc.) Demonstrated excellence in research (i.e. funding, dissemination of scholarship, etc.) with experience or strong interest in interdisciplinary research and community engaged scholarship.

A strong commitment to advancing the university, college, and program missions following UTRGV’s guiding principles.

Desired Start Date   

09/01/2018

EEO Statement        

UTRGV is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that strives to hire without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or veteran status. UTRGV takes affirmative action to hire and advance women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Diversity Statement

UTRGV is a Hispanic-serving Institution dedicated to student success and building a diverse faculty committed to working in a multicultural environment. UTRGV has an NSF ADVANCE grant to increase the representation of women in STEM fields and to promote a positive, family friendly workplace for all faculty. We strongly encourage applications from women and minorities.

Open Date       10/20/2017

Close Date      01/15/2018

Additional Information       

UTRGV is a distributed institution. As such and as assigned, the position may require presence at multiple locations throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Work is performed primarily in a general office environment. This position is security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of the Texas Education Code §51.215. The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length. This position has the option to elect the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) instead of TRS, subject to the position being 40 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Special Instructions to Applicants  

Dear Applicant,

Human Resources will not be held responsible for redacting any confidential information from the documents you attach with your application. The confidential information includes the following:

*Date of Birth

*Social Security Number

*Gender

*Ethnicity/Race

Please make sure that you omit this information prior to submission. We are advising that Human Resources will be forwarding your application to the department as per your submission.

Please Note:  Texas law requires faculty members whose primary language is not English to demonstrate proficiency in English as determined by a satisfactory paper-based test score of 500 (computer-based of 173 or internet-based of 61) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a satisfactory test score of 6.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Incomplete applications will not be considered.