Professor and Chair - Environmental Horticulture

Classification Title:

Chair & Prof

Job Description:

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

Duties and Responsibilities: The chair of the department provides: (1) vision, support and coordination in planning, developing, and implementing departmental programs in teaching, research, and extension in accord with the Land-Grant Mission; (2) leadership in recruiting and fostering academic growth and professional development of faculty, staff, and students; (3) administration of the department’s human and financial resources; and (4) promotion of external funding opportunities. The chair administers state, national, and international programs of the department. The chair fosters shared governance, as outlined in the department bylaws, evaluates faculty and staff performance, and encourages the proactive development of strategic programs. The chair represents departmental and faculty interests with administrators, other departments, and units, and outside agencies, individuals and groups in natural resources, industry, and communities. The chair collaborates with the IFAS Senior Vice President, Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans, other IFAS Chairs and Research and Education Center Directors, and other administrators in providing leadership for delivering integrated programs to meet the needs of students, Florida agriculture, citizens of the state of Florida, Extension clientele, research sponsors, and other stakeholders.

Background Information: The Department of Environmental Horticulture has diverse teaching, research, and extension programs, with 16 faculty members located on main campus in Gainesville and 13 faculty located at Research and Education Centers throughout the state. Additionally, there are county extension faculty throughout the state that specialize in environmental horticulture. The department also currently has 36 graduate students, and many undergraduate students through the Plant Science program. A strong team of administrative staff members supports the department chair in personnel, fiscal, and operational management of the department.

The mission of the Environmental Horticulture Department is to improve the human environment and protect the natural landscape through the intentional and scientifically based use of plants, with a vision of being the premier source for advances in plant science and technology in human-influenced landscapes. 

The Environmental Horticulture (EH) program, headquartered at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is a broad-based, statewide system that addresses landscape, nursery, turfgrass and restoration horticulture issues of importance to the state of Florida, nation and internationally.  The location of EH faculty at seven locations in the state provides the opportunity to investigate topics across the multiple climatic zones of Florida, and spanning regional applications from coastal plant selection and shoreline environmental issues to inland management of plant production for residential landscapes and native species for restoration.  Program focus areas spanning basic and applied plant science include restoration and conservation horticulture, water quality and quantity, nursery crop production, environmental control systems, arboriculture, floriculture, turfgrass science, landscape design, management and sustainability, people-plant interactions, plant breeding, and biotechnology.  The Department of Environmental Horticulture (hort.ifas.ufl.edu) provide scientifically based agricultural, human, and natural resource knowledge that citizens use in making personal and policy decisions which contribute to an improved quality of life and well-being.

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 60,000 students. UF is a member of The Association of American Universities. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the