Assistant/Associate Professor of Plant Disease Resistance

Classification Title:

Ast/Aso Prof

Classification Minimum Requirements:

Candidates for this rank shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field. A candidate shall be expected to demonstrate successful experience pertinent to the position they are being recommended and have demonstrated qualities relevant to the goals of the academic unit in which they will be employed.

Job Description:

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. 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 .

This is a 12-month tenure-accruing position that will be 20% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences), 80% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) available in the Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. Within their research appointment, the faculty member will develop an internationally recognized, externally funded program using contemporary methods to explore and improve genetic resistance of plant species to pathogens. The overarching goal is to understand plant resistance and susceptibility and to develop genetically improved plants for crop production, ecosystem restoration or other applications. Fundamental research may focus on naturally occurring molecular and biochemical mechanisms and/or the genetic architecture of plant resistance and tolerance to pathogens. Translational research may involve selection, breeding or engineering of new genetic lines of disease resistant plants of ecological, economical, or other societal importance. The faculty member will be expected to synergize their program with faculty in the Department of Plant Pathology and to explore collaboration opportunities with faculty in UF/IFAS Plant Breeding Working Group, the Crop Transformation Center, the Global Food Systems Institute, other units on campus and Research and Education Centers, government agencies, private, and non-profit organizations.

Within the teaching appointment, the faculty member will develop and teach a course aligned with plant disease resistance at the graduate level and participate in teaching other formal courses at the graduate/undergraduate level. Graduate student mentorship is expected to be an integral component of the faculty members teaching and research program. The faculty member will actively participate in graduate education not only through formal teaching but also by serving on and chairing graduate committees, supervising thesis and dissertation research, supervising undergraduate research, and publishing results with graduate students and postdoctoral associates. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Plant Pathology. The faculty member will seek contract and grant funding actively to support their program.  The faculty member will engage in Extension activities in their program area.  

The successful candidate will engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, advising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, participating in curriculum revision and enhancement, seeking funding for the teaching program, supervising undergraduate and graduate research and creative work, publishing teaching-related scholarship, producing learning tools, and engaging in professional development activities related to teaching and advising.  Faculty are encouraged to support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education.

Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.

Background Information
The Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida is one of the largest in the US, with 39 faculty located in Gainesville or at nine Research and Education Centers around the state. Our graduate curriculum is extensive, and our 44 graduate students in Plant Pathology, 4 in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology and Doctor of Plant Medicine Programs, and 21 post-doctoral associates are active in numerous professional development activities within UF, nationally and internationally.

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disci