Professor and Chair - Family, Youth and Community Sciences (FYCS)

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 .

The Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department at the University of Florida invites nominations and applications for the position of Department Chair.

Departmental Overview:

The mission of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department is to enhance lifelong learning and the personal, social, economic and environmental well-being of diverse individuals, families and communities through state-of-the art research, teaching, and Extension programs. Included in this mission are the following key elements:

• To extend the frontiers of knowledge through research and other scholarly endeavors.
• To build and enhance student competencies for successful careers.
• To apply research-based information through innovative outreach programs.
• To further advance the skills and knowledge of the department’s faculty members through continued education and professional development.

The Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences (FYCS) (http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu) is a unit of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida and is located at the Gainesville campus. The Department employs 29 faculty members, a dedicated advising team for undergraduate and graduate programs, and three administrative staff members. The interdisciplinary FYCS undergraduate major enrolls over 150 students with potential for growth. There are nearly 80 students minoring in FYCS with a substantial number also enrolled in the Nonprofit Organizational Leadership Minor. The Department offers both in-person and online M.S in Family, Youth and Community Sciences programs and an in-person PhD program in Youth Development and Family Sciences; currently, 49 students are enrolled in our graduate programs. The PhD program provides training in Prevention Science, Human Development and Family Sciences, Methodology, and Applied Research. Graduate students are mentored by faculty from a variety of disciplines. The Department is also home to an Online Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership.

The Department is interdisciplinary with faculty areas of focus falling under the three main domains of family, youth, and communities. Faculty are at the forefront of their fields of prevention science, human development and family science, human services, applied psychology, nonprofit management, public health, public administration, social work, economics, housing, and agriculture, among others. The Department also has robust Extension programming, including the areas of youth and human development; family science; consumer economics and resource management; mental health and well-being; community development, sustainability, and disaster management; and human nutrition, food safety, and health. Extension programs are implemented in collaboration with Extension faculty in all 67 Florida counties and statewide program leaders for Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development. The Department’s sponsored research and Extension activities have generated in excess of $24 million over the course of the past year. The department engages in collaborative working relationships with Florida A&M University, Florida State University, and other public and private universities both in and out of state and on a global scale.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Chair of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences (FYCS) Department provides overall leadership and administrative support for cutting-edge research, teaching, and Extension programs that create new knowledge, set future directions and respond to student and community needs. Responsibilities include: cultivating a cohesive and collaborative interdisciplinary department; fostering the professional development of a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students; advocating for the department; and enhancing the department’s visibility and reputation. Other administrative responsibilities include: budgetary and personnel management; representation of the department to state, federal and international agencies, professional and non-governmental or