Associate/Full Professorship and Co-Lead, Food and Nutrition Security Cluster Initiative

Description

The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) seeks applications for the Haslam Family Endowed Associate/Full Professorship and Co-Lead, Food and Nutrition Security Cluster Initiative. This 9-month Tenure-Track position will be in the Department of Nutrition, or depending on the focus of research of the successful candidate, in the Department of Public Health. The position will have a 30% administrative appointment for leading cluster initiatives to enhance University of Tennessee Knoxville’s (UTK’s) national footprint in food and nutrition security, using a food systems perspective. This Full or Associate Professor position will also include a joint appointment in Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA).

 

This position and another new hire in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics will be responsible for providing joint leadership to the Food and Nutrition Security Cluster Initiative that will include four additional new faculty in the departments of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management; Nursing; Food Science; and Family and Consumer Sciences. The group of faculty in the cluster initiative will work collaboratively across UTK and UTIA.  

 

This position will have the responsibility to collaboratively develop a strategic plan that will help lead UTK in building a robust identity in food and nutrition security. This strategic plan will focus on transdisciplinary, community-engaged and impactful scholarship that emphasizes population representativeness; an inclusive research enterprise that supports diverse and inclusive workforce; and interdisciplinary academic programing to enhance experiential training.

 

Furthermore, working closely with the CEHHS’ Executive Associate Dean for Research and Operations, this position as a member of CEHHS’ Scholarship Council, will have the unique opportunity to provide leadership to the college on scholarship quality and impact, and cluster-focused initiatives.

 

This 9-month, fulltime (1.0 FTE), position begins February 1, 2025. Starting salary is commensurate with experience. UTK has a competitive benefits package, and 9-month tenure-track faculty are eligible for summer salary. The start-up package for the position is designed to support the launch of the cluster hire. UTK is Tennessee's flagship land grant university and is currently in the midst of unprecedented growth in enrollment, with approximately 35,000 enrolled students. The University is also a Carnegie Foundation Research (R1) University with the highest research activity and has achieved a Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

Qualifications

The Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee is seeking candidates who have the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to the diversity and intercultural goals of the University. We seek an established and recognized scholar whose work targets enhancing diet quality in populations experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. The candidate should be able to provide leadership in the cluster hire and related initiatives, apply health-relevant theoretical frameworks in research, have strong quantitative or mixed methods research skills, and have expertise with interdisciplinary collaboration. The successful candidate will: (a) lead interdisciplinary academic and research programming in food and nutrition security; (b) participate in related collaborative research programs; (c) mentor faculty hired within the cluster hire initiative; (d) provide limited teaching in the Department of Nutrition's or Public Health’s educational programs; (e) mentor MS/PhD students; and (f) provide limited outreach and service in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (joint appointment).

 

Candidates must have earned their doctorate in nutrition or public health, or a related discipline in the social or behavioral science field. Candidates for the Associate Professor rank must have an established research agenda and record of scholarly activity, successful experience with acquiring extramural funding as the lead investigator, and meet the qualifications for being an Associate Professor within UTK’s faculty handbook. Candidates for the Full Professor rank must have an extensive record of extramural funding, which includes being a lead investigator; an extensive record of scholarly productivity; have experience with successful faculty mentoring; and meet the qualifications for being a full professor within UTK’s faculty handbook. Candidates with demonstrated experience in productive interdisciplinary collaborations, successful team leadership, experience in team science, and/or administrative experience are preferred.

Application Instructions

Review of appli