Department Chair

University of Vermont

Department Chair

The Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont seeks a Department Chair (holding the rank of tenured Associate Professor or Professor) to accelerate interdisciplinary innovations in research, education, and outreach. The Nutrition and Food Sciences department is a dynamic, interdisciplinary academic department housed within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Chair will expand upon and complement current areas of strength in scholarship and pedagogy. While all areas of research in nutrition and food sciences will be considered, we are especially interested in candidates with interdisciplinary research and administrative experience as well as a strong vision for the future of the department. The anticipated start date of the position is January 2, 2024.

As the Department Chair, the successful candidate will be expected to provide leadership and mentoring for an interdisciplinary department with faculty whose areas of expertise span from qualitative and quantitative social science to laboratory research in the life sciences. A successful applicant will have leadership and mentoring experience guiding a team of academic colleagues. Alongside a leadership role, the Chair has administrative responsibilities that include, but are not limited to, personnel management, budget management, undergraduate and graduate program development and success, curriculum management, and program accreditation oversight. This position is comprised of Chair duties (with a 12-month 50% FTE) and the Associate Professor/Professor duties (with a 9-month, 50% FTE).

As a member of the Nutrition and Food Sciences department in an Associate Professor/Professor position a successful applicant will be expected to have a robust research program with an established history of extramural funding and peer-reviewed publication record. Translational research that can help inform policy, practice, or community and industry engagement and development is particularly encouraged. UVM provides multiple opportunities to engage with multiple departments involved in complementary nutrition, food science and food systems research. UVM boasts several graduate programs and Centers and Institutes outside of the department that are relevant to individual and departmental research including the Food Systems, Complex Systems, Animal Biosciences, and Public Health graduate programs; the Biomedical Statistics Research Core; the Gund Institute for the Environment; the newly established Food Systems Research Center (in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture); and the OSHER Center for Integrative Health. We especially seek individuals who have a strong record of interdisciplinary research, have a strong record of leading successful team science research projects, and are willing to initiate novel, transformative research projects with colleagues across the NFS department, the university campus and the greater Vermont community.

The NFS department offers an undergraduate major in Nutrition and Food Sciences with three concentrations: Dietetics; Nutrition, Sustainability and Society; and Food Sciences. In addition, the department houses a growing online master’s in Dietetics program and a campus-based MS in Nutrition and Food Sciences. The department has a long-standing commitment to collaborative research, experiential education and applied and translational outreach programs. Our Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited undergraduate and graduate Dietetics programs focus on community nutrition, weight inclusivity, and food systems. The department offers a variety of nutrition, food science and food systems courses from large lectures to small seminars and include lab-based culinary, foods and food science courses, as well as other experiential learning courses. 

A successful applicant will have demonstrated excellence in teaching in at least one of the Departmental areas of concentration and will be expected to teach an undergraduate and graduate course and supervise graduate students. We seek a passionate colleague who wants to enable and ensure the success of and provide mentorship to undergraduate and graduate students in teaching and research.
The University of Vermont and Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences are keenly interested in diversifying its faculty and encourages applicants from candidates of diverse backgrounds. The college is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and inclusive excellence of the academic community through their teaching, service, and research, scholarship, or creative arts. We are an educationally purposeful community seeking to prepare students to be accountable leaders in a diverse and changing world.
 

Members of the University of Vermont community embrace and advance the values of Our Common Ground: Openness, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Innovation, and Justice. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to the ideals of accessibility, inclusiveness, and academic excellence as reflected in the tenets of Our Common Ground. Please visit Our Common Ground website to learn more.

Applications must be submitted online at www.uvmjobs.com. Applicants must submit a cover letter, a curriculum vitae and a separate diversity statement. The cover letter must express your reason for interest in this position, your leadership, managerial, teaching, and research experience, as well as evidence of your demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Also, please submit the names and email addresses of three references in the application; they will only be contacted for finalist candidates.

Questions may be directed to the Search Committee Chair, Brendan Fisher, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Bittersweet House, 153 So. Prospect Street, Room 301, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, (Brendan.Fisher@uvm.edu) Evaluation of applications will begin on March 1, 2023, and will continue until suitable candidates are identified.

Founded in 1791, UVM is consistently ranked as one of the top public universities in the United States. Interested candidates are encouraged to visit the UVM-NFS website, and the city of Burlington, Vermont website. 

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation.