Tenure-Track/Tenured, Assistant/Associate/Full Professors and Instructor Multiple Position Hire

Tenure-Track/Tenured, Assistant/Associate/Full Professors and Instructor Multiple Position Hire

School of Renewable Natural Resources

Louisiana State University/LSU Agricultural Center

The School of Renewable Natural Resources (SRNR) is pleased to invite applications from emerging and established scholars for five tenure-track or tenured appointments (we anticipate that one, additional instructor position will become available in the near future). The appointments may be tenure-track at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, or tenured at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, depending on qualifications and experience. All positions will have 12-month appointments with primary responsibilities in research (~60%) and teaching (~40%). We encourage qualified couples to apply if their skills align with the positions.

With this multiple position hire, SRNR seeks to advance a faculty with broad and complementary skills, experience, and interests. Faculty within SRNR have wide ranging interests in natural resource ecology and management and have benefited from various levels of collaboration. Successful applicants will not only have strong analytical skills, a history of publication, and success in securing extramural funding, but also have a desire to mix their expertise into ongoing and new research.  Major areas of research interest specific to each of the five positions are given below.

Louisiana State University, located on the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USA), is the state's flagship institution and most comprehensive university. Founded in 1853, LSU currently has an enrollment of 28,764 undergraduate and 4,755 graduate students in 235 academic fields of study. LSU is an R1 research institute with land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant designations, and a world-class faculty that contributes to research, education and service at an international level.

The School of Renewable Natural Resources in the LSU AgCenter focuses on natural resource research, education, and service in conservation biology, fisheries, forestry, wetlands, and wildlife, with a faculty that studies a wide range of topics and species both nationally and internationally. SRNR consists of approximately 25 faculty members, 280 undergraduate students, and 50 graduate students. SRNR has B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs in Renewable Natural Resources with nine areas of concentration, including six accredited by the Society of American Foresters.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Successful candidates must hold a Ph.D. in a discipline appropriate to the field of research. Qualifications for these positions include strong potential or demonstrated excellence (as appropriate to career stage) in research productivity, a strong commitment to teaching including mentorship and supervision, a commitment to service, and the ability to obtain internal and external funding for independent research. Collaboration with AgCenter researchers, extension specialists, and natural resource managers from state and federal agencies, private consultants, forest industry, and conservation groups is also expected.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The LSU AgCenter benefits package provides a wide variety of benefit options. Benefits offered include retirement, choice of multiple medical insurance plans, supplemental insurances (dental, life, long-term disability, accident, vision, long-term care, etc.), a tax saving plan for some child care and medical expenses, university holidays (14 per year, typically includes a week off in December), generous annual (vacation) and sick leave benefits, an Employee Assistance Program, and possible educational leave and tuition exemption for coursework at campuses of the LSU System. Specific benefits depend on the job category, percent effort and length of employment.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Review of applications will begin on 31 October 2024 and continue until suitable candidates are found. The anticipated start date will be 1 July 2025 or as negotiated. Three letters of reference will be requested for applicants invited for interviews.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: All applicants must submit:

1.       A brief cover letter introducing the candidate, including training, skills, and research interests;

2.       A complete curriculum vitae including research, teaching, and service experience;

3.       A statement of anticipated research program interest and structure;

4.       A statement of teaching philosophy and identification of existing SRNR or new courses (undergraduate and graduate) the applicant could teach, and;

5.      Names and contact information for three people who can be contacted for letters of reference.

Faculty Position Descriptions

Aquaculture/Fisheries Faculty (1 position): Applicants must have earned a Ph.D. in fisheries, aquatic ecology, aquaculture or a related discipline with a focus on aquaculture. Areas of expertise could include reproductive physiology, disease ecology, genomics, nutrition, stock enhancement or other areas of focus related to conservation and production of aquatic species. A number of aquatic species of commercial and/or conservation interest can be found in Louisiana’s inland and coastal waters, including fishes, mollusks and crustaceans. Opportunities for collaboration with academic institutions and state and federal agencies can be found throughout the Gulf Coast region and the Mississippi Basin. Teaching duties include relevant courses in the aquaculture and fisheries undergraduate curricula and a graduate course based on expertise.

Forestry Faculty (1 position): Applicants must have earned a Ph.D. in forestry, forest ecology, or a closely related field. Areas of expertise could include forest habitat restoration, silviculture, forest hydrology, ecosystem services, and global change biology. Knowledge of forest soils or floodplain processes would be advantageous. The scope of research could include various aspects of climate change such as restoring the adaptive capacity of forests and mitigating legacy agricultural practices and altered hydrology on the structure, function, and composition of forest stands. Research relevant to forests to disturbance, wildlife habitat, and carbon sequestration would be especially useful. Teaching duties include relevant courses in the forest management and wildlife habitat undergraduate curricula and a graduate course based on expertise.

Wildlife Faculty (3 positions): Applicants must have earned a Ph.D. in wildlife science, ecology, biology, or a related field. Taxonomic expertise will include waterfowl for one position (which may also be eligible for an endowed professorship); others are open for appropriate terrestrial systems or taxa with application to conservation and management of natural populations. Research interests may include spatial ecology, population processes, community dynamics, global change biology, wildlife disease, or other relevant areas. Teaching responsibilities will align with research expertise, likely including a sophomore-level class and one or more senior or graduate classes.

Anticipated Instructor Position (1 position TBA):  Applicants will hold a Ph.D. in a field relevant to topics covered in the undergraduate curricula in the SRNR (e.g., wildlife, fisheries, applied ecology, wetlands, forestry) at the time of appointment. This will be a non-tenure-track position. Teaching responsibilities will include some combination of introductory and sophomore-level ecology, policy, wildlife principles, field techniques, or GIS courses. Upper-level courses may be included depending on need or the applicant’s interest. Graduate level courses may be included on a case-by-case basis. Sophomore and higher-level courses will be in-person. Dual enrollment and online teaching may be included. The instructor will be expected to contribute to SRNR undergraduate recruiting. The instructor will be expected to offer four courses or their equivalent activities per semester. Additional compensation for summer teaching is possible.

Aquacultures/Fisheries - https://lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0107-Aquaculture-Research-Facility/Assistant-Associate-Full-Professor--Aquaculture-Fisheries-_R00098116

Forestry - https://lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0220-Renewable-Natural-Resources-Building/Assistant-Associate-Full-Professor--Forestry-_R00098129

Wildlife (3 positions) - https://lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0341-Renewable-Natural-Resources-Building/Assistant-Associate-Full-Professor--Wildlife-_R00098175-1

Instructor- Position details will be posted at a later date.