Faculty Position Director of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center

Faculty Position – Director of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center  

The Department of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis invites applications for a faculty position as Director of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center. The appointment will be made at the Associate or Full Professor level. The Harris Center, housed within the Biology Department, administers endowments supporting graduate and undergraduate research and training within broad areas of biodiversity science of plants and animals. The Harris Center partners with the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo. These connections expand the taxonomic and geographic breadth of expertise we offer and strengthen the scientific impact of those partner institutions. Attracting top scholars from around the world, the Harris Center works closely with the Biology Graduate program, as well as the UMSL Departments of Political Science and Economics, to produce future leaders in biological and conservation fields.

Harris Center student support comes in the form of multiple fellowships for graduate training, twice-annual research grant competitions for graduate and undergraduate students, and travel support to scientific conferences, training programs, and workshops. The Center also manages endowed lecture programs and forums aimed at the scientific and non-scientific community, as well as significant outreach efforts within the local community. More than 275 MS and PhD graduates have received support from the Harris Center and are now on academic faculties as well as NGO and government positions in 30 countries.

We envision this leadership position as half administrative, including overseeing existing programs, developing new initiatives, and interacting with donors, and half regular faculty responsibilities, including research, mentoring, and teaching. Areas of research interest that intersect with our traditional strengths in ecology, evolution, and behavior are especially encouraged. Candidates with experience teaching and mentoring students from underrepresented groups are also highly desirable to add to the already rich ethnic and cultural setting within the department. This position is part of a cluster hire with two Assistant Professors in ecology.

Applicants must have a PhD degree in an appropriate discipline, a strong publication record, and be currently holding a tenured position as an Associate or Full Professor. The application should include 1) a cover letter, 2) a Curriculum Vitae, 3) a 1-2 page description of current and planned research, 4) a 1-2 page description of mentoring philosophy and experiences with and commitment to diversity, 5) a 1-2 page description of administrative experience and service, and 6) contact information for three references. The application materials should be combined into a single PDF file and uploaded online at www.umsl.jobs, opening #31535. For additional information, contact the search committee chair, Dr. Patricia Parker, at pparker@umsl.edu. Review of applications will begin January 15, 2020 and continue until the position is filled.

The Department of Biology The Department of Biology has active research groups in ecology, evolution, and behavior, as well as in cell and molecular biology. Faculty include professors who have joint appointments with the Danforth Plant Science Center, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Saint Louis Zoo. We offer degree programs at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral levels, with ~500 undergraduates and ~100 graduate students. Undergraduates choose between a BA or BS with an emphasis on Cell and Molecular Biology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, or Pre-professional/Health Sciences. We also offer BS and MS degrees in Biochemistry & Biotechnology, a joint degree program between Biology and Chemistry, as well as undergraduate and graduate certificates in Biotechnology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Studies, and Neuroscience

The St. Louis Community and our Partner Institutions The St. Louis metropolitan area is home to 2.85 million people, situated along the Mississippi River on the state border with Illinois. St. Louis boasts multiple 4-year colleges, universities, and community colleges. The community of St. Louis is interactive and collaborative: institutions are connected through formal programs as well as a general culture of mutual engagement. The Saint Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Garden are world-class institutions that value public education through exhibits, local outreach, and global research and conservation efforts. On their main campuses, both the Zoo and the Garden host millions of visitors each year to their public exhibit spaces, and they house research facilities and staff expertise in many disciplines. They partner with the Harris Center at UMSL as well as other local universities, and jointly support many UMSL graduate students through the Harris Center, providing access to collections as well as possible field sites such as the Garden's 2400-acre Shaw Nature Reserve and the Zoo's 400-acre North Campus.

The University of Missouri–St. Louis UMSL is one of four institutions in the University of Missouri land-grant system and is classified as RU-H (high research activity) and as a Community Engaged Campus by Carnegie rankings. Both the campus and the College of Arts and Science are committed to an inclusive campus community that values and respects all its members and achieves educational excellence through diversity. We encourage applications from individuals from diverse and minority backgrounds, including individuals with disabilities and veterans. For further information about UMSL, please see: http://www.umsl.edu/proud/index.html.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity.

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