Director and Professor - School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE)

University of Florida•Gainesville, FL

12d

About The Position

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) seeks a Director and Professor for the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. This is a 12-month, tenure-accruing position with an assignment of 80% administration and 20% teaching. Tenure will be in an IFAS department most relevant to the selected candidate’s professional area. The position is available August 2027 and will be filled as soon thereafter as an acceptable applicant is available. The Director will guide and coordinate SNRE’s interdisciplinary, campus-wide programs in support of the Land-Grant mission of teaching, research, and extension. The role includes leading faculty, staff, and student recruitment and development; building partnerships across UF and IFAS; managing degree programs and affiliate faculty engagement; supervising and evaluating faculty and staff; overseeing human and financial resources; promoting programs; engaging alumni and fundraising opportunities; and serving as Graduate Coordinator. The Director is expected to teach at least one SNRE course per year. The successful candidate will build on SNRE’s interdisciplinary and student-focused programs, strengthen campus and external collaborations, raise program visibility, and expand SNRE’s impact across UF and Florida. The Director may also lead growth of the online self-funded M.S. program launched in 2025, develop new programs such as certificates and courses, and lead student recruitment strategy development and assessment. The position includes scholarly activities related to instruction, such as teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, advising and mentoring students, contributing to curriculum revision, seeking teaching-program funding, supervising student research and creative work, publishing teaching-related scholarship, developing learning tools, and participating in professional development related to teaching and advising. Faculty are encouraged to support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education. Regardless of assignment, IFAS faculty are expected to support and engage in research, teaching, and extension. SNRE offers undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science (B.A. and B.S.) and graduate degrees in Interdisciplinary Ecology (M.S. and Ph.D.), including an online M.S. option. Its programs involve more than 350 affiliate faculty from 50 academic departments and 35 UF Research Centers and Institutes across 12 colleges. The school has three full-time lecturers and one faculty position jointly appointed with another academic unit.

Requirements

Doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in environmental, ecological, agricultural, and/or life sciences, or a closely related discipline.
Effective administrative and/or leadership experience, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary work addressing major environmental and/or natural resource management challenges.
Distinguished record of scholarship and teaching, and/or engagement in natural resources.
Demonstrated ability to identify and develop resources and opportunities.
Ability to foster interdisciplinary scholarship, education, and collaboration across organizational boundaries.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships.
Experience advising graduate thesis and dissertation research programs.
Support for the Land-Grant system mission and commitment to UF core values.
For professor rank, qualification for associate professor rank and a distinguished record of achievement beyond the associate professor level, including recognition as a national or international authority or as an outstanding teacher in the field or specialization.

Nice To Haves

Experience in curriculum development and/or management at a land-grant institution.
Evidence of effective administrative experience in an interdisciplinary program.
Record of building and sustaining partnerships.
Demonstrated commitment to innovative, rigorous, and student-centered undergraduate and graduate education.
Consultative leadership style and demonstrated ability to build consensus.
Experience leading undergraduate and graduate teaching programs.

Responsibilities

Provide vision, support, and coordination for planning, developing, and implementing SNRE programs in alignment with the Land-Grant mission of teaching, research, and extension.
Lead recruitment and foster academic growth and professional development for faculty, staff, and students.
Build partnerships with departments and units across the University of Florida and IFAS.
Facilitate and manage SNRE’s B.A., B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. programs and affiliate faculty engagement with SNRE students.
Supervise and evaluate program faculty and staff performance.
Oversee the School’s human and financial resources.
Promote SNRE programs across UF, statewide, nationally, and globally.
Engage alumni and pursue fundraising opportunities.
Serve as the Graduate Coordinator.
Teach at least one course per year in the SNRE curricula.
Strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations, increase program visibility, enhance relationships with external supporters, and expand SNRE’s impact across campus and off-campus centers.
Lead efforts to grow the online self-funded M.S. program and establish new programs and courses as needed.
Provide leadership in assessing and developing student recruitment strategies.
Teach undergraduate and/or graduate courses; advise and mentor students; participate in curriculum revision; seek teaching-program funding; supervise student research and creative work; publish teaching-related scholarship; develop learning tools; and engage in professional development related to teaching and advising.
Support and participate in research, teaching, and extension, consistent with IFAS’s Land-Grant mission.