Jobs at Member Institutions & APLU

Requisition # 528144

Review begins on October 13, 2023.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

Duties and Responsibilities

This is a 12-month 100% (1.0 FTE) administration position. The Director is responsible for the management and coordination of all research, extension and academic programs at the Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC), located in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Director provides leadership and assistance to the faculty and staff at the center in developing and implementing research, extension, and academic programs and seeks Federal, State, and/or private funds to supplement the budget provided by the Florida Legislature. Other administrative responsibilities include the preparation of budgets, allocation of operating funds to all sections of the Center, evaluation of all IRREC faculty members in conjunction with department chairs, the initiation of tenure and promotion for IRREC faculty members in consultation with appropriate department chairs and supervision of staff including farm operations, automotive services, custodial/janitorial/maintenance services, and the center’s media specialistic. The Director is responsible for communicating all facility needs and maintenance requirements to the appropriate staff and administrators. Close interaction with industry representatives and governmental agencies is expected. The Director strengthens and maintains strong ties and goodwill with agricultural commodity and support organizations, regulatory agencies, environmental groups, local and statewide governmental agencies, members of urban and rural clientele groups, and consumers.

The Director works with faculty and staff to facilitate a multi-disciplinary program related to the IRREC’s mission and actively encourages and supports graduate educational programs at the Center. The Director interacts with other research and education center directors, department chairs, faculty, and county extension faculty to foster cooperation and collaboration among faculty members at different administrative units within IFAS. The Director must have the necessary skills to recruit and develop faculty and staff that will be responsive to the research and extension educational needs of the IRREC’s clientele groups. The Director will report administratively to the Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and programmatically to the deans and directors of the three functions; Research, Academic Programs, and Cooperative Extension.

Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.

Background Information:

The Indian River Research and Education Center is a unit of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida and located on a 700-acre site west of Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County. Fort Pierce is located on the east coast of Florida, 50 miles north of West Palm Beach. It has modern facilities, including the O.C. Minton Hall (>34,000 ft²), complete with classroom and student laboratory, a research wing with large labs, a 17,000 ft² Biological Control Research and Containment Center, graduate student dormitories, greenhouses, an aquaculture demonstration site and hatching facility, and a post-harvest facility. IRREC provides regional leadership to agriculturalists and natural resource stakeholders with research and extension programs. Interdisciplinary IRREC faculty lead programs in biological, chemical and cultural pest management with focus on entomology, virology, and plant pathology of citrus and vegetable crops, citrus horticulture, fisheries and aquatic sciences, Florida Sea-Grant, soil and water sciences, and innovations for management of invasive plants in Florida. In addition, there are nearby fruit and vegetable production operations and many small, diversified farms. Center personnel include 11 faculty and about 29 support staff, excluding part-time and grant-funded personnel and students.  More information on the IRREC, UF/IFAS, and the region is at http://irrec.ifas.ufl.edu/.

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students.  UF is a member of The Association of American Universities.  The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus.  UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricultural and natural resources research and education organizations, is administered by a Vice President and four deans: the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine.  UF/IFAS also engages in cooperative work with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. (foreign equivalent acceptable) in a field in or closely related to the faculty located at the center–Soil and Water Science, Horticulture, Agronomy, Entomology, or closely related fields– and experience in conducting major research and/or extension education programs. The candidate must have academic credentials that merit appointment at the rank of a tenured Professor in the appropriate academic department within IFAS. The candidate should have strong professional leadership, verbal and written communication, interpersonal, and administrative skills. Experience in obtaining and managing extramural support from industry, governmental, and/or regulatory agencies is required. Candidates must be supportive of the mission of the Land-Grant system and must also have a commitment to UF core values of excellence, discovery & innovation, inclusion, freedom & civility, community, and stewardship.