Assistant/Associate Professor – Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement

Assistant/Associate Professor – Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement

Department of Forestry

Mississippi State University

Position: Full-time, tenure-track Assistant/Associate Professor position in the Department of Forestry, College of Forest Resources, Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University.

Minimum Qualifications: Ph.D. degree in Forestry or a closely related field, with demonstrated expertise in forest genetics and tree improvement. All but dissertation (ABD) applicants will be considered. 

Preferred Qualifications: Record of scholarly publications; greenhouse experience; a history of or potential for securing extramural funding; teaching experience at a university level  in on-campus and distance-learning formats; and demonstrated history of collaborating across disciplines, with state and federal agencies, or forest industry on applied tree improvement research projects. Exceptional candidates will have command of advanced generation plant breeding strategies including mating and experimental design, reasonable facility with methods of quantitative analysis for estimating genetic parameters, familiarity with population genetics, and working knowledge of molecular genetics and genomics.

Responsibilities and Function: The successful candidate will be expected to teach undergraduate courses in Forestry and/or Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation. The candidate will be expected to develop graduate-level campus and distance-learning forestry courses in their area of expertise. Additional responsibilities will include participation in the Department’s teaching program, research efforts, graduate student mentoring, undergraduate student advising, and various service activities. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an extramurally funded research program in their area of expertise with a focus on genetics and applied tree improvement.

Appropriate areas of research expertise could include, but are not limited to:

-Hardwood tree improvement for bioenergy, timber production, or carbon sequestration

-Tree breeding for pest and disease resistance

-Tree improvement to increased yield in softwood timber species

-Christmas tree or ornamental breeding

-Genetic resources to improve forest resilience to climate change

-Tree improvement for phytoremediation

-Forest conservation genetics.

Opportunities exist for research collaboration with the USDA Forest Service’s Center for Bottomland Hardwood Research located at Stoneville, MS, the USDA Southern Institute of Forest Genetics at Saucier, MS, the Mississippi State University Institute for Genomics Biocomputing and Biotechnology, as well as other federal agencies, state agencies, forest industry, resource managers, and private landowners.

Rank and Salary: Tenure-track, full-time, 9-month appointment. Salary is negotiable and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Department of Forestry: The Department of Forestry is one of three departments in the College of Forest Resources and the Mississippi State University’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center. The Department has two SAF-accredited undergraduate degree programs (Forestry and Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation), offers MS and PhD degrees in Forestry, conducts research, and houses Mississippi’s Extension programs in forestry and natural resources. The Department has excellent facilities in Thompson Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University. A new multi-million-dollar greenhouse complex dedicated to forestry is now finishing construction and will provide multiple environments for research. The MSU John W. Starr Memorial Forest, an 8,244-acre research, teaching and demonstration forest, the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge and the Tombigbee National Forest are near the University and used for teaching and research activities. The University also owns Bulldog Forest properties throughout the state that may be available for research activities.

Mississippi State University is a Carnegie Very High Research Activity (R1) institution and a land grant university which includes the Mississippi State University Extension Service. The University is located in Starkville, a beautiful college town in northeast Mississippi (www.msstate.edu/web/about). 

Application Procedure: Screening of applicants will begin January 18, 2022 and will continue until a suitable applicant is found. Applications must be made through the Mississippi State University Employment opportunities website via the link https://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/en-us/listing/ (PARF Number 503393). Applicants should also send (in a single pdf) a letter of application; curriculum vita; copies of transcripts (for all degrees); statements of 1) research, 2) teaching and mentoring, and 3) diversity; equity and inclusion (1 page each); and complete contact information for three professional references to:

Dr. Austin Himes (austin.himes@msstate.edu)

Chair, Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement Search Committee

Department of Forestry

Mississippi State University

353 Thompson Hall

775 Stone Blvd.

Mississippi State, MS 39762

MSU is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy, gender identity, status as a U.S. veteran, and/or any other status protected by applicable law. We always welcome nominations and applications from women, members of any minority group, and others who share our passion for building a diverse community that reflects the diversity in our student population.