Assistant Professor of Specialty Crop and Ornamental Plant Breeding

Job no: 536523

Work type:
Tenure-Track Faculty

Location:

Orange

Categories:
Biology/Life Science, Agricultural Sciences

Department:  - AG-MREC-APOPKA

Classification

Title:

Ast Prof

Candidates for this rank shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field. A candidate shall be expected to demonstrate successful experience pertinent to the position they are being recommended and have demonstrated qualities relevant to the goals of the academic unit in which they will be employed.

This is a 12-month tenure-accruing position that will be 80% Research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 20% Extension (UF/IFAS), at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Horticultural Sciences.

• Develop an extramurally funded, nationally-recognized research and extension program emphasizing breeding of specialty and ornamental crops. The program will use both traditional and advanced methods for improving quality traits, abiotic and biotic stress resistance, and improving aesthetic quality of crops through consumer-friendly precision breeding and/or other similar genetic techniques. The program will focus on developing specialty crops that can be grown in greenhouse or other types of protected culture.
  
  As appropriate, the incumbent may also work on fruit crops.
• Integrate into the existing genetic program emphasizing precision breeding and environmental crop tissue and cell culture programs and be expected to work in partnership with other inter- and intradepartmental faculty members as well as lead industry groups to develop a competitive research program. The incumbent is expected to collaborate with horticulturists, entomologists, plant pathologists, geneticists and plant breeders, to develop horticulturally desirable end-products for consumers.
• Obtain extramurally funded support for the breeding program and graduate students. This faculty member will participate in UF/IFAS Extension programming through the development and teaching of extension materials for outreach to Florida stakeholders. The faculty member is expected to publish research and extension results in national and international refereed and non-refereed journals.
• Participate actively in graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis and dissertation research, and publishing results with students. The faculty member will actively seek contract and grant funding to support the program. Involvement in national and international professional societies is expected.
• 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.

The UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida is one of 12 UF/IFAS Research and Education Centers. Located in the heart of Florida (just north of Orlando), the MREC is a center for research, teaching, and extension programs. The Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida has a variety of research, teaching, and extension programs located at the Gainesville campus and across the state.

Program focus areas within the department include:
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry;
Plant Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology;
Crop Production and Management;
Postharvest Biology and Technology;
Organic and Sustainable Horticulture; and Weed Science.

Commensurate with Education and Experience

• This position requires a Ph.D. (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Genetics, Plant Breeding, Plant Biology, Horticultural Science or a closely-related field. The candidate is expected to be knowledgeable of molecular and traditional plant breeding techniques and new cultivar development. Additionally, the candidate must have a strong record of publishing in refereed…