Assistant Professor; Tree Fruit and Nut Quality; Readvertisement

Position: Assistant Professor (Tropical Tree Fruit and Nut Quality) (0085477) READVERTISEMENT
Description

Title:

Assistant Professor (Tropical Tree Fruit and Nut Quality)

Position Number: 0085477

Hiring Unit:
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), Department of Plant and Soil Sciences (TPSS)

Location:

Hilo, Hawaii

Posting Date:
October 21, 2025

Closing Date:
* READVERTISED* Continuous, first review by date on December 16, 2025

Monthly Type: 11-month

Tenure Track:
Tenure

Full Time/Part Time:
Full Time

Temporary/Permanent:
Permanent

Other

Conditions:

Position Workload: 45% Instruction (25% academic and 20% extension), 35% Research (all applied, mission-oriented), 20% Service. This position will be located in Hilo at the Komohana Research and Extension Station in Hawai'i county. First review to begin December 16, 2025 or soon thereafter. For best consideration, all application materials should be submitted by December 15, 2025, 11:59PM HST.

The department seeks candidates that demonstrate experiences in interdisciplinary, systems-level approaches and can creatively leverage the unique tropical agricultural resources of Hawai'i, and whose research shows a potential to improve tropical tree fruit and nut quality. The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching and lead a nationally recognized, innovative, and extramurally funded applied research program that advances understanding of whole-plant and cropping system physiology to improve tropical tree fruit and nut quality, with a particular focus on coffee, cacao, and macadamia.

The applicant is expected to combine interdisciplinary, classical and modern approaches to understand the mechanisms underlying physiological traits defining fruit and nut quality and yield. This may include traditional breeding, modern 'omics technologies, bioinformatics, and novel tools. This position will directly support the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) Initiatives by enhancing vibrant tropical and pacific island agriculture and food security, protecting ecosystem health, and contributing to workforce and economic development.

Our campus welcomes all student but given our responsibilities to the community in which we operate, as part of our strategic mission, we strive to become a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning, a place that is committed to integrating Native Hawaiian language, culture and/or values into its academic and campus environment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Instruction (45%):

Academic Instruction (25%)

* Teaching excellence of core courses to support the Tropical Agriculture and the Environment (TAE) undergraduate and the TPSS graduate degree programs. These courses will be in the areas of fruit tree crop production, fruit tree physiology, and plant stress biology. The specific courses may include but are not limited to: TPSS 403 Tropical Fruit Production and TPSS 470/470L Plant Physiology lecture and lab.

* Advising and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students and supervising graduate assistants and post-doctoral fellows as required.

Extension (20%)

* Demonstrate Extension teaching excellence through nonformal education processes based on a sequence of progressive steps of program development, and direct client services that lead to behavior change and learning opportunities for clientele as a result of data-informed and iterative needs assessments.

* Extension Teaching can be done through direct instruction strategies like workshops, trainings, mentoring, and coaching with stakeholders and other Extension faculty. And, teaching will also occur directly through one-on-one coaching, technical assistance, problem solving coaching, and support through individual and site visits, phone calls, emails, etc.; and, will be expected to disseminate knowledge through indirect strategies, such as, social media, print materials, web-based materials;

and publications relevant to industry and producers in Hawai'i.

* Demonstrate excellence, it will require the development of extramural resources, and management of those resources, to support planned Extension activities in support of the program goals.

* Support Extension program excellence this position will conduct rigorous program evaluation that result in evidence of program effectiveness. They will use program evaluation data to inform programing improvement, adaptation, and program quality; and, conduct impact reporting and Civil Rights compliance through the Extension impact reporting program (i.e., PEARS).

Research (35%):

* Develop a nationally recognized and Hawai'i directed, externally funded, interdisciplinary research program focused on the study of physiological traits important for tropical tree fruit and nut quality.

* Research programs aimed at improving yield and quality of tree crops economically relevant to the State of Hawai'i, such as but not limited to, cacao (chocolate), coffee, and macadamia nut or other fruit crops, in field production systems are desired.

* Building active partnerships with local, national, and/or international stakeholders to help…