Assistant Professor of Urban Horticulture

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.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences welcomes applicants who can contribute to our 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  or the Florida Relay System at  (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF.

This is a 12-month tenure-accruing position that will be 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) and 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station), available in 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.

The faculty member will seek contract and grant funding actively to support their program. The faculty member will engage in Extension activities in their program area.

This position aims to develop a nationally recognized, extramurally funded research and teaching program in urban horticulture that will advance urban horticulture systems by working in collaboration with faculty, graduate students, government agencies, industry representatives, botanical gardens, and non‑profit organizations in Florida. These systems aim to enhance food security and respond to the impacts of environmental, socioeconomic, and other challenges.

Utilizing their expertise, collegiality, and stakeholder‑focused approach, the successful candidate will demonstrate leadership and support collaborative efforts to strengthen horticultural food production systems that are scaled appropriately and improve the quality of life in urban environments and communities. The successful candidate is expected to develop sustainable alternatives to current industry production practices with a focus on using management practices that will enhance the horticulture industry by improving productivity, profitability, and stewardship of natural resources.

Programmatic goals within this process could include:
1) identification and evaluation of crops and cultivars best suited to the environmental conditions of urban environments;
2) investigating production system diversification, including the incorporation of perennial crops and new cropping system designs that incorporate sustainable intensification principles;
3) investigating water reuse and conservation practices specific to urban agricultural operations, promoting effective water management;
4) developing production practices and techniques to enhance the nutritional value of food as medicine in urban production systems;
5) evaluating environmental and growth impacts of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, compost, and other organic production techniques on specialty crops in Florida;
6) identifying production approaches and best management practices suitable for urban farms to improve crop production system efficiency, economic opportunity, and resilience.

The successful candidate will also be expected to develop a teaching program that enhances urban food production and urban horticultural practices. The candidate would be expected to develop courses pertaining to urban agriculture production, horticultural cropping systems, and support teaching needs of the unit by teaching laboratory courses in plant science as needed by MREC undergraduate and graduate students.

The successful candidate will engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, advising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, participating in curriculum revision and enhancement, seeking funding for the teaching program, supervising undergraduate and graduate research and creative work,…