Chair and Associate Professor or Professor

Jarislowsky Chair in Natural Systems Agriculture for Climate Solutions

Chair and Associate Professor or Professor

Department of Plant Science

Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

Posting Close Date:
July 2, 2026

For more information please contact:

Dr. Rob Duncan, Search Committee Chair

The University of Manitoba invites applications for a Jarislowsky Chair in Natural Systems Agriculture for Climate Solutions, a probationary (tenure track) or tenured position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor. Salary and rank will be commensurate of qualifications and experience. The Chair’s program, which will be funded from a base capital endowment investment, was created by the Jarislowsky Foundation and the UM, and is for a 5-year term (renewable in accordance with the Chairs and Professorships policy and procedure).

The tenure-track or tenured position will continue after the Chair term(s) without it being designated as a Chair. The position is expected to commence September 1, 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The Chair’s base salary and benefits will be covered by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. The annual allocation from the Fund will be used to support the Chair stipend, teaching release costs, and research and knowledge extension expenses.

The Jarislowsky Chair in Natural Systems Agriculture for Climate Solutions will join a Department in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS). The Chair will be a leader who delivers excellence in scholarship, innovation, and knowledge translation in the area of climate-smart agriculture. The University of Manitoba’s decades-long research in this area has already developed significant knowledge on natural systems agriculture, 4R nutrient management, perennial crops breeding, crop-livestock integration, organic agriculture, conservation agriculture, crop rotation, intercropping, cover crops, and soil health that will all play a role in the development of climate-smart and regenerative agriculture.

The Chair will empower the units in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences to undertake original research in climate-smart agricultural systems and translate new and current knowledge into action by farmers and policy makers. The Chair will have full access to FAFS’ extensive research infrastructure and facilities, including the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm, a 406-acre facility located in Carman (70 km southwest of Winnipeg) and the Glenlea Research Station, a 1,000-acre facility (20 km south of Winnipeg), home to the National Center for Livestock and the Environment.

The Chair will also have access to the Faculty’s extensive network of long term agronomic studies including Canada’s longest running organic cropping systems study (est. 1992) and to the world’s longest continuous monitoring study of N2O and CO2 emissions from an agricultural field at the Trace Gas Manitoba GHG research station (est. 2005). The candidate would also have the opportunity to collaborate with other Jarislowsky Chairs in Regenerative Agriculture.

The successful candidate will be expected to enhance their innovative and well-respected research program to develop climate-smart agricultural systems. The Chair will lead and facilitate original research and partnership efforts to help achieve the following goals:
1) foster knowledge translation initiatives that accelerate direct adoption of climate-smart agricultural best practices;
2) design and test more ambitious, transformative “Next generation” climate-smart agricultural practices;
3) advance plant and soil management practices that result in higher soil carbon use efficiency and superior long-term soil carbon storage;
4) enhance carbon sequestration through breeding and utilization of diverse cropping systems; and
5) develop and implement a functional, low energy use, circular bioeconomy through recycling and reusing of nutrients, and crop-livestock integration. The Chair will be expected to contribute to provincial and national strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Canadian agriculture. In addition to funding available from the endowment, the Chair will be…