Assistant/Associate Professor – Forage Breeding/Genetics

This is a 12-month, tenure-accruing position that is 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% Extension (Florida Cooperative Extension Service), available at the North Florida Research and Education Center - Marianna, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.

About the Role

The North Florida Research & Education Center (NFREC) is one of the largest and most varied units of UF/IFAS, consisting of research and education campuses in Quincy, Marianna, and Live Oak, Florida. NFREC has faculty members representing 7 academic departments and the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, along with emeritus faculty and a dynamic population of post-doctoral associates, scientific, farm, and administrative staff. This setting fosters interdisciplinary work within NFREC campuses, with colleagues on the main UF campus, and with faculty at other Centers statewide.

Tenure will accrue in the Agronomy Department. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. The UF IFAS Forage Team, recognized as one of the best nationwide, is an integrated research, teaching, and Extension group of Agronomy faculty with collaborative efforts across IFAS units.

Responsibilities

• Develop a forage breeding program to create and release forage species and cultivars addressing biotic and abiotic stresses, seasonal distribution of forage production, biological dinitrogen fixation, seed production, and overall fitness of forage germplasm for Florida and the Southeast U.S. production and livestock systems.
• Incorporate laboratory and field activities using novel breeding technologies.
• Actively seek external funding to support the program.
• Develop an Extension program within your expertise, including efforts to enhance producer adoption of new and existing forage cultivars within best management practices that protect natural resources.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, particularly the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, aligning research and Extension programs with industry priorities.
• Collaborate with the cropping systems/agronomy/integrated crop-livestock systems program at UF.
• Participate actively in undergraduate and graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis, dissertation, and undergraduate research, and publishing research results with students.
• Engage in professional development activities related to teaching and advising, and may teach courses and seminars on a limited basis.
• Support and engage in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching, and Extension—as expected of all IFAS faculty, regardless of assignment split.

Qualifications

• A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Plant Breeding or a closely related discipline with emphasis on field-based crop improvement/plant breeding/cultivar development.
• Demonstrated skills in verbal and written communication, interpersonal relationships, and procurement of extramural funding.
• Supportive of the mission of the Land-Grant system and commitment to UF core values.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in field-based plant breeding research, securing extramural funding, and mentoring graduate students.
• Postdoctoral or industry experience in the development or application of novel methods targeting cultivar development.

Background Information

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students. UF is a member of The Association of American Universities. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (RECs) statewide, 6 Research sites/demonstration units, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties. IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, including approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel.