Associate Director and Professor

Location: Stony Brook and Madagascar. Open Date: May 16, 2025.

About the role

Stony Brook University seeks an Associate Director for the Institute for Conservation of Tropical Environments (ICTE)/Centre ValBio (CVB) to provide leadership and promote a productive environment that fosters innovation and excellence in CVB's research, education, and outreach programs. The Associate Director should have academic expertise in one or more core areas covered by CVB, spanning the natural sciences (e.g., ecology, evolutionary biology, zoology, botany, organismal biology, natural history, paleontology, primatology, ecology and evolution of infectious disease, ecology and evolution of behavior, tropical ecology and evolution), applied natural sciences (e.g., conservation biology, tropical forestry), or the interface between science and society (e.g., anthropology, one health, biodiversity management). While holding a tenure home in an allied department at the main SBU campus on Long Island, the Associate Director is expected to reside at CVB in Madagascar for a great proportion of the first two‑to‑three years of the appointment, and at least one academic term each year thereafter.

Responsibilities

• Provide visionary and strategic leadership for advancing and articulating the scientific mission of CVB, promoting U.S. national and international prominence in research across disciplines.
• Oversee the research programs at CVB with the Executive Director and coordinate these programs with SBU main campus departments.
• Oversee the CVB budget and work with the CVB Chief Operating Officer and Finance Coordinator to ensure fiscally responsible program implementation, execution, and strategic investment aligned with CVB's vision and mission.
• Lead major grant efforts in support of CVB programs and support development and fundraising efforts in conjunction with the Executive Director and Director of Development.
• Ensure that CVB programs are fully integrated into the academic programs of SBU.
• Develop and support undergraduate and graduate research and learning experiences with relevant CVB staff.
• Foster a culture of inclusion, collaboration, creativity, and mentorship to create an environment where faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds can meet their full potential, thrive, and help fulfill CVB's role in SBU's mission.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• Doctorate degree (or foreign equivalent) in life sciences or a related discipline (e.g., ecology, evolutionary biology, zoology, botany, organismal biology, natural history, paleontology, primatology, ecology and evolution of infectious disease, ecology and evolution of behavior, tropical ecology and evolution, applied natural sciences such as conservation biology or tropical forestry, or science‑society interface such as anthropology, one health, biodiversity management).
• Outstanding record of achievement including leadership, team building, distinguished scholarship, and dedication to the university's higher education mission, especially in a public setting.
• Demonstrated potential to lead and manage a dynamic program of interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach.
• Record of research excellence and grantmaking or similar fundraising in any of the areas outlined above.
• Strong interpersonal and people management skills.
• Appreciation for the range of disciplines related to the broader life sciences and the diverse functions of research, education, and outreach at a tropical field site.
• Prepared for coordination of a large, diverse, and international community at a tropical field site