Professor and Head, Department...

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) seeks applications and nominations for the 12-month, tenured position of Professor and Head of the Department of Animal Science. We seek a dynamic and visionary leader who will foster excellence in teaching, research, and Extension programs.

About The Department

The Department of Animal Science is a diverse and fascinating blend of applied and basic life sciences focused on enhancing the efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of domestic animal industries. The department’s activities are accomplished by its 24 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 5 lecturers, and 21 professional support staff located on the Knoxville campus and at facilities across Tennessee. Several faculty have joint appointments with the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Approximately 500 undergraduate students are enrolled in the department’s bachelor of science degree programs with academic concentrations in Animal Industries, Biosciences, Veterinary Science, and BS-MS 4+1. In addition, there are approximately 45 graduate students enrolled in the department’s MS and PhD programs.

New construction on the Center for Protein Innovation (meat processing facility) and the Broiler Innovation, Research and Demonstration (BIRD) facility should be completed next year and will support the department’s land grant effort in these areas. Faculty are also active in five recently developed centers:

• UTIA Genomics Center for the Advancement of Agriculture (https://utiagenomics.tennessee.edu/)
• Precision Livestock Farming (https://plf.tennessee.edu/)
• University of Tennessee One Health Initiative (https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/)
• Center for Dairy Advancement and Sustainability (https://utdairy.tennessee.edu/)
• UT Beef and Forage Center (https://utbeef.tennessee.edu/)

Research, teaching, and Extension programs in the department serve the areas of animal health and well-being, nutrition, physiology, genomics, reproduction, immunology, environment, and precision livestock farming technology. In addition to applied animal production work, multidisciplinary and multifunctional dual biomedical and agricultural purpose (animal and human health) programs are conducted with an emphasis on infectious disease, obesity, metabolic complications, and regenerative medicine.

Extensive field and animal resources are available at ten UT AgResearch Research and Education Centers across Tennessee and the Veterinary Research and Education Center. Departmental Extension personnel lead adult and youth programs in beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, horses, poultry, sheep, swine, and environmental management.

Opportunities abound to continue to form new collaborative and interdisciplinary activities with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, commodity and industrial partners, other university units and regional industries. Additional information about the department is available at https://animalscience.tennessee.edu/, and more information on the Knoxville area can be found at https://www.utk.edu/about/knoxville.

Responsibilities

The Department Head will serve as the chief executive officer of the department and will be responsible for providing dynamic, visionary leadership in the following key areas:

• Strategic Leadership: Recognize the importance of all three facets of the land grant mission as well as 4H and youth livestock programs. Provide direction for the department’s teaching, research, and Extension missions, ensuring alignment with institute and university goals.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with faculty, staff, students, administration, alumni, industry partners, advisory groups, and external constituencies to establish priorities and guide departmental growth.
• Faculty and Staff Development: Recruit, support, and evaluate a diverse team of faculty and staff; lead efforts in performance management, retention, and professional development. Implement and oversee a structured faculty mentoring program for tenure-track faculty, ensuring long-term support for successful advancement.
• Student Success: Oversee student recruitment, advising, and support efforts to enhance enrollment, retention, and student achievement within the department’s disciplines.
• Academic Program Quality: Ensure the health, accreditation, and continuous improvement of academic programs, maintaining high standards for teaching and learning outcomes.
• Resource Management: Effectively manage departmental budgets, human resources, and facilities; identify and cultivate external funding and sponsored opportunities to support program growth.
• Visibility and Advocacy: Enhance the visibility of departmental programs through the promotion of faculty achievements and advocacy efforts at the institute, university, state, and national levels.
• Faculty Mentorship: Implement and oversee a structured faculty mentoring program for tenure-track faculty, ensuring long-term support for successful advancement.

Requirements

• Qualify for the rank of Professor in the Department of Animal Science with an earned PhD in Animal, Dairy or Poultry Science or a closely related field and a distinguished record of scholarly achievement.
• Provide visionary leadership for Extension, research, and teaching programs.
• Demonstrated experience working within a land-grant university system, with an understanding and interest in the Land Grant philosophy.
• Skills in effective management of personnel and a desire to encourage productive teamwork.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and decision-making skills.
• Strong commitment to development of faculty, staff, and students and a proven ability to foster collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
• Demonstrated administrative and leadership experience, including supervision of personnel, fiscal management, and strategic planning.
• Ability to articulate strategic vision and long-term goals for the Department.
• Experience in and a willingness to engage in assessing priorities, strategic planning and implementation, and adaptability to change in a multidisciplinary environment.

Benefits

The University of Tennessee offers a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, including health and dental insurance, life insurance and multiple retirement plans. Additional information can be found at https://tennessee.edu/about/divisions/finance-admin/hr/payroll-benefits-retirement/.

Compensation is competitive and will be based on experience and qualifications.