Assistant/Associate Professor: Human Wildlife Interactions, Social Science

Oregon State University, United States

Updated: about 2 months ago
Location: Corvallis, OREGON
Deadline: 03 Mar 2024

Position Details
Position Information


Department Fisheries and Wildlife (AFW)
Position Title Assistant/Associate Professor
Job Title Assistant/Associate Professor: Human Wildlife Interactions, Social Science
Appointment Type Academic Faculty
Job Location Corvallis
Benefits Eligible Full-Time, benefits eligible
Remote or Hybrid option?
Job Summary
The Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (FWCS) invites applications for a full-time 1.00 FTE, 12-month, tenure track/tenured Assistant or Associate Professor position.
This position is funded at 0.75 FTE and the faculty member is expected to fund the other 0.25 FTE from grants and contracts. For the first three years, full funding will be provided by the college at 1.0 FTE.

Any hiring at the rank of Associate Professor with indefinite tenure will be subject to a successful out-of-cycle tenure review process: https://facultyaffairs.oregonstate.edu/out-cycle-tenure-review-procedure .
The Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (FWCS) in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University seeks applications for a full-time tenure-track/tenure Assistant or Associate Professor in Human Wildlife Interactions (HWI), Social Science. For over 85 years, FWCS has been teaching students to think critically about the problems our planet and ecosystems are facing while we conduct impactful research related to wild animals, their habitats, and human-ecological systems. We actively promote science-based conservation solutions and sustainable management practices, engaging with federal and state agencies, landowners, fisheries, Tribes, and many other partners. Our work increasingly integrates biological, physical, and social sciences, and we share our studies of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems widely. The incumbent will complement and enhance our reputation for excellence in undergraduate and graduate instruction and engaged research.
This position will be focused on terrestrial ecosystems and contribute to the College of Agriculture’s Working and Natural Landscapes theme. Specifically, this position is designed to develop and lead an integrated program of research and teaching on the social-ecological understanding of human wildlife interactions in agricultural ecosystems with primary emphasis in Oregon where landowners include Tribes, private ranches and farms, among others. Engaged research comprises 40% of the job description, and must include a focus on human-wolf interactions, but may also focus on HWI across many species in the agricultural landscape. Candidates with experience in participatory or applied research with private landowners are especially welcome. A foundational part of this position’s engaged research is to work with Oregonians to understand and manage risks and opportunities at the human-wildlife interface. Teaching requirements (30%) include a new undergraduate course in fisheries and wildlife policy, an additional human dimensions course (e.g., FW 340: Multicultural Perspectives in Natural Resources or FW 289: Communication Skills in Fisheries and Wildlife) and one graduate course specific to the candidate’s expertise every other year. While this is not a formal Extension position, the incumbent is expected to spend significant time (20%) in outreach and public engagement activities across the state and region.
OSU has a breadth of environmental social science expertise. FWCS currently has two social science faculty members (Associate Professor, FWCS, and Assistant Professor, USGS Co-op unit) and one Human Dimensions instructor for online human dimensions courses. The candidate will have opportunities to collaborate with environmental social science colleagues within the college and across the university, some of whom are represented here. Their students will also be able to participate in the People and Nature graduate seminar that facilitates cross-departmental networking and dialogue.
We seek a colleague who has a demonstrable commitment to working and promoting inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds in research, education, and outreach. OSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and especially encourages applications from members of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ+ community members, and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of inclusive excellence. OSU is committed to creating and maintaining compassionate and inclusive learning and working environments for all learners, visitors, and employees. Faculty members in the College of Agriculture design, develop, maintain, or carry out Extension programs that serve diverse populations, including those that have been historically marginalized.
For more information on our commitment to inclusive excellence, see https://extension.oregonstate.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion and https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/president/moving-forward-together .
FWCS is an academic unit that reports to the College of Agricultural Sciences. The Department is composed of approximately 300 staff, including academic faculty, research assistants, classified staff, graduate students, and temporary staff. Over $8 million of externally funded grants and contracts are received each year in support of science focused on basic ecological research, conservation, and sustainable use of fish and wildlife and their habitats. The Department is the largest in the College of Agricultural Sciences, with over 40 professors and 1200 students in 8 degree and certificate programs, including one Bachelor of Science degree, five graduate degrees, and two graduate certificates. We are a vibrant department that promotes a supportive atmosphere for all students and employees.
College of Agricultural Sciences faculty are committed to enhancing student success by engaging students in quality academics, research, internships, global studies, and other experiential learning opportunities. Positions with primary responsibility for extension and outreach are likewise committed to learner success through programming appropriate for diverse audiences. There is an expectation that, as part of their role in the college, the incumbent will embody and advance the principles and practices conveyed in the CAS CARE Commitment document.
Oregon State University’s commitment to student success includes hiring, retaining, and developing diverse faculty to mentor and educate our undergraduate and graduate students from entry through graduation. Our Strategic Plan articulates the strategies we believe are critical to advancing and equalizing learner success. The College of Agricultural Sciences is likewise committed to the success of all learners accessed through its extension and outreach programs.
This position carries the general and specific responsibilities of a faculty member described in the Faculty Handbook and the promotion and tenure guidelines of Oregon State University. These include effective research and teaching programs, demonstrable scholarship and creative activity, outreach and public engagement, service contributions, and active professional development.
We are actively recruiting for several faculty positions and we want you on our team! View additional FWCS opportunities here: https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/jobs-in-fwcs
Why OSU?
Working for Oregon State University is so much more than a job!
Oregon State University is a dynamic community of dreamers, doers, problem-solvers and change-makers. We don’t wait for challenges to present themselves — we seek them out and take them on. We welcome students, faculty and staff from every background and perspective into a community where everyone feels seen and heard. We have deep-rooted mindfulness for the natural world and all who depend on it, and together, we apply knowledge, tools and skills to build a better future for all.
FACTS:
• Top 1.4% university in the world
• More research funding than all public universities in Oregon combined
• 1 of 3 land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the U.S.
• 2 campuses, 11 colleges, 12 experiment stations, and Extension programs in all 36 counties
• 7 cultural resource centers that offer education, celebration and belonging for everyone
• 100+ undergraduate degree programs, 80+ graduate degrees plus hundreds of minor options and certificates
• 35k+ students including more than 2.3k international students and 10k students of color
• 217k+ alumni worldwide
• For more interesting facts about OSU visit: https://oregonstate.edu/about
Locations:
Oregon State has a statewide presence with campuses in Corvallis and Bend, the OSU Portland Center and the Hatfield Marine Science Center on the Pacific Coast in Newport.
Oregon State’s beautiful, historic and state-of-the-art main campus is located in one of America’s best college towns. Corvallis is located close to the Pacific Ocean, the Cascade mountains and Oregon wine country. Nestled in the heart of the Willamette Valley, this beautiful city offers miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, a river perfect for boating or kayaking and an eclectic downtown featuring local cuisine, popular events and performances.
Total Rewards Package:

Oregon State University offers a comprehensive benefits package with benefits eligible positions that is designed to meet the needs of employees and their families including:
• Medical, Dental, Vision and Basic Life. OSU pays 95% of premiums for you and your eligible dependents.
• Free confidential mental health and emotional support services, and counseling resources.
• Retirement savings paid by the university.
• A generous paid leave package, including holidays, vacation and sick leave.
• Tuition reduction benefits for you or your qualifying dependents at OSU or the additional six Oregon Public Universities.
• Robust Work Life programs including Dual Career assistance resources, flexible work arrangements, a Family Resource Center, Affinity Groups and an Employee Assistance Program.
Future and current OSU employees can use the Benefits Calculator to learn more about the full value of the benefits provided at OSU.
Key Responsibilities
40% Research and Scholarship
  • Maintain an externally funded research program that includes engaged scholarship in human-wildlife interactions and management in working landscapes and human-wolf interactions in Oregon as a component. Research must adhere to OSU’s requirements for research integrity, compliance, and safety.
  • Advise and Mentor graduate research assistants and/or undergraduate researchers who contribute to the research programs accomplishments; Serve as major professor for graduate and undergraduate researchers.
  • Broaden participation in the natural resource professions, including practices to recruit, retain, advise, mentor, and foster professional success among students from historically excluded or underserved communities.
  • Synthesize and communicate original research results to the scientific, management, and private landowner communities through appropriate outlets, including refereed journals and scientific and professional meetings.
  • Serve as an investigator on a USDA-NIFA Hatch collaborative or Hatch multistate project.


30% Teaching and Advising
  • Develop newly required fisheries and wildlife undergraduate course.
  • Teach two (2) undergraduate courses per year. One in fisheries and wildlife policy and another existing course (e.g., FW 340: Multicultural Perspectives in Natural Resources or FW 289: Communication Skills in Natural Resource Management).
  • Teach one (1) graduate level seminar or field course specific to candidate’s expertise every other year.
  • Oversee instructors for one (1) online course, with multiple sections per year.
  • Advise approximately twenty (20) undergraduates in academic planning.
  • Serve on committees of graduate students for which you are not serving as a major professor.

20% Outreach and Engagement
  • Develop, implement, and validate scholarship through sustained engagement with stakeholders and rights holders.
  • Develop outreach materials that meet community needs (e.g., policy briefs, white papers, extension publications, and blogs).

10% Service
  • Serve on department, college, and university committees as assigned.
  • Participate in professional service activities such as reviewing manuscripts for journals and proposals for national funding agencies, and involvement in professional organizations.
What You Will Need
Minimum Qualifications for all ranks (Assistant Professor/Associate Professor):
  • Ph.D. by date of hire in environmental social sciences, natural resource management, or a related field (e.g., geography, wildlife science, sociology, public policy, anthropology, psychology, applied economics).
  • Demonstrated potential to develop and teach an undergraduate course in fisheries and wildlife policy.
  • Demonstrated, or substantial potential for, interdisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary engaged research in human wildlife interactions.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills across different types of audiences.
  • Evidence of, or substantial potential for, effective interpersonal professional relationships, such as collaboration and/or engagement with a broad spectrum of landowners, agency managers, and community institutions.
  • Experience in, or demonstrable commitment to working professionally and inclusively with people from all backgrounds.
  • Experience publishing in peer reviewed journals


Additional Minimum Qualifications for the Associate Professor rank:
  • Demonstrated experience developing and teaching undergraduate courses related to fisheries and wildlife policy
  • Demonstrated ability to secure external grants for research.
  • Demonstrated experience working with stakeholders, agencies, and/or the public on controversial conservation issues

This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per University Standard: 05-010 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months. When they have the driving Check mark.
This position requires driving a university vehicle or a personal vehicle on behalf of the university; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a motor vehicle history check, possess and maintain a current, valid driver’s license in their state of residence, be determined to be position qualified and self-report convictions as per University Policy 05-030.
What We Would Like You to Have
Research productivity in topics such as wildlife tolerance or coexistence, human behaviors that promote habituation of wild animals, solution-building across groups and/or wildlife interactions policy.
Experience obtaining funding for research from varied sources.
Field experience that includes working with rural communities, ranchers or ranching communities, farmers or farming communities, Tribes or tribal communities, and/or other agricultural managers.
Foundational knowledge of wildlife ecology.
Experience teaching learners of any age.
Demonstrated proficiency in quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Experience building capacity between research institutions and communities. This includes collaborative learning, facilitation, consensus decision-making, and/or conflict resolution.
Experience designing and implementing outreach that is community-centered and culturally responsive.
Record of or commitment to work with underrepresented/underserved students or other audiences.
Life experience, education, or training that broadens capacity to equalize student success or impact underserved audiences.
Working Conditions / Work Schedule
Work will typically take place in an office or lab environment and travel will be required for field research and presentations. Evening and weekend work may be required for travel to research sites, conferences, and/or presentation locations. Work may take place in varying field conditions and environments.
Pay Method Salary
Pay Period 1st through the last day of the month
Pay Date Last working day of the month
Recommended Full-Time Salary Range Salary is commensurate with skills, education and experience
Link to Position Description
https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/position_descriptions/149204

Posting Detail Information


Posting Number P07724UF
Number of Vacancies 1
Anticipated Appointment Begin Date 09/16/2024
Anticipated Appointment End Date
Posting Date 01/30/2024
Full Consideration Date 02/18/2024
Closing Date 03/03/2024
Indicate how you intend to recruit for this search Competitive / External - open to ALL qualified applicants
Special Instructions to Applicants
We are actively recruiting for several faculty positions and we want you on our team! View additional FWCS opportunities here: https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/jobs-in-fwcs
To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by February 18, 2024. Applications will continue to be accepted after the full consideration date, until a sufficient applicant pool has been achieved or the position is filled. The closing date is subject to change without notice to applicants.
When applying you will be required to attach the following electronic documents which should speak to how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position. Specifically, you will need to attach the following items to your application:
1) A Curriculum Vitae: (finalists will be required to give an open presentation which may include the distribution of their redacted curriculum vitae and a short biography); and

2) A cover letter detailing your interest in the position and clearly showing how you meet all of the required qualifications of the position, as well as any applicable preferred qualifications.
3) A Diversity Statement (two pages or less) – Pursuant to the college’s vision for cultivating a diverse and inclusive community, please provide a supplemental statement about how your past and/or potential contributions might serve to advance FWCS’s commitment to teaching and mentoring people from a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. This could include:
  • A statement of values as they relate to your understanding and commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and/or justice in higher education.


  • Examples of experiences that demonstrate your commitment to fostering the success of underrepresented students, staff, and peers, and supporting a diversity of perspectives in the classroom, lab, campus, or community.

  • Future plans for continuing to advance inclusive excellence, diversity, or equity in your research, teaching, and service.

4) A Teaching Statement (two pages or less) – Supplemental summary statement describing your teaching experience, your philosophy of teaching and how this could be applied to a wildlife policy and other human dimensions courses.
5) A Research Statement (two pages or less) – Supplemental summary statement describing your proposed research program and describe how it leverages strengths of the School, College, and University.
You will also be required to submit the names of at least three professional references, their e-mail addresses and telephone numbers as part of the application process.
For additional information please contact:
Kelly Biedenweg
[email protected]
Letters of Reference will be requested on finalists. When applying, you will be asked to provide the email address and telephone number for 3 referees who will be sent a secure quicklink that will allow them to upload the requested letters of reference on your behalf.
OSU commits to inclusive excellence by advancing equity and diversity in all that we do. We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and particularly encourage applications from members of historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ community members, and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community.
OSU will conduct a review of the National Sex Offender Public website prior to hire.
OSU is a fair chance employer committed to inclusive hiring. We encourage applications from candidates who bring a wide range of lived experience including involvement with the justice system. This job has “critical or security-sensitive” responsibilities. If you are selected as a finalist, your initial job offer will be contingent upon the results of a job-related pre-employment check (such as a background check, motor vehicle history check, sexual misconduct reference check, etc.). Background check results do not automatically disqualify a candidate. Take a look at our Background Checks website including the for candidates section for more details. If you have questions or concerns about the pre-employment check, please contact OSU’s Employee and Labor Relations team at [email protected] .

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