Assistant or Associate Professor of Horticulture

Title: Assistant or Associate Professor of Horticulture

Position Type: Fulltime Faculty

Search Type: External - minimum 7 days

Department: 21R000 - Science, Tech, Engineering & Math

Division: 2R0000 - Academic Affairs

Position Location: Richmond Campus

Driver Classification: Driver

FLSA: Exempt

Schedule Type:  Full Time (37.5 hrs per week or more)

Hours Per Week: 37.5

Additional Schedule Details:

Posted Salary Grade:

Retirement:   KTRS 

Contact Person: Carla Hagan

About the College/Department:

Eastern Kentucky University is a regional, coeducational, public institution of higher education offering general and liberal arts programs, pre-professional and professional training in education and various other fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, EKU has a distinguished record of more than a century of educational service to the Commonwealth. Eastern Kentucky University is committed to access, equal opportunity, dignity, respect, and inclusion for all people, as integral to a learning environment.
Situated near the heart of the Bluegrass, Richmond is served by a network of major highways that make EKU easily accessible from all parts of Kentucky and surrounding states. Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Interstate Highways I-75 (north-south) and I-64 (east-west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile. Richmond is also served by U.S. Route 25 from Southeastern Kentucky and Kentucky Route 52 from the east and west. The Bluegrass, Mountain, Daniel Boone, and Cumberland Parkways provide even greater accessibility by automobile since the city is located near the convergence of these arterial highways into the interstate system.
EKU is dedicated to high-quality instruction, scholarship, and service, and places emphasis on the three in that order. Through its colleges and schools, the University seeks to offer quality instruction at a variety of degree levels in general education, the arts, the sciences, business, education, pre-professional, and professional areas, and applied and technical disciplines. Through consultative services, continuing education, and the extended campus, the University seeks to provide service to the community and the region. Research seeks both to advance knowledge in the subject matter areas with which the University is concerned and to support the primary function of teaching.
The College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Eastern Kentucky University offers a broad range of degree programs in STEM areas that meet the needs of our students and prepare them for their chosen career or advanced studies.
Our outstanding faculty are committed to student success through excellent instruction, accessibility to students, and other high impact practices such as undergraduate research and hands-on instruction.
Our state-of-the-art Science Building provides laboratory and instructional spaces that are well-suited for engaged and transformative learning and cutting-edge research. Meadowbrook Farm provides students a unique experience to work with livestock and crop enterprises. It also serves as a learning resource for the agriculture community. Our natural areas at Lilley Cornett Woods, Maywoods, and Taylor Fork Ecological Area provide unparalleled outdoor facilities for environmental research and education. EKU’s flight training operations at the Central Kentucky Regional Airport enables us to train the best and safest professional pilots, and the most forward-thinking managers coming out of academia today.
The School of Engineering, Aviation, Construction, and Technology is a rapidly growing group within Eastern Kentucky University's portfolio of degree programs. We highly value excellence in teaching, and are a Boyer Model school.

 

Job Summary/Basic Functions

The Department of Agriculture at Eastern Kentucky University is seeking a talented, energetic, and flexible Assistant or Associate Professor who can teach a wide array of applied courses in Horticulture. This is a 9-month tenure track position, teaching 12 credit hours per semester, establishing an active research program, and contributing to service activities. Intended start date is August 2024.
The Department seeks to provide students experience solving real world problems. The eastern Kentucky region offers a rich training ground in a variety of horticulture-related experiences including agri-tech, community supported agriculture (CSAs), and farmer’s markets. While much of eastern Kentucky is rural, large population centers are within a couple of hours drive expanding the markets of locally grown horticulture products and providing opportunities to work with gardens, restaurants, and high maintenance landscapes. Class work has involved solving real-world problems that affect growers and populations in the Appalachian and foothills regions such as controlled environment production, encouraging fresh food diets, and development of horticulture products or niches for family farms. In addition, Horticulture faculty are currently actively involved in a Netherlands-Kentucky collaboration that offers unique learning opportunities to faculty and students.
This position requires a broad-based educational and experiential background. The successful candidate is expected to teach courses related to general and specialty areas of horticulture. The selected candidate will play an active role in the University and dedicate time to student activities outside the classroom such as providing student-industry networking opportunities through travel, competitions, and Horticulture Club activities. Scholarship in their field of study or in teaching is required for tenure and promotion.
The selected candidate will serve on departmental, college, and university committees and will be expected to recruit students into the program. The individual is expected to demonstrate effective communication and interpersonal skills with undergraduate students and the university community, and to maintain contacts with trade and community groups.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A terminal degree in Horticulture, Landscape, or related field by the start of employment is required from a regionally (SACS, Middle States, North Central, etc.) accredited or internationally recognized institution.

Experience:

Licensure & Certifications:

Preferred Qualifications:

The successful candidate must have demonstrated effectiveness in written and oral communication.
Preferred: The candidate should have a strong affinity for teaching, and enjoy working with undergraduate students and collaborating with industry and faculty and staff from other disciplines.

Job Duties:

 

Sponsorship: This position may be considered for visa sponsorship.

Funding Source: Institutional

Open Until Filled: Yes

Special Instructions:

 

AA/EEO Statement

Eastern Kentucky University is an Equal Opportunity employer and educational institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age (40 and over), race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, ethnicity, disability, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information in the admission to, or participation in, any educational program or activity (e.g., athletics, academics and housing) which it conducts or any employment policy or practice.

 

Background Check Statement

Offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory background check.