Assistant Professor – Working Landscapes for People and Environment – Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

Assistant Professor – Working Landscapes for People and Environment – Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

Position overview Position title: Assistant Professor
Salary range: The current salary range for this position is $78,200-$123,400 (9-month academic year salary), however, off-scale salary and other components of pay, which would yield compensation that is higher than this range, are offered to meet competitive conditions.

Anticipated start: July 1, 2025

Application Window
Open date: July 21, 2024

Next review date: Friday, Sep 20, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Friday, Sep 20, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date.

Position description

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor nine-month faculty position in the area of Working Landscapes for People and Environment.

Working landscapes that support people, biodiversity, and our environment are critical for addressing the triple challenge of the Anthropocene: sustainably providing resources for a growing human population; mitigating and adapting to climate change; and preventing biodiversity loss. Yet, these landscapes—defined as the mosaic of land that includes croplands, rangelands, and forests alongside other land uses—have often been homogenized and simplified to grow vast areas of crops, forage, or timber. To create multifunctional working landscapes that benefit both people and the environment, we must redesign and rethink the structure of natural and managed plant and animal communities. These biodiversity-based management scenarios, characterized by joint production of diverse products and benefits, can take many forms. Examples include agroforestry systems, diversified farming systems, mixed crop and animal systems, and silvo-pastoralism. Many of these systems originate with and are used by Indigenous and traditional peoples across the world, underscoring the need for research and perspectives that value multiple knowledge systems. Critical to the actualization of these systems are social components, including the active participation of multiple stakeholders at the landscape scale, effective intersectoral coordination and policy integration, understanding market pressures and opportunities, flexible governance systems, mechanisms for social learning, and continuous adaptive management.

We seek applicants whose work draws on any area of working landscape research, such as ecosystem science (e.g. carbon and water dynamics), community ecology, conservation in working landscapes, agricultural or rangeland science, sustainability science, and forestry. We encourage applicants whose research contributes to the design, management, and integrated understanding of multifunctional working landscapes systems through field, remote sensing and/or theoretical approaches from organismal to landscape scales. We also encourage applicants with interest and experience in participatory research with practitioners and communities; translating science into practical solutions via policy and/or partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, or business; and/or skills and experience working in Indigenous farming and forestry contexts or on issues important to Indigenous peoples.

ESPM is a multidisciplinary community of scholars and Cooperative Extension Specialists from the biological, physical, and social sciences and the humanities who conduct research, teaching, and outreach to advance scientific understanding and develop solutions for the world’s pressing environmental problems. Home to a top-ranked Ph.D. program in environmental science, environmental studies, and ecological/evolutionary biology, our undergraduate students have a choice of vibrant majors that span the disciplines in the department. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates for our faculty position will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and service.

We value diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as exemplified by the following principles of community: we accept the intrinsic relationship between diversity and excellence in all our endeavors; and we embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our obligation and goal. ESPM recognizes that integrating DEI with strategies to address critical environmental challenges, including climate change, food security, natural resource access and management, biodiversity, environmental health, land use decision-making, and sustainable, just living conditions is essential for creating impactful solutions.

ESPM is committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths, who have taken time off their career paths for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia.

For information about potential relocation to Berkeley, or career needs of accompanying partners and spouses, please visit: http://ofew.berkeley.edu/new-faculty. 

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. Consistent with this commitment, UC Berkeley requires all applicants for Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload an Authorization of Information Release form into AP Recruit as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, applicants will only be subject to reference checks if and when they are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. More information is available on https://ofew.berkeley.edu/attestation-prior-misconduct

Department: https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/ 

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

• Applicants for this position must hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) or be enrolled in a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) granting program at the time of application.

Preferred qualifications
The ideal candidate will:

• Demonstrate strong process-based research skills and a potential to establish an innovative research agenda, to communicate their work effectively to a broader public, and to work with other researchers from diverse disciplines.

• Demonstrate interest and ability to conduct robust, basic and/or applied empirical studies in the lab and/or in the field.

• Demonstrate strong research productivity, potential for funding, and a commitment to excellence in teaching and research mentoring of undergraduates, graduate students, and post-docs.

• Demonstrate their commitment to working in an inclusive and interdisciplinary environment and their strong desire to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in ways that align with UC Berkeley’s mission to meet the educational needs of California’s diverse population (see: https://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversity/support-faculty-candidates).

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae – Your most recently updated C.V.

• Statement of Research – Statement describing your past, current and proposed research.

• Statement of Teaching and Service – A description of prior teaching experience, teaching philosophy, and future teaching interests, as well as a statement of prior and proposed academic, professional and/or community service experience.

• Statement on Contributions to Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Statement on your contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including information about your understanding of these topics, your record of activities to date, and your specific plans and goals for advancing equity and inclusion if hired at Berkeley (for additional information go to https://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversityhttps://ofew.berkeley.edu/recruitment/contributions-diversity). 

• Publication One – Copy of a publication such as journal articles, book chapters, or other appropriate products.

• Publication Two – Copy of a publication such as journal articles, book chapters, or other appropriate products.

• Publication Three – Copy of a publication such as journal articles, book chapters, or other appropriate products.
(Optional)

• Authorization to Release Information Form – A reference check will be completed only if you are selected as the candidate to whom the hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer. Download, complete, sign, and upload the https://ofew.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/auth_release_info.pdf 

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

References will only be contacted for those candidates under serious consideration.
Apply link: https://apptrkr.com/5463267

Help contact: [email protected] 

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf  and the https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination. 

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the http://apo.berkeley.edu/ucb-confidentiality-policy prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Job location
Berkeley, CA