Director Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (Assistant, Associate, Professor)

DIR & AST/ASO/PROF

About the Role

The Whitney community seeks an innovative leader who has strategic and executive strengths to forge bold scientific directions, and to expand a culture that values and promotes diversity. The leader sought will bring passion to advance our mission to train, mentor, and empower the next generation of scientists. This role will fill a tenured/tenure-track position at the Assistant, Associate, or full Professor level.

The Director will be responsible for:

• Providing leadership for the Laboratory including, but not limited to, promoting faculty development, securing support for research and educational infrastructure through grant acquisition, participation in university initiatives, and private support through community relations.
• The Director manages the Whitney Sea Turtle Hospital and the Whitney Education Department and provides oversight of the day-to-day administration of the Whitney Campus.
• The Director plays a key role in maintaining a professional and positive culture and works closely with Whitney’s administrative team on budget and fiscal management, site operations, and advancement and connects with main campus entities to strengthen relationships and to comply with University regulations.

About the Whitney Laboratory

The Whitney Laboratory was founded in 1974 and is located 30 minutes south of beautiful historic St. Augustine, nested between the Atlantic coast and the intercoastal waterway. Whitney research faculty are known for state-of-the-art research programs using marine organisms to address fundamental questions from evolution, physiology, biomechanics, neuroscience, genetics, developmental biology and regeneration to issues of coastal water quality, shoreline resiliency, aquaculture, environmental restoration to natural products drug discovery. All faculty and students are members of main campus programs (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, College of Medicine, Soil and Water Science, and Forestry and Fisheries) as Whitney is not currently a degree-granting institute.

On seven acres, the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is home to a research village that can house 24 visiting scientists and students, a two-story education and outreach Center for Marine Studies with a 280-seat auditorium, atrium, K-12 classrooms, and lecture halls, as well as a sea turtle hospital and conservation center. Construction of a new $39 million, 38,000 square foot marine research institute building has begun on site that will house 12 tenure-track faculty, the Sea Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Hospital, and the new Center for Optical Imaging and Discovery. The building is due for completion in the winter of 2024, the Whitney Laboratory’s 50th Anniversary.

About the University of Florida

The University of Florida is a public institution and member of the Association of American Universities enrolling 55,000 students, including more than 36,000 residential undergraduates. UF is among the nation’s most academically diverse universities, with 16 colleges offering 100 undergraduate degree programs, 200 graduate programs, and various professional degrees. The University of Florida is ranked the #1 Public University by the Wall Street Journal and 6th in the most recent ranking of Public National Universities by U.S. News and World Report. The University has just concluded its $4.6 billion Go Greater campaign, with the Whitney Laboratory exceeding its campaign goal, raising $19.6 million towards Whitney’s mission.

Commensurate With Experience

Candidates must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, relevant experience consistent with academic policy for faculty rank, and demonstrated successful research administrative experience is required to warrant appointment at the level of Director.

The anticipated start date is July 2024. 

To ensure full consideration, all application documents must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) January 21, 2024. Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the committee and/or hiring authority.

To be considered for this position you should submit the following:

• A Cover Vetter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Vision Statement (up to 3 pages)
• Contact Information for Three (3) References

For additional position information or to submit nominations or express interest, contact UFHR’s Strategic Talent Group, [email protected] or 352-273-2841.

The final candidate will be required to provide official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/