Assistant Professor of Forest Management
The School of Forest Resources (SFR) at the University of Maine seeks a collaborative colleague to join our faculty as a full time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Forest Management with a 9-month, 50/50% research and teaching appointment. The successful applicant is expected to fully participate in UMaine's undergraduate and graduate education, build a strong research program, and engage with diverse stakeholders. Forests dominate 90% of Maine's landscape and play a critical role in its economy, through forest products, nature-based tourism, and ecosystem services. Maine's forest products economy is in transition, with changes in land ownership and markets and the emergence of new forest products; forest structures and disturbance regimes are also evolving in response to introduced and recurring pests and a novel climate. Forest management that focuses on private lands of diverse, mixed-species forests managed largely with natural regeneration, is essential to sustaining forest productivity for all stakeholders.
The University of Maine is a Land Grant and Sea Grant university. SFR awards Bachelor of Science degrees in Forestry; Sustainable Materials and Technology; and Parks, Recreation & Tourism; as well as Master of Science, Master of Forestry, and Doctoral degrees in Forest Resources. We are a vibrant School that has experienced a doubling in undergraduate forestry major enrollments and added seven new energetic faculty in the last five years. Our graduate programs are among the top programs in the nation offering five specialized concentrations. Detailed information about the programs and faculty is available at www.forest.umaine.edu. The School also manages 13,000 acres of forestland, including the 4,000-acre Penobscot Experimental Forest jointly managed with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station (https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ef/locations/me/penobscot/). In addition, the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (http://www.umaine.edu/cfru/), a forest industry-university cooperative, has a range of research sites throughout the state and competitively awards annual funding for research projects.
The University of Maine is located in Orono, a small college town bounded by the Stillwater and Penobscot Rivers. The campus is just eight miles north of Bangor, one of the largest cities in Maine, and serves as the commercial and medical hub for northern, central and eastern Maine. The Bangor Region is centrally located in the state, providing nearby access to mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Orono is a 4-hour drive from Boston, 5 hours from Quebec City, 90 minutes from Baxter State Park and the Appalachian Trail, and 90 minutes from Bar Harbor, the home of Acadia National Park.
Salary and Benefits: Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. Information about the University of Maine's benefits package can be found at: http://www.maine.edu/about-the-system/system-office/human-resources/
Review of applications to begin February 1st, 2022.
Required:
- A Ph.D. in forest management or closely related field at the time of appointment.
- A background in forest management.
- A record or ability to secure funding for research and publish research in peer reviewed journals.
- An interest and ability to effectively teach an analytical approach to forest management and other core courses in the forestry curriculum.
- Experience fostering a collaborative, inclusive, team-based approach to solving problems.
- The ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders ranging from large commercial forest land managers to consulting foresters working with small woodland owners.
- A commitment to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the discipline and institution
Desirable:
- Research interests centered on forest management to address the ecological and socio-economic challenges facing forests in Maine and beyond such as timber production, natural regeneration, forest health, changing climates, and changing forest product markets.
- A background in quantitative and integrative approaches to forest management, including linear program and growth & yield applications.
- Experience or knowledge in diverse forest management applications ranging from even-aged, planted stands to mixed-species, multi-aged forests.
Responsibilities:
- 50% Research / 50% Teaching
- A 50% teaching appointment involves teaching 9 credits per academic year, and may include:
- An upper-level course in forest management, with lecture and field laboratory, for SAF accredited undergraduate and graduate programs,
- Other core courses in the forestry program, and/or
- A senior level/graduate courses in forest management or related topic.
- Advising undergraduate and graduate students is expected.
- Research expectations include developing an extramurally funded, internationally recognized, forest management research program and collaborating with scientists and educators in forest resources and related disciplines.
- Service and leadership opportunities exist with landowners, foresters, Society of American Foresters, USDA Forest Service, state agencies, and NGOs.