Position Summary
The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University invites applications for a full-time, 9-month tenure-track Assistant Professor with a 50% research, 23% teaching, 20% outreach, and 7% leadership/service assignment. The position start date is anticipated to be 8/16/2024.
The selected candidate will join the leadership of the Quantitative Fisheries Center (QFC; canr.msu.edu/qfc) and along with other QFC faculty, staff, and students help advance the center’s mission of providing research, consulting/outreach, and education services to fishery and other resource management agencies with a focus on the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. The incumbent will be expected to develop an internationally recognized program of research, instruction, and outreach consistent with both the QFC Strategic Plan and Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) Joint Strategic Plan. Similarly, the candidate will successfully compete for extramural research funds, participate in classroom and online education, and lead outreach and consultation services focused on agency partners throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes.
The area of research emphasis will be decision science and/or risk analysis. The incumbent will be expected to make broad scholarly advancements in the decision science/risk analysis fields with specific focus on applied fishery management pertaining to fishery targeted, invasive, and/or threatened fish/wildlife populations, and other environmental challenges that federal, state, provincial, and tribal resource agencies confront. Structured decision-making has been and is anticipated to continue as an area of emphasis and growth in the Great Lakes region because of the scale of the systems and problems, diversity of stakeholders, and degree of uncertainty associated with management challenges. Structured decision-making projects in the Great Lakes, such as invasive carp control and developing harvest policies for Lake Erie percid fisheries, have included quantitative modeling to evaluate consequences and tradeoffs of potential management actions, so candidates should have strong modeling/simulation skills.
Research should be targeted towards providing results with clear, tangible benefits to resource management agencies. The initial teaching assignment will comprise one graduate-level course focused on decision science/structured decision making every other year and one undergraduate course (possibly co-taught) every year consistent with the incumbent’s expertise and teaching needs of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Development and delivery of in-person or online workshops and short courses to agency partners is also expected. The selected candidate will advise both graduate students and post-doctoral research associates. Extension/outreach activities will be targeted towards working professionals (e.g., biologists and managers) of resource agencies in the Great Lakes basin and will involve leading or assisting with quantitative analyses, meeting facilitation, and leading a range of decision-science/risk-analysis projects. Leadership/service duties will include: service to the department, university and fisheries science profession, such as serving on university and agency boards and committees; conducting peer-reviews for scientific journals; participating on editorial boards; and serving on various review panels. Service on committees, boards, and/or task forces coordinated through the GLFC will also occur. In addition, leadership/service will involve active participation in QFC leadership and coordination of synthesis activities with faculty affiliated with a sister-institution (Center for Ecosystem Management) at the University of Guelph.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.
Required Degree
Doctorate
Minimum Requirements
An earned Ph.D. with specialization or experience with structured decision-making, decision analysis, risk analysis, or adaptive management. Quantitative expertise in developing simulation tools for decision analysis. Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a team. Highly organized with attention to detail, good communication (both oral and written) skills, and meeting facilitation experience. Demonstrated ability to successfully collaborate with resource management agency personnel to confront applied resource management challenges.
Desired Qualifications
Background in fisheries science or related field (e.g., wildlife science, ecology, biology, conservation biology) and 2+ years of post-doctoral research experience that included management agency collaborations. Demonstrated ability to lead structured decision-making or management strategy evaluation exercises on applied resource management questions. Strong publication record on decision science or quantitative science topics in high-quality journals. Expertise and experience in contemporary statistical modeling (e.g., Bayesian inference, state-space modeling, hierarchical modeling). Successful grant writing experience. Experience teaching courses or workshops related to structured decision-making, decision analysis, or risk analysis. Experience advising or mentoring graduate or undergraduate students on research projects. Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and evidence of success in achieving DEI goals.
Required Application Materials
Upload the following required documents: a) letter of interest that includes qualifications for the position and statement regarding quantitative resource and decision analysis interests highlighting how your experiences align with the position; b) current curriculum vitae; c) statement of your philosophy, experience, and interests in working on management-related questions with Great Lakes resource management agencies (2-page maximum); c) statement on teaching, highlighting your philosophy, approach, interests and experience (2-page maximum); d) a description of how you will contribute to FW diversity, equity and inclusion goals (2-page maximum); e) copies of official college transcripts; and f) contact information for at least three professional references. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Special Instructions
Questions regarding this position can be addressed to the Search Committee Chair: Dr. Travis Brenden, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA, brenden@msu.edu, 517-355-0003.
Review of Applications Begins On
11/01/2023
Website
https://www.canr.msu.edu/fw/
Department Statement
The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife is a vibrant community of scholars comprising >40 core faculty (tenure stream and fixed-term faculty, and academic specialists), >30 research associates, >80 graduate and 240 undergraduate students. Our Mission is to build local, national, and international capacities to conserve ecosystems that support fish, wildlife, and society through integrated programs in research, education, and engagement. We are committed to the integrative nature of natural resources conservation and management, with our expertise ranging from disciplinary areas with a long-standing history in the domain of fisheries and wildlife to those emerging more recently. The Quantitative Fisheries Center was established in 2005 to provide a research, outreach/service, and teaching program that contributes to greater capacity within fishery management agencies in quantitative me