The Department of Biology at Texas State University is conducting an external search for an experienced and outstanding senior scholar to serve as Department Chair beginning Summer or Fall 2025. Appointments will be at the Professor rank with tenure. We invite applications from individuals that are excellent leaders, scientists, and communicators to lead a highly engaged and collaborative faculty committed to advancing undergraduate and graduate teaching and increasing externally funded research and innovation in strong support of the university’s goal to advance to R1 status by 2027. The Biology faculty are committed to teaching students to be leaders in a world characterized by the rapid pace of emerging technologies and new scientific discoveries. We do this by immersing our students in an academically rigorous curriculum and applied learning experiences in laboratory research, field study, and design. The Chair will be expected to maintain an active research program. Teaching is not required although the opportunity is available if desired.

The Biology Department is a multidisciplinary department with ~70 faculty members, both on tenure and non-tenure tracks, which serve ~2,000 undergraduate majors, ~6,000 non-majors requiring biology classes, and >115 master’s and doctoral students. The department encompasses several major programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels including Aquatic Biology, Wildlife Biology, Microbiology, Population and Conservation Biology, and Biology Education as well as a diverse range of laboratory and field-based research that includes, but is not limited to, cell physiology, ecological immunology, hydroecology, microbial genetics/genomics, parasitology, and wildlife ecology.

Texas State University is a proud Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI ), with a diverse campus community that includes over 38,000 students with a 40.5% Hispanic and 59.5% minority representation. The student body is composed of 44% first-generation and 36% Pell-eligible students. Texas State encompasses multiple locations across central Texas and employs more than 7,000 faculty, staff, and students. Texas State has made remarkable progress in the growth of research activity and had research expenditures in FY2023 exceeding $140 million, which is comparable to Carnegie R1 institutions.

The college includes the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Computer Science, Engineering Technology, Mathematics, and Physics, and the Ingram School of Engineering. The Agricultural Sciences Department will join the college in fall 2024. The college also houses the Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center, reflective of a long-standing focus on aquatic biology and water resources. In addition to departmental Ph.D. programs, the college offers an interdisciplinary doctoral program in Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization in which all units participate. A hallmark of the college is the high-quality research of our faculty, which is exemplified by eighteen faculty members having received NSF Career awards since the early 2000’s. Our faculty are collaborative and interdisciplinary researchers who have a strong track record of securing external funding. The college boasts the largest student enrollment at the university.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in biological sciences or related field.
• Record of instruction at the undergraduate and graduate level.
• Sustained record of teaching, service, and scholarly achievements consistent with the rank of a tenured full professor.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated record of effective academic leadership that may include examples of professional training; university growth or new programs; innovation in curriculum; development of new facilities, funding, endowments, and partnerships; prior administrative experience; or service in national organizations, societies, or nonprofits.
• Successful record of maintaining a competitively funded research program.
• Consistent record of advising, supervising, and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.
• Experience with shared governance among diverse faculty with varying titles, ranks, and program specialties.
• Administrative, research, and teaching philosophies that align with the department and university.

The Chair will report to the Dean of the College of Science and Engineering and will serve as the department’s academic and administrative leader. The Chair is a member of the college leadership team working collaboratively with the dean, university administration, fellow department chairs and school directors, center directors, faculty members, and staff to support and advance the strategic goals of the University, college and department.

Only applications submitted through the Texas State University website will be accepted and considered: https://jobs.hr.txstate.edu/postings/47204 .

To ensure full consideration, please submit the following by October 1, 2024:
• Cover letter addressing required and preferred qualifications
• Curriculum Vitae
• Leadership statement including experience, philosophy, and interests (3-5 pages)
• Research statement with a focus on active and anticipated projects, as well as philosophy and experience with collaboration and cross-disciplinary activities (3-5 pages)
• Teaching statement describing philosophy, experience, and approach to mentoring faculty (1-2 pages)
• Unofficial transcripts
• Contact information for five individuals willing to serve as references.

https://jobs.hr.txstate.edu/postings/47204