Assistant Professor in Plant Systematics and Curator of the Herbarium at the Burke Museum
Position Overview
Organization: Biology
Title: Assistant Professor in Plant Systematics and Curator of the Herbarium at the Burke Museum
Position Details
Position Description
The University of Washington (UW) Department of Biology is seeking a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor in Plant Systematics to also serve as Curator of the Herbarium at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
Positive factors for consideration include experience with collections-based research, broadly defined as managing collections, curation, working with museum specimens, and/or contributing to educational and outreach in a museum setting. Additional positive factors include experiences and familiarity with collections digitization, mentoring collections-based undergraduate research, involvement with citizen science projects, and public outreach.
The successful candidate will be expected to advocate for the collections.
The successful candidate will be expected to pursue external funding to support collections maintenance, and access and expansion.
The successful candidate will be expected to build community around the Herbarium with audiences ranging from undergraduate students to professional botanists and amateur enthusiasts.
The UW Department of Biology is a large collaborative and integrative department, spanning research areas from molecules to ecosystems. The Department provides a supportive research environment, and we particularly aim to foster a sense of belonging among all of our members at all levels. We seek a new faculty colleague who will actively contribute to and enhance our eclectic community, and who will be committed to supporting the success of trainees at any career level from a broad range of diverse backgrounds.
UW faculty members engage in scholarship, teaching, and service. This is a full time, tenure track, 9-month position and the anticipated starting date is September 16, 2023.
Qualifications
Applicants must have earned a doctorate, or foreign equivalent, in the biological sciences or a related field by the date of appointment.
Must have expertise in the diversity, systematics, phylogenomics, and evolution of plants, broadly defined. This includes studies of the patterns and underlying processes giving rise to plant diversity over time and across space, and broadscale comparative studies that develop or use new methods or analytical tools to understand the evolution of plant form and function, and/or intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect plant diversification.
Instructions
1) Four brief statements (< 200 words) summarizing: (a) your past research accomplishments, (b) your future research goals, (c) your perspective on mentorship, diversity, equity, and inclusion and (d) your experience with curation and collections-based research. You will have the opportunity to expand on your ideas in these short statements more fully in the full application (see below).
2) The names and email addresses of three references who will provide letters of recommendation upon request.
3) Web links to your three most significant publications. Manuscripts that are publicly available on preprint servers (such as bioRxiv or arXiv) are acceptable.
4) A list of up to 10 keywords that describe your research.
5) A merged PDF with:
- Cover letter describing why you are interested in joining the UW Department of Biology
- Curriculum Vitae, including your full publication list
- Research statement covering both past research accomplishments and future research goals (up to 3 pages)
- Teaching statement describing your teaching philosophy and specific plans for contributing to the educational mission of the UW Biology Department (1 page)
- Diversity statement discussing your perspective on barriers you have observed or overcome in your career and how those experiences have shaped your approaches to research, teaching, and mentoring. This is also an opportunity to briefly highlight important diversity, equity, and inclusion work you have done in the past, and how you will promote inclusion in your research and classroom environments at UW (1 page)
- Curation statement describing your experience with curation and collections-based research. This is an opportunity to highlight your vision for collection building, community building with museum audiences, and integration of collections with research, teaching, and outreach (1 page)
Questions about the search should be sent to: Professor and Curator Adam Leaché, leache@uw.edu. We will begin reviewing applications October 7, 2022.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
Benefits Information
A summary of benefits associated with this title/rank can be found at https://hr.uw.edu/benefits/benefits-orientation/benefit-summary-pdfs/. Appointees solely employed and paid directly by a non-UW entity are not UW employees and are not eligible for UW or Washington State employee benefits.
Commitment to Diversity
The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).
Privacy Notice
Review the University of Washington Privacy Notice for Demographic Data of Job Applicants and University Personnel to learn how your demographic data are protected, when the data may be used, and your rights.
Disability Services
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.