Assistant Professor Of Rangeland Ecology

Rangeland comprises 65% of Montana's land area and provides many of the ecosystem services that make Montana a special place-clean air, clean water, scenic beauty, open space, and abundant wildlife. These diverse landscapes include northern mixed-grass prairie, sagebrush steppe, foothill grasslands, woodlands, and mountain meadows.

Rangelands also are critically important to Montana's economy and culture. Agriculture is the largest segment of the Montana economy, and range livestock agriculture is the dominant land use in the state, occurring in every county and reservation. Montana is home to more livestock than people, and almost all of these livestock are raised in rangeland-based ranching systems.

Duties and Responsibilities

The position is 45% academic teaching, 45% research/scholarship, and 10% service. The successful applicant will be required to develop and implement nationally recognized teaching and research programs in rangeland ecology and management with emphases in riparian systems, prescribed and/or wildland fire, and/or grazing management.The successful candidates research program should be relevant to the state of Montana and complement and expand existing research, teaching, and outreach efforts at MSU.The successful candidate will have on-campus teaching responsibilities that will include undergraduate courses in topics such as Fire Ecology & Management, Riparian Ecology and Management, Wildlife & Livestock Habitat Restoration, and/or Grazing Ecology and Management.As a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at Montana State University, the successful candidate will be expected to participate in Departmental activities, publish in reputable peer-reviewed journals, secure extramural funding, mentor graduate students, contribute to teaching and learning efforts (on- and off-campus), and provide appropriate departmental, college, university, and professional service.The successful candidate will work collaboratively with faculty within the Animal and Range Sciences Department as well as researchers and Extension faculty across Montana and throughout the region.The successful candidate will comply with all departmental, college, university, state, and federal reporting requirements and assure compliance with civil rights and affirmative action policies.

Required Qualifications

• Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

Ph.D. degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management OR related discipline (must be earned at the time of hire).
Record of research and publication in Natural Resources or Rangeland Ecology and Management.
A demonstrated record of, or high potential for securing extramural and competitive funding.
A demonstrated record of, or high potential for effective teaching at the college or university level.
Ability to effectively mentor a diverse student body, including women and minorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills

A record of research and publication in either riparian ecology, fire ecology, or grazing ecology.
Demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate and participate in interdisciplinary research.
A demonstrated record of, or high potential to work effectively with local, state, and/or federal natural resources and rangeland stakeholders (e.g., livestock producers, state and federal natural resource agencies, non-government organizations).
Ability to effectively write and communicate research to non-scientific audiences.

The Successful Candidate Will

Have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong interpersonal skills.
Ability to successfully contribute to teaching, scholarship, and service.

MSU, the College of Agriculture, and the Department of Animal and Range Sciences value individuals who are passionate, pursue excellence, and exhibit passion for helping others.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information

In accordance with MSU policy, hiring will be conditional upon successful completion of a pre-employment background check.

This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University's rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Physical Demands

Must be able to work outdoors in inclement weather conditions.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation. The requirements listed in this description are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

The Program

The Department
Presently, there are 16 animal science faculty and 8 range science faculty in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences. This position will be a key contributor to the Department's Natural Resources and Rangeland Ecology (NRRE) program (i.e., Range Science), as well as to its Animal Science program. The Department's undergraduate degree program in NRRE is accredited by the Society for Range Management and includes two options, Rangeland Ecology and Management, and Wildlife Habitat Ecology and Management. The NRRE degree emphasizes the interactions among animals, vegetation, soils, and water and their influences on the ecology and management of livestock and wildlife. Range Science faculty focus teaching and research programs on rangeland and riparian ecology, livestock grazing management, invasive plants, forages, wildlife habitat ecology and management, and livestock grazing interactions with fish and wildlife. As one of six academic departments within the College of Agriculture, the Animal and Range Sciences Department presently has 420 undergraduate and 30 graduate students. Extension specialists in the Department focus their off-campus educational efforts on beef cattle, sheep and wool, forages, pesticide safety, wildlife, and rangeland management.The Animal and Range Sciences Department is located in the Animal Bioscience Building which contains state-of-the-art teaching and laboratory facilities. Land and livestock for research are available at our Department's 474-acre Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm located adjacent to campus, our 640-acre Fort Ellis Research Farm located 5 miles from campus, and our 13,750-acre Red Bluff Research Ranch located 35 miles from campus. Collaborative research opportunities also exist at seven off-campus MSU research centers located across the state and the 55,000-acre USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock & Range Research Laboratory at Miles City, MT. More information about the Department can be found at http://animalrange.montana.edu. To find out more about Montana State University, MSU Extension, and the College of Agriculture, please access www.montana.edu, www.msuextension.org, and http://ag.montana.edu.

The College
Founded in 1893 as a Land Grant University, Montana State University (MSU) is composed of eight academic colleges and a graduate school and boasts a friendly, supportive faculty and campus environment. Currently, the University hosts an enrollment of nearly 17,000 students, including approximately 2,000 graduate students. MSU is classified as one of 130 U.S. Research Universities (very high research activity) by the Carnegie Foundation.
MSU is located in Bozeman, Montana, an extended community of about 70,000 nestled in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Montana. In addition to providing access to an extraordinary ecosystem for teaching and research programs, Bozeman is renowned for year-round recreational and cultural opportunities to include access to world class ski areas, multiple blue ribbon trout streams and the Gallatin National Forest. The local airport is served by seven national airlines that provide non-stop service to 17 cities throughout the nation.Named an All American City, Bozeman boasts high-quality medical facilities, a very low crime rate, many fine restaurants, acclaimed public and private schools, a symphony orchestra and choir, an annual opera, and nationally known events such as the Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts held in early August of each year. Powder Magazine identified Bozeman, with "three distinctly different" major ski resorts within an hour's drive, as the number one place to live and ski in its November 2010 Magazine. Bizjournals.com ranked Bozeman #2 on the list of American Dream towns - small towns that offer the best quality of life without metropolitan hassles. The K-12 educational system, growing reputation of Montana State University, and pristine natural environment of the area combine to make Bozeman one of America's most desirable university towns. Bozeman is located in the beautiful Gallatin Valley, 90 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.