[Ecoed] Ecology position at Missouri Western State University

[Cary Chevalier]

Faculty of the Biology Department at Missouri Western State University hope to recruit a new faculty member to join their ranks in the Fall of 2008.  The formal job description (as published in the Chronicle of Higher Education) is as follows:

Assistant Professor - Biology 
Missouri Western State University invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor of Biology position to begin in fall 2008.   Broad training in organismal biology and demonstrated expertise in field ecology and natural history are required.  A Ph.D. in ecology or a related field is expected by the start of employment.  Prior experience teaching undergraduates is highly desirable. Teaching responsibilities will include majors courses in ecology and organismal biology and may include courses in the candidate's area of expertise or general biology courses for majors or nonmajors. 
The successful candidate must demonstrate strong commitments to undergraduate teaching, mentoring undergraduate student research, and sustained scholarly activity and will be expected to participate in department, university, and community support activities. 
Send letter, c.v., undergraduate and graduate transcripts, one-page statement of teaching philosophy, one-page research plan involving undergraduates, copies of pertinent publications, and three letters of recommendation (at least one of which must address teaching) to Dr. Todd Eckdahl, Chairperson, Biology Department, Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, Saint Joseph, MO 64507. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by November 30, 2007. For inquiries, e-mail Dr. Eckdahl: eckdahl at missouriwestern.edu. 
Missouri Western State University is a regional state university of 5200 students with a state-mandated focus on applied learning in Saint Joseph, Missouri, a historic town of 70,000 located 40 miles north of Kansas City.  Missouri Western State University is an EEO/AA employer.

 	
We would like to provide additional information that might be of interest to potential applicants:

* MWSU has a strong and growing set of programs in organismal biology, especially Wildife Conservation and Management, Zoology, and Botany.  The successful application will be expected to support all our programs, but be especially active in these organismal areas.  Relative to these organismal areas, we currently have faculty with strengths and interests in wildlife ecology, mammalogy, invertebrate zoology, plant systematics/physiology, mammalian physiological ecology, conservation, parasitology, entomology.  Applicants with expertise in plant ecology and/or applied community ecology are especially encouraged to apply, but we are interested in other areas of ecology expertise that would compliment these programs and the strengths of faculty in our department.

* MWSU has other Biology faculty that have expertise in molecular biology, cell biology, animal physiology, genetics, microbiology with whom collaborative opportunities are encouraged.
 
*  MWSU and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) enjoy a unique collaboration that has included the construction of the MDC northwest regional service center on our campus.  MWSU Biology faculty have research space and teaching labs in this building.  Students have regular contact with MDC staff and have been very successful arranging a variety of internship activities with MDC.  We are also participating members of the Reis Biological Field Station Located near Steeleville, MO, in the Ozarks and we use this facility for overnight field excursions and short courses.  In addition, we have a large cargo carrier to move equipment and other supplies for field trips.

*  Our MWSU campus has the largest undeveloped “greenbelt” of any school in the Missouri State system.  Our classes in organismal biology have access to woodland, field and aquatic habitats.  And, our campus has a self-guided nature trail with a state-of-the-art amphitheater for community programs and classes.
   
*  The MWSU Biology Department hosts a very active student chapter of The Wildlife Society.  Our student chapter has been recognized repeatedly by the national society because of its commitment to service and student skills-enhancement.  It has been recognized as the Best Student Chapter in the North Central Section of The Wildlife Society in two of the last three years of eligibility.

*  Students and faculty in the MWSU Biology Department regularly collaborate in applied learning activities.  Students in our department often present the results of their research and internship activities at professional meetings.

*  MWSU will break ground this spring on an addition to the Agenstein Science Math Building.  This construction will provide substantial increases in equipment and teaching and research space for faculty including an expanded greenhouse and an internationally registered herbarium.
  
Cary D. Chevalier, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Missouri Western State University
4525 Downs Dr.
St. Joseph, MO 64507
Ph: 816.271.4252
Fax: 816.271.4252
Email: cchev at missouriwestern.edu 
Latitude 39o 45' 29.94559" N - Longitude 94o 47' 6.49119" W