Opportunity: Director, University of Michigan Biological Station

Professor and Director of the U-M Biological Station

The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) at the University of Michigan solicits applications and nominations for the position of Director of the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). The UMBS, located in northern Michigan about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Straits and 230 miles from Ann Arbor, encompasses a protected site of more than 10,000 acres of mostly forested land, lakeshores, wetlands and riparian ecosystems that has been largely undisturbed since its establishment in 1909.

The UMBS is an NSF Experimental Ecological Reserve, a U.N. International Biosphere Reserve, and a US Department of Energy Ameriflux Core Site. It has hosted research in recent years supported by as many as 39 agency grants from the NSF, the Department of Energy, the US Forest Service, EPA, and various other sources. The UMBS has staff, facilities, a year-round field campus, a modern analytical chemistry laboratory, and a budget to support its mission of teaching and environmental research. It is also the site of several well-established longitudinal studies. Although the Director resides in Ann Arbor during the academic year, she/he will normally occupy the Director’s residence at UMBS during summers.

We seek an individual with a distinguished research record and credentials suitable for a tenured academic appointment as Professor in an LSA Department such as Ecology & Evolutionary Biology or Earth & Environmental Sciences. The Director will play a central role in promoting interactions nationally and with University of Michigan units, such as the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, the College of Engineering, and the School of Public Health, as well as with LSA departments and programs, and will foster and maintain relationships with communities local to UMBS. The successful candidate will have a record of intellectual and administrative leadership, experience in obtaining grant support from public and private sources, and a record of excellence in teaching.

The Director is also charged with sustaining the Biological Station’s diverse course offerings, broadening participation of under-represented groups among UMBS students, faculty, researchers and staff, and fostering an inclusive field station community. She/he will also be responsible for managing and expanding the range of UMBS research, and the continued development of major research initiatives. As a tenured faculty member, she/he is also expected to contribute to teaching in the academic unit of tenure.

Applicants should submit a letter of application that includes a statement of prior leadership and management experience and evidence of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through scholarship/research, teaching/mentoring, or service/engagement; a research statement; curriculum vitae; and names and contact information for at least three references at:
webapps.lsa.umich.edu/Apply/BioStn. The search committee will begin consideration of applications on September 30, 2019 and will continue until the position is filled. This is a university-year appointment with an expected start date of September 1, 2020. The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and is supportive of the needs of dual career couples. Women and members of under-represented groups are especially encouraged to apply. Additional information about the Biological Station is at https://lsa.umich.edu/umbs.