Assistant Professor of Urban Horticulture

Job No.

535776

Full Time

Orange

Biology/Life Science, Agricultural Sciences

- AG-MREC-APOPKA

Ast Prof

Candidates for this rank shall hold the highest degree appropriate to their field. A candidate shall be expected to demonstrate successful experience pertinent to the position they are being recommended and have demonstrated qualities relevant to the goals of the academic unit in which they will be employed.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences welcomes applicants who can contribute to our environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. This is a 12‑month tenure‑accruing position that will be 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) and 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station), available in the Mid‑Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida.

The faculty member will seek contract and grant funding actively to support their program and will engage in Extension activities in their program area.

This position aims to develop a nationally recognized, extramurally funded research and teaching program in urban horticulture that will advance urban horticulture systems by working in collaboration with faculty, graduate students, government agencies, industry representatives, botanical gardens, and non‑profit organizations in Florida. These systems aim to enhance food security and respond to the impacts of environmental, socioeconomic, and other challenges.

Utilizing their expertise, collegiality, and stakeholder‑focused approach, the successful candidate will demonstrate leadership and support collaborative efforts to strengthen horticultural food production systems that are scaled appropriately and improve the quality of life in urban environments and communities. The candidate is expected to develop sustainable alternatives to current industry production practices with a focus on management practices that will enhance the horticulture industry by improving productivity, profitability, and stewardship of natural resources.

• Identify and evaluate crops and cultivars best suited to the environmental conditions of urban environments.
• Investigate production system diversification, including the incorporation of perennial crops and new cropping system designs that incorporate sustainable intensification principles.
• Investigate water reuse and conservation practices specific to urban agricultural operations, promoting effective water management.
• Develop production practices and techniques to enhance the nutritional value of food as medicine in urban production systems.
• Evaluate environmental and growth impacts of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, compost, and other organic production techniques on specialty crops in Florida.
• Identify production approaches and best management practices suitable for urban farms to improve crop production system efficiency, economic opportunity, and resilience.

The successful candidate will also develop a teaching program that enhances urban food production and urban horticultural practices. The candidate would be expected to develop courses pertaining to urban agriculture production, horticultural cropping systems, and support teaching needs of the unit by teaching laboratory courses in plant science as needed by MREC undergraduate and graduate students.

Scholarly activities include teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, advising and mentoring students, participating in curriculum revision and enhancement, seeking funding for the teaching program, supervising research and creative work, publishing teaching‑related scholarship, producing learning tools, and engaging in professional development activities related to teaching and advising. Faculty are encouraged to support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education.

Because of the IFAS land‑grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and…