Assistant Professor of Forest and Natural Resource Policy

Assistant Professor of Forest and Natural Resource Policy Special Information

• This position is an on-site position which requires the incumbent to complete their work primarily at an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation. Opportunities for remote work are rare.

The School of Forestry (SoF) has 21 faculty (tenure-, teaching- and research-track) administering an SAF-accredited Forestry BS degree plus an active graduate research program in forestry (including an online MF, an in-person MF, and MS and PhD degrees). Our well-equipped facility jointly houses the School of Forestry, the Ecological Restoration Institute, Centennial Forest (education and research forest), and a unit of the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.

The School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University (NAU) invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Forest and Wildfire Policy. This position is a 9-month, tenure-eligible appointment (40-50% Teaching, 40-50% Research, 10% Service).

We seek an applicant whose interests will support, build, and complement the School of Forestry's and NAU's programs in the following areas: expertise in forest and wildfire governance, community protection and resilience in fire-prone and WUI landscapes; cross-boundary and multi-jurisdictional forest policy; social dimensions of forest management, risk communication, and post-fire recovery. The position offers significant opportunities to collaborate with the Ecological Restoration Institute, a congressionally funded applied research institute focused on forest restoration and wildfire resilience, including through the new WIRE (Wildfire Insurance and Resilient Economies) Partnership.

The successful applicant will be expected to teach courses in support of our undergraduate and graduate forestry programs, develop a productive, externally funded research program, advise graduate students (MF, MS, and PhD), and serve the School of Forestry, NAU, and the profession.

The anticipated start date for this position is August 17th, 2026.

• Teach in-person and online courses on our Flagstaff Mountain campus in support of our undergraduate and graduate forestry programs.
• Teaching responsibilities and opportunities include the broad scope of forest and natural resource policy, forest planning and management, natural resource leadership, leadership and the environment, human dimensions in forestry, social research methods, leadership and environmental problem solving, co-production and translation in natural resources, and social dimensions in forestry.
• Develop a productive, externally funded research program focused on challenges in forest and wildfire governance, community resilience in fire-prone and WUI landscapes, cross-boundary and multi-jurisdictional land management, and the social dimensions of forest, fire, and restoration policy faced by the state of Arizona and the western United States more broadly.
• Advise graduate students (MF, MS, and PhD).
• Serve on committees in the School of Forestry, the College of Forestry, Environment, and Natural Sciences, and NAU.

• Ph.D. in forestry, social science, natural resource policy, or a closely related field conferred by the start date.
• At least one degree in forestry or closely related natural resources field.

* A combination of related education, experience, and training may be used as an equivalent to the above Minimum Qualifications.

• Demonstrated experience of excellent teaching in undergraduate and graduate level courses, both online and in-person.
• Demonstrated proficiency in teaching pedagogy and diverse teaching methods.
• Demonstrated record of securing, or evidence of the potential to secure, external funding to support research.
• Evidence of a strong research foundation in the human dimensions of forestry, such as forest and wildfire governance, community resilience in fire-prone landscapes, cross-boundary and multi-jurisdictional land management, public perceptions and risk communication of forest management and wildfire, and natural…