Faculty Position Available

Assistant Professor

Cohort Hire: Empowering Biodiversity for People and Planet

Focus: Global Biodiversity and Ecoinformatics

Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University

Position:          Assistant Professor, Tenure-track.

Location:          Ithaca, NY, USA. The academic home for this position is the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, housed on the Ithaca campus of Cornell University.  

The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment welcomes applications for a 9-month, full-time tenure-track position in global biodiversity and ecoinformatics at the assistant professor level. We seek to hire a highly collaborative scientist who will aggregate and analyze large scale biodiversity datasets that inform practices and policies aimed at addressing our planetary biodiversity crisis.

Bending the curve on biodiversity loss and assessing the trends that impact ecosystem health and sustainability requires innovative approaches to the collection and integration of data from different organismal and environmental sources. This ecoinformatics position centers biodiversity research at continental to global scales with approaches yielding insights about threat status trends and/or ecological processes related to biodiversity trends. Within this goal, any type of informative data from DNA to citizen science to remote sensing is applicable. We seek candidates capable of building a framework to interrogate ecological processes generating, maintaining, or sustaining biodiversity and how these trends are linked to environmental change. Compelling candidates will build a computationally sophisticated research program that integrates 'big data' (broadly defined) on organismal diversity and the environment to address fundamental biological questions and applied conservation challenges.

We seek a colleague who can integrate large-scale biodiversity data from multiple sources, with applications that inform conservation and/or conservation policy. Candidates with research programs potentially integrating Cornell’s extensive biodiversity collections (museum specimen, citizen science, acoustic and image data) with ongoing field collected data, filling global data gaps, or leveraging long-term temporal data are particularly desirable. Analyses including policy relevant social, cultural or economic factors are desirable but not required. Preferred candidates will be partnering with resource managers, NGOs and/or communities to identify the most informative metrics for assessing the consequences of biodiversity decline and potential recovery.

Outstanding research scholarship is expected, as is excellence in and commitment to teaching, translation of knowledge, advising and inclusive mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. We seek colleagues with a record demonstrating success and/or promise across all these areas, and who will be supported by and contribute to a vibrant culture of inclusive excellence at Cornell. As such, candidates are expected to engage in service and leadership activities within the department, the college and university, and relevant professional societies. We welcome candidates who understand the barriers facing marginalized identities who are underrepresented in academia, the classroom, and in higher education careers (as evidenced by life experiences and educational background). We encourage applications from candidates who have experience in building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment through teaching, mentoring, research, outreach, life experiences, and/or service.

Our new colleague will join a cohort of five faculty hires in Empowering Biodiversity for People and Planet. Research in the Empowering Biodiversity cohort will be guided by knowledge of ecological and evolutionary relationships and the documentation of processes that drive organismal success, decline and recovery. This cohort includes recent or concurrent hires in Population Biology and the Genomic Architecture of Species Success (Computational Biology), Plant Biodiversity and Adaptation (School of Integrative Plant Science), Insect Biodiversity and Conservation (Entomology), and the Economics of Biodiversity (Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management).

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Roadmap to 2050 is Centering Environmental Justice to Achieve Climate and Sustainability Goals through the Pursuit of Just Technological Futures via cohort hires within five Transdisciplinary Moonshots. These offer opportunities for the College to collaborate on future-focused, cross-disciplinary scientific breakthroughs and to align research, education, and extension programs for greater impact and stronger connectivity. The Moonshot areas build upon core strengths in CALS, spanning the agricultural, environmental, life, and social sciences, with the goal of recruiting 27 faculty into the College over three years.

Position Responsibilities:

This position has a balanced effort between research (50%) and teaching (50%).

Research (50%) – The successful candidate will develop and lead an externally funded and internationally recognized research program that addresses basic and applied questions about biodiversity processes or trends by applying advanced data science and computational methods to biodiversity data at large geographic scales.

The successful candidate is expected to maintain a well-funded research program. Excellence in and commitment to development of multidisciplinary team-based research and training programs is essential.

Teaching (50%) – The successful candidate will contribute undergraduate teaching in support of the cross-college Environment & Sustainability major (e.g., introductory data science) and develop a graduate course related to biodiversity informatics. Mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students is expected.

Location: The successful candidate will be located at Cornell University’s Ithaca Campus. 

Department Affiliation: The successful candidate will join the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment as a tenure-track faculty member within the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. A CALS mentoring program to support personal and professional development for new faculty will provide advocacy, guidance and assistance.

Qualifications: A Ph.D. in fields related to quantitative biodiversity science, potentially including computational biology, environmental science, or ecology/evolution, with demonstrated expertise in biodiversity ecoinformatics is required. We will prioritize applicants with some grounding in organismal, ecological or evolutionary sciences.

Applications and Starting Date: The anticipated starting date is July 2025 or as negotiated. Qualified applicants should submit 1) a cover letter briefly summarizing background, qualifications, and interest in the position, 2) a Curriculum Vitae, 3) a research statement outlining experience, interests, and goals, 4) a teaching statement outlining experience, interests, and goals, 5) a statement supporting diverse communities (this can be a stand-alone document (preferred) or the information can be embedded in other parts of the application materials) outlining how, through research, teaching, service. mentoring, extension, and/or outreach, the candidate has and will contribute to support Cornell’s historical mission of “any person … any study”, 6) copies of four relevant publications, 7) names and contact information for three references. Materials should be submitted online to: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29071.

Applications received by December 31, 2024 will be given full consideration. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Inquiries may be directed to:

Dr. Matthew Hare, Search Committee Chair

Department of Natural Resources and the Environment

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853

Email: mph75@cornell.edu (please use subject “Biodiversity Moonshot Faculty Position”)

CALS hiring range for this position is:

Assistant Professor: $90,000 - $130,000

Cornell University offers a competitive salary and benefits package. Support for start-up costs will be available. Salary is commensurate with experience.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University’s second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world’s complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

Cornell University seeks to meet the needs of dual career couples, has a Dual Career program, and is a member of the Upstate New York Higher Education Recruitment Consortium to assist with dual career searches including positions available in higher education in the upstate New York area.

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League and Land-grant university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students, and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery, and engagement.

Cornell’s regional and global presence includes state-wide Cornell Cooperative Extension programs and offices in all counties and boroughs, global partnerships with institutions and communities engaged in life-changing research and education, the medical college’s campuses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Doha, Qatar, and the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in the heart of New York City.

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law. 

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.