Department Head Search – Forestry and Environmental Resources

Posted on January 6, 2014 by secorica

NC State University – Raleigh, North Carolina

College of Natural Resources – Forestry and Environmental Resources

Department Head (Position #00000685)

NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina is looking for a Department Head to join the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources.

NC State University is a Tier 1 research university committed to academic excellence and diversity. With more than 34,000 students and 8,000 faculty, its strong research, teaching, and extension programs have led it to be consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50 public universities and ranked by Princeton Review as a best value for students. Additional information about NC State University can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/.

The Head of the Department provides vision and direction to the Department, leading faculty across a wide diversity of disciplines to excellent teaching, research, engagement, and scholarship. The Department Head is responsible for faculty and staff development and review, developing and managing academic curricula, fiscal management, fundraising, alumni relations, research administration, and administering extension and outreach.

The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources has more than 60 tenure and non-tenure track faculty and extension specialists, and more than 35 staff. The Department offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through the Ph.D., and currently enrolls 485 undergraduate and 145 graduate students. Active research and extension programs generate more than $6.25 million annually in extramural funds for fundamental and applied research, extension and outreach activities, and three forest industry research cooperatives.

Other Work/Responsibilities

Communicate regularly with a wide variety of constituent groups such as alumni, businesses and industry, government agencies, and non-government organizations.
Develop partnerships that foster the priorities of the Department, College, and University.
Lead fundraising activities that are consistent with the priorities of the College and University.

Minimum Education/Experience

Earned Ph.D., or equivalent, in a biological, physical or social science field relevant to the Department programs, with qualifications of achievement meriting appointment as a tenured full professor.
Ten years or more of professional natural resources experience in science, education, management, policy, or other relevant area.
Demonstrated strength in collaborative leadership, excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills that can be successfully applied to an academic department.
Leadership experience in collaborative, multi-disciplinary research, extension and education.
Demonstrated understanding of, and experience with, the multiple dimensions of the competitive grant funding environment.
Demonstrated commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity in people and programs.

Application Process

Please visit http://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/31701 and apply for Position #00000685 with your resume, cover letter, contact
information for three professional references, and a brief statement of academic leadership.

If you have questions, please contact Dr. Steve Kelley, Chair of the Search Committee (email: sskelley@nscu.edu).

Application review will begin on February 3, 2014 until a suitable candidate has been hired.

NC State University is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. In addition, NC State University welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process please call (919) 515-5575.

Download a pdf version of the announcement

Increase in Human-Alligator Encounters Spurs Student Research

Posted on December 20, 2013 by

It’s becoming more and more common these days to run into an alligator, whether near your home, in the park, or somewhere else. Now wildlife researchers in Raleigh are interested in finding out why.

North Carolina State University student Lindsey Garner spent this summer and last summer counting alligators in the swamps, rivers, and marshes of eastern North Carolina so researchers can estimate the state’s current alligator population.

Garner’s research will inform alligator management planning by the state’s Wildlife Resources Commission. She is a graduate student in NC State’s College of Natural Resources.

See the complete story on WNCT9>>

The Origin of Flowers: Tree Experts Help Unravel Evolutionary Mystery

Posted on December 20, 2013 by

Male flowers of Amborella trichopoda. Photo courtesy of Wertheim Conservatory, Florida International University, Miami.

NC State scientists had a hand in a massive research project highlighted in Science that sheds light on how flowering plants suddenly came into prominence more than 200 million years ago – what Charles Darwin referred to as an “abominable mystery” of evolution.

A team of scientists sequenced the genome of Amborella trichopoda, a rare plant from a South Pacific island that can trace its lineage back to the last common ancestor of all flowering plants, including food crops like tomatoes, apples and legumes, as well as hardwood trees such as oak and poplar.

Lead researcher Claude dePamphilis of Penn State asked experts with NC State’s Forest Biotechnology Group in the College of Natural Resources, led by Vincent Chiang and Ron Sederoff, to analyze Amborella’s cell walls and lignin genes.

More primitive species, such as conifer trees, have only one kind of lignin, the G type, while modern flowering plants have two, Chiang says. Amborella has both types of lignin, S and G, but in an unusual ratio of 1:10, rather than the 2:1 ratio of modern relatives.

“The ratio of lignin in Amborella is not typical for an angiosperm or flowering plant,” Chiang says. “The results indicate that this species is at an early stage of flowering plant evolution.”

In addition to shedding light on Darwin’s mystery, lignin analysis of Amborella could have practical applications.

“Understanding the genome structure of this plant may provide new knowledge about how plants make more S lignin, which is useful to the pulp and paper industry because S lignin degrades more easily,” Chiang says.

NC State scientists made several other interesting discoveries. Amborella contains almost all of the lignin genes – there are 10 lignin families with multiple members. In addition, Amborella has cell walls rich in xylan, a form of hemicellulose that’s dominant in modern flowering plants.

“The results show us that lignin’s evolution in plants may not have been clear cut. In fact, it may have evolved through several stages,” Chiang says.

Taiwan University’s Ting-Feng Yeh, formerly a postdoctoral researcher with Chiang at NC State, did work on cell wall composition. NC State postdoctoral research Jie Liu also contributed to composition analysis. Chiang’s former postdoc Ying Hsuan Sun, now at Taiwan’s National Chung Hsing University, carried out genomic analysis.

“The Amborella genome project provides a new way to study an old and intractable problem because the DNA sequences may reveal secrets of its origins that would not be obvious from more traditional studies of the plant,” Sederoff says.

This article appeared originally in The Abstract.

Rainforest Life: Food Versus Fear

Posted on December 20, 2013 by

An agouti ventures outside its burrow in Panama at night, when predators are out. Photo courtesy of Roland Kays.

For a rainforest animal like the agouti, life revolves around the tension between food and fear. While foraging for seeds from the black palm tree, the rabbit-sized rodent has to avoid hungry ocelots.

Living in an area where food is scarce greatly increases an agouti’s willingness to venture out of its burrow between sunset and sunrise, when the danger of being eaten by a nocturnal ocelot is four times greater, says Roland Kays, zoologist with NC State’s College of Natural Resources and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

New Graduates Honored

Posted on December 18, 2013 by

Following the university-wide commencement ceremony this morning, Dean Mary Watzin will award diplomas to 218 summer and winter graduates of the NC State University College of Natural Resources at the Jane S. McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The college will award 63 graduate degrees and 155 undergraduate degrees.

Professor of Practice Mickey Fearn will deliver the commencement address and one student from each of our 3 departments will address their fellow graduates. The student speakers are – Jensen Reece Sales (Forest Biomaterials), Gretchen Louise Stokes (Forestry & Environmental Resources), and David Sean Gamble (Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management).

A graduation gift from the NC State Natural Resources Foundation will be presented to each graduate by foundation president, Art Raymond. Departmental receptions will follow the diploma ceremony.

Congratulations to the graduates and new alumni of the College of Natural Resources and to their families. View the diploma ceremony program for a complete list of graduates>>