Department Head and Professor, Department of Wildland Resources

We are seeking candidates with high potential for academic leadership and a strong commitment to interdisciplinary terrestrial ecosystem science and to the departmental mission to advance the understanding and stewardship of wildland ecosystems and the services they provide. The successful candidate will bring vision, innovation, and expert administration to a thriving academic unit of 27 faculty located at the main Logan Campus, at Statewide Campuses, and at several extension locations. This candidate will build on a long legacy of excellence in research, teaching, and extension and will nurture the Department’s existing synergies with the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, USU Extension, the US Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and the campus-wide Ecology Center.

Research, extension, and education are central to USU’s land-grant mission and core to departmental activities, with high levels of integration and collaboration across these domains. Public lands and their management are critical to the state of Utah and to departmental research, extension, and outreach. The Department has productive working relationships with federal and state partners such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forage and Range Research Lab, Poisonous Plant Research Lab, and National Wildlife Research Center; the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station; and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. High-impact basic and applied research emphasizes terrestrial ecology, including the ecology and management of wildlife, forests, and rangelands, conservation biology, and climate change adaptation. Extension programs span wildlife, rangeland, and forest management; urban forestry; and wildland fire management. The Department prepares undergraduate and graduate students for a wide range of careers managing and conserving natural resources. With approximately 300 undergraduate students and 80 graduate students, it delivers undergraduate degrees in Conservation and Restoration Ecology, Forest Ecology and Management, Rangeland Ecology and Management, and Wildlife Ecology and Management, and MS and PhD degrees in Ecology, Forestry, Range Science, and Wildlife Biology. Undergraduate programs are accredited by the Society of American Foresters and the Society for Range Management, ensure wildlife students meet the relevant USA Federal Government’s Office of Personnel Management requirements for employment, and are aligned with the Society for Ecological Restoration. Award-winning faculty and a shared core undergraduate curriculum across all departmental majors produce program graduates with unusually well-integrated training. The highly sought-after graduate programs attract students from across the country and internationally who pursue careers in academia, federal and state agencies, and non-profit organizations.