Assistant or Associate Professor of Forestry

Bemidji State University (BSU) invites qualified applicants to join our team as an Assistant or Associate Professor of Forestry. 

The Center for Sustainability Studies includes faculty in Geography, Environmental Studies, Geology, Economics, and Indigenous Sustainability Studies. Our faculty are focused on student learning and student engagement. To that end, our faculty take students to field sites across northern Minnesota and engage students with local industries, non-profits and local, state and federal governmental units. For instance, our students have toured the SPRUCE Climate Change research Site in the Marcell Experimental Forest, conducted field investigations at the Pinewood Oil Spill Site, sampled tree rings at Hobson Memorial Forest and collected soil, vegetation, and water samples from public lands and waters across northern Minnesota. Many of our degrees require students to complete an internship with local government, non-profit, or industry partners, and greatly benefit from this professional experience. The overarching goal of our Center is to build a more sustainable future, and as such our diverse faculty work on widely varying aspects of sustainability.
 
Responsibilities of the Assistant or Associate Professor of Forestry include:  The successful candidate will be expected to facilitate launch and Society of American Foresters (SAF) accreditation of a new baccalaureate program in Forestry. Given the priority of securing accreditation, the teaching load will be phased in, with 12 or more credits of reassigned time the first year and 9-12 credits the second year, to balance anticipated program development activities. This program will be delivered as a 2+2 companion degree in partnership with Minnesota North College (MNC) Forestry Tech programs at the Itasca and Vermillion campuses. A unique asset of this program will be the forestry professionals who contribute their expertise to the curriculum through adjunct teaching roles. Opportunities exist for collaboration with the USDA Forest Service, MN Department of Natural Resources, and forest industry partners to develop a research agenda relevant to forestry in Northern Minnesota. Other responsibilities include:

• Developing and teaching courses in silviculture and forest management, including but not limited to course titles such as Regional Silviculture, Forest Biometry and Modeling, Community / Tribal Forestry and Integrated Forest Management.
• Cooperating with SAF to continue accreditation progress, facilitate the program evaluation site visit, and maintain accreditation of the forestry program.
• Coordinating with BSU, MNC, and adjunct faculty to deliver forestry program curriculum.
• Contributing to a program of scholarship within the discipline, advising students, serving the University and community, and other associated faculty duties that support BSU’s Shared Fundamental Values. 

• Master’s degree in Forestry.
• Demonstrated experience teaching forestry courses.
• Knowledge of SAF accreditation standards and processes.
• Ability to organize curriculum for classroom, online, and field-based educational experiences.
• Interest and ability to develop an applied research agenda connected to the practice of forestry in Northern Minnesota. 

• Ph.D. degree in Forestry or closely related field with emphasis on forestry or silviculture. All but dissertation (ABD) applicants welcome.
• SAF accredited degree in Forestry, any level.
• Experience with SAF accreditation processes and forestry program development.
• Evidence of successful teaching and demonstrated experience with assessing student learning.
• Professional experience in applied forestry with emphasis in the Upper Great Lakes region.
• Ability to develop a research agenda that incorporates undergraduate students and connects to issues relevant to forest management in Northern Minnesota.
• Willingness and ability to build partnerships with tribal colleges and nations.
• Interest and ability to deliver relevant geography courses (e.g., geospatial or physical geography topics).
• A demonstrated commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.