Res Ast Sctst

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

This is a 12-month non-tenure-accruing position that will be 100 % research available in the Microbiology and Cell Science Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the project.  Duties will include:

• Design and complete projects that use advanced statistical and analytic tools to develop, integrate and evaluate large educational data sets gathered from multiple sources and repositories to address factors that affect STEM education according to the scope, needs, and direction of a multi-year funded project
• Collaborate effectively with multiple internal and external partners to procure data, manage scholarships and student programs, establish policies, and report results
• Maintain compliance with data security, FERPA regulations, submit and revise IRB protocols
• Meet all reporting, dissemination, and data collection needs required by the project
• Proposal development for extramural funding as relevant to the project goals
• Collect, analyze, interpret, and build databases for large complex datasets and create visualizations
• Engage in scholarship of using data and statistical tools to improve retention and success of students
• Present and publish research findings at meetings and in peer-reviewed journals
• Implement a prospective database and long-term tracking strategy
• Participate in related activities and research projects as needed
• Participate in other aspects of the NSF S-STEM grant as needed

Because of the IFAS land-grant mission, all faculty are expected to be supportive of and engaged in all three mission areas—Research, Teaching and Extension—regardless of the assignment split specified in the position description.

Background Information:

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students.  UF is a member of The Association of American Universities.  The University of Florida is home to HiPerGator 3.0, one of the most powerful supercomputers available to a University in the world.  It includes 49,920 AMD cores for traditional computing and 608 NVIDIA GPUs for artificial intelligence analyses.

The University of Florida Genetics Institute is an interdisciplinary institute that seeks to promote excellence in the areas of genetics and genomics through research, education, and outreach. There are over 220 faculty who are members of UFGI and are from multiple colleges at UF including the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Engineering as well as from IFAS. UFGI also administers the Genetics & Genomics Ph.D. program.

The Microbiology and Cell Science Department has 27 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 6 lecturers, 60 PhD students, 900 MS students, and 1,000 undergraduate students.  We pride ourselves in our commitment to computational and bioinformatics training that is crucial for our graduates to be blue chip recruits for positions in the life sciences. 

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus.  UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricultural and natural resources research and education organizations, is administered by a Vice President and four deans: the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine.  UF/IFAS also engages in cooperative work with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

Commensurate with Education and Experience

A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in the life sciences, Science Education, Data Science, a quantitative social science, or other closely related disciplines is required. Candidates should have demonstrated skills in verbal and written communication and publication/dissemination of their scholarly work in their field. The candidate should have demonstrated experience in a research setting with analysis, visualization, and interpretation of large datasets, preferably of sensitive data types such as student information or patient data. Candidates must be supportive of the mission of the Land-Grant system. Candidates must also have a commitment to UF core values of excellence, discovery & innovation, inclusion, freedom & civility, community, and stewardship. 

Preference given to candidates with experience in science education research (program reviews, learning assessment, retention studies) and programming skills with data science tools (e.g. SAS, R, SPSS or Python). Experience with SQL is a plus. Experience with managing a multi-year federally funded STEM education project is a plus.

For full consideration, candidates should apply and submit materials by March 30, 2024.  The position will remain open until a viable applicant pool is determined.

Nominations

Nominations are welcome.  Nominations need to include the complete name and address of the nominee. This information should be sent to:

Please refer to Requisition # 530535

Jennifer Drew

Chair, Search and Screen Committee

University of Florida

Microbiology and Cell Science

PO Box 110700

Gainesville), FL 32611

Telephone:                               3523921906

Facsimile:                                3528460950

Application Information

• Individuals wishing to apply should go online to Careers at UF and submit:
• Cover letter that states applicant’s interest in the position and qualifications relative to the credentials listed above
• Curriculum vitae
• Contact information (including email addresses) for 3 individuals willing to write letters of recommendation
• Unofficial transcripts

Selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible.  Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. The University of Florida is a public institution and subject to all requirements under Florida Sunshine and Public Record laws.

The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Institution. The University and greater Gainesville community enjoy a variety of cultural events, restaurants, year-round outdoor recreational activities, and social opportunities.