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Executive Director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden

Employer
Clemson University
Location
Clemson, SC

Job Details

Executive Director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden

Location:
Clemson, SC
Open Date:
Aug 12, 2021
Description:

The South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) offers 298 acres of gardens and arboretum for research, conservation, outreach, and education. The SCBG is a living laboratory with extensive plant and natural resource collections. This position offers exciting opportunities for plant-passionate candidates to creatively expand on the Garden’s existing collections and sustainability focus.

The Executive Director will collaborate with colleges, departments, and cooperative extension to develop and carry out the vision of the SCBG within the operating and reporting structure of the Cooperative Extension Service. They will have a tenure-track faculty appointment in the Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department or the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department within the College of Agriculture Forestry and Life Sciences. They will report directly to the Director of the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service.

SCBG Mission: To serve as a holistically managed landscape fostering a healthy ecosystem and experience for the public; while serving as an interdisciplinary resource focusing on teaching, research, and outreach that advances awareness and understanding of our plants, animals, minerals, and our culture.

Specific Duties

  • The Executive Director will provide a broad, integrative vision to grow the reputation of the gardens in South Carolina and the nation. The Executive Director will work with the Clemson University Foundation Development Office to create and implement fundraising activities that benefit the SCBG, including grant proposal preparation, donor events, and project and capital fund campaigns. The Executive Director will develop, refine, and publicize programming consistent with the SCBG mission based on resource availability and acquisition.
  • The Executive Director will develop, implement, and manage the SCBG operational budget in consultation with the Director of the Cooperative Extension Service and the Vice-President of Public Service and Agriculture. The Executive Director will also oversee all aspects of the daily management and operation of the SCBG and its staff (13 full-time staff) and serve as the SCBG’s lead representative to internal and external stakeholders.
  • The Executive Director will facilitate integrating educational programming into appropriate Cooperative Extension Service program teams and enhance the development of applied research, demonstrations, and education.
  • The Executive Director will be required to perform other duties as assigned and appropriate for this position.

Qualifications:
  • The Executive Director must have a Ph.D. (preferred) or terminal degree (required) in botany, horticulture, natural resource management, or a related field.
  • The Executive Director must also have at least 5 years of experience as a director with supervisory and budgetary oversight in an applied horticulture setting such as a public or private botanical garden or arboretum, an educational institution, or other relevant experience.
  • The Executive Director must have demonstrated experience with annual giving and project and capital fundraising campaigns.
  • The Executive Director must also demonstrate outstanding oral and written communication skills. Advanced experience as a public speaker in the areas of garden and planting design, plant taxonomy and distribution, plant/garden history, or a combination thereof are desirable.
  • The successful candidate for Executive Director must have the qualifications to meet the standards for a tenure-track faculty appointment as a Professor within the Forestry and Environmental Conservation or Plant and Environmental Sciences Department.

Application Instructions:

All applicants must apply at http://apply.interfolio.com/93124. To receive full consideration, application materials must be received no later than November 15, 2021.

• Statement (2 pages or less) describing your leadership style and philosophy, vision for the SCBG, and how you have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• CV
• Unofficial transcripts (An official transcript for highest degree earned is required prior to the start of employment for the selected candidate.)
• References (names and contact information for five)

Should you have any questions related to the position, please contact Dr. Greg Reighard, search committee chair, (grghrd@clemson.edu).

Organization

Working at Clemson University

Clemson is a dynamic research university located in Upstate South Carolina at the center of the booming I-85 corridor between Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga. One of the nation’s most selective public research universities according to U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, Clemson University is the school of choice among top students in South Carolina and is increasingly competitive for the best students in the region and the nation. More than 17,100 students select from 70 undergraduate and 100 graduate degree programs through five academic colleges: Agriculture, Forestry and Life SciencesArchitecture, Arts and HumanitiesBusiness and Behavioral ScienceEngineering and Science; and Health, Education and Human Development.

Clemson’s transformation into a leading research institution — currently attracting in excess of $140 million in externally funded research and sponsored program awards per year — is based upon an academic plan that identifies eight emphasis areas in which the University has opportunities to increase education and research, to align with South Carolina’s economic development needs and to draw upon faculty strengths. Emphasis areas include automotive and transportation technology, advanced materials, biotechnology and biomedical sciences, leadership and entrepreneurship, sustainable environment, information and communication technology, family and community living, and general education.

Major economic development initiatives that have emerged from the academic plan include the Clemson International Center for Automotive Research — a 250-acre campus in Greenville, which has generated more than $225 million in public and private commitments in just four years; an advanced materials initiative at the Clemson Research Park, which includes a new LEED Silver-certified facility; and the South Carolina Health Sciences Collaborative — an initiative of the state’s three research universities and major health-care systems.

As the state’s land-grant university, Clemson reaches out to citizens, communities and businesses all over South Carolina. The Public Service Activities division includes the county-based Cooperative Extension Service, five off-campus research and education centers through the Clemson University Experiment Station and critical regulatory responsibilities for plant and animal health.

The University boasts a 1,400-acre campus on the shores of Lake Hartwell within view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Surrounding the campus are 18,000 acres of University farms and woodlands devoted to research. A warm campus environment, great weather and recreational activities offered by proximity to both the natural surroundings and large cities are part of the Clemson Experience.

 

Points of interest at Clemson include the following:

The Clemson Conference Center and Inn is a state-of-the-art facility for symposia, meetings, seminars and special events. The complex includes the Madren Continuing Education and Conference Center, the Walker Golf Course and the Martin Inn.

The South Carolina Botanical Garden, a 295-acre public garden, features several thousand varieties of ornamental plants and a unique collection of nature-based sculptures.

The Robert Howell Brooks Center for the Performing Arts brings an exciting array of concert, theater, dance, comedy and other live performances to the community.

The Robert Campbell Geology Museum at the Botanical Garden displays meteorites, minerals, dinosaur fossils and the largest faceted-stone collection in the Southeast.

The T. Ed Garrison Livestock Arena is a showplace for livestock activities in the state and has hosted horse and livestock shows, rodeos, sales, 4-H activities, educational programs, and industrial and agricultural exhibitions.

Fort Hill, the home of John C. Calhoun and later of his son-in-law, University founder Thomas Green Clemson, is a registered National Historic Landmark located in the center of campus.

The Class of 1944 Visitors Center is the front door to Clemson — a friendly place to get tours, information, assistance and an introduction to this beautiful, historic university and community.

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