Position Summary

The Department of the Environment (ENVS) in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Ithaca College invites applications for a full-time, tenure-eligible Assistant Professor position in environmental science. We seek an inspired and dedicated teacher who is also eager to involve undergraduates in an active research program. The teaching and research of this environmental scientist should be solutions-oriented, methodologically sound, and well-integrated with recent developments in environmental sustainability, policy, politics, and justice. The person hired for this position will join a department committed to place-based interdisciplinary experiential education and develop a robust locally-rooted teaching and scholarship program over time.

Position Responsibilities

The selected candidate will normally teach five courses per year. Within their regular annual teaching load, they will offer one of the following required Foundation courses for early-career Environmental Science majors: 

• Critical Skills in Environmental Research and Practice (ENVS 292, methods)
• Environmental Sentinels (ENVS 120, introductory natural history and field skills)
• Introduction to Environmental Science and Technology (ENVS 121)
• Human-Environment Geography (ENVS 220)

They will also offer an upper-level Intensive course for Junior and Senior Environmental Science majors in a subject area that complements one or more of the following focal areas:

• Climate change
• Freshwater or terrestrial ecology
• Geoscience or Earth system science
• Geographic information systems (GIS) or geographic information science
• Energy systems
• Methods

The ENVS “Intensives” are an innovative, collaborative teaching and learning approach based on student learning communities. We launched this initiative in 2023, and it has proven invigorating for faculty and enlightening for students. 

Flexibility in teaching is a must for ENVS faculty, given the breadth of disciplinary perspectives in the environmental field and the diversity of people (students, researchers, practitioners, and community members) engaged in current environmental issues. The candidate selected for this job should be willing and able to embark on pedagogical innovations to meet current and future demands of environmental science and our students.  While excellence in teaching is the top priority for all faculty at Ithaca College, a productive research program including peer-reviewed publications and attempts to secure extramural funding is also a criterion for tenure. 

One of our hallmarks is student-faculty collaborative research.  All ENVS faculty work with several students at a time in a research lab group or workshop. These collaborations are supported by three teaching load credits (equivalent to one course) per year. Examples of ongoing faculty-student collaborations are available on the ENVS Web site, including:

• Ecotoxicology
• Apiculture
• Hemp production
• Aquaponics
• Land conservation

In addition to teaching and scholarship, all Ithaca College faculty are expected to participate in service at the level of the Department, as well as at the level of the School, College, local community, or profession.

Required Qualifications

1. Ph.D. completed by August 15, 2025 in any field of environmental science 
2. Demonstrated strong desire and potential for excellence in undergraduate teaching

Desired Attributes (Expertise, Experience, and/or Interests)

• Integrative or interdisciplinary environmental science
• Place-based environmental science
• Experiential education in environmental science
• Ability to offer a Foundation course in the Environmental Science B.S. program
• Ability to offer an Intensive course in the Environmental Science B.S. program
• Geographic focus on the Cayuga Lake watershed or the Finger Lakes Region

Department Description

The Department of the Environment (ENVS) is a vibrant community of teachers, scholars, staff, and students officially founded in 2009 after growing for ten years as an inter-departmental program. ENVS is a nexus of activity at Ithaca College, offering interdisciplinary, place-based, experiential education through a B.S. program in Environmental Science and a minor in Environment and Society. After a period of exponential growth in enrollment, the department now has a stable population of about 100 majors and 50 minors. Interdisciplinary, integrative, and systems thinking is the norm, and the department maintains numerous productive collaborative engagements with administrative offices and other departments on campus, as well as community partners off campus. The full-time faculty include a naturalist, an ecotoxicologist, an archaeologist, an ecologist, a historian, and a geographer. While faculty members have varied interests, all are united in working with students to thrive professionally in a world of intensifying environmental crisis. 

Application Submission Instructions

Please apply online at http://ithaca.edu/jobs/. A complete application consists of a curriculum vitae (CV) no longer than two pages and a letter no longer than 1,000 words presenting the items listed below. Additional materials may be requested later but will not be considered during the initial round of application review.

1. Personal and/or professional introduction, including your views about the current state of environmental science.
2. Statement of pedagogy or teaching philosophy, including discussion of:
   • Which ENVS Foundation course you would like most to teach.
   • An ENVS Intensive course you would like to offer.
3. Statement of research interests, including discussion of potential collaboration involving ~10 undergraduate students.
4. Statement of what about Ithaca College, ENVS, or its curriculum motivated the decision to apply for this position.

After an initial round of application review, the search committee will invite semifinalists for video conference interviews, and then finalists for campus visits.  We hope to conclude this search an make an offer by late November.  Questions about the online application may be directed to the Office of Human Resources at (607) 274-1207. Questions about the position may be directed to Dr. Jason Hamilton, chair of the search committee, at jhamilton@ithaca.edu.  Review of applications will begin on September 15th and will continue until the position is filled.

Visa sponsorship may be provided for this position.

Hiring Range:  

$63,000 - $67,000, dependent on discipline, qualifications and experience.

We pride ourselves on providing our benefit-eligible employees with comprehensive benefits, including:
    • Healthcare including vision and dental
    • Generous Paid Time Off Policies
    • 403B Retirement Savings Plan with Matching Employer Contribution 
    • EAP
    • Flexible Work Plans
    • Educational Benefits
    • Career-Enhancing Trainings
    • For an overview of our benefit offerings, please visit https://www.ithaca.edu/human-resources/employee-benefits-wellness

In an effort to promote campus safety and the security of College resources, Ithaca College will, consistent with the requirements of the law and prudent practices, conduct criminal background investigations per College policy.   This position is subject to a criminal background check. All offers of employment are contingent upon review of the criminal background check.