About Us

The University of Tennessee, Department of Animal Science in Knoxville, TN invites applications for a full-time, 9-month, tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant, Endowed Associate or Full Professor.

Qualifications:

Earned doctoral degree in Animal Science or a closely related field at the time of employment at the University of Tennessee. Has an interest in Precision Beef systems with an emphasis on herd health, environmental sustainability, and/or climate resilience. Possesses advanced training or experience in statistics and/or data science. Individuals must demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills, have or be willing to develop a passion for animal science-related research and statistical applications in agriculture. To be considered for the rank of endowed associate or full professor, the candidate must have a proven record of scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals, successes in obtaining extramural grant and contract funding to support research efforts, a passionate teacher, and effectively mentoring graduate students that are worthy of the respective rank. All applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. on a long-term basis.

Responsibilities and Expectations:

• 9-month, tenure-track position with 85% Research and 15% Teaching responsibilities
• Establish an independent, nationally recognized research program (basic and/or applied) in the area of Precision Beef Systems with emphasis on herd health, environmental sustainability, and/or climate resilience, which would benefit Tennessee, US, and global livestock industries
• Form collaborative research partnerships with faculty within and outside the university, especially in association with the new Hickman Precision Agriculture Technology Unit and Precision Livestock Farming Program (https://plf.tennessee.edu/) 
• Develop an extramurally funded, nationally recognized research program
• Be prolific in scholarly publications and presentations
• Successfully mentor undergraduate and graduate student research assistants
• Teach one graduate-level course on Experimental Design (ANSC 571) per year
• Participate in other activities of the Department of Animal Science such as committee service and recruitment

Research efforts may integrate any type of experimental data or techniques related to applicant's interests, possibly including sensor development & deployment, “omics” data, high-throughput phenotyping, or machine learning, into data-driven solutions for beef production systems. Research can focus on a variety of beef-related challenges such as herd health, genetic improvement, precision management,  environmental sustainability, and/or climate resilience. Individuals having interests in an area including but not limited to Animal Genomics, Reproduction, Nutrition, Health-Epidemiology, Data Science, Statistics, or Bioinformatics would fit well within existing groups of Animal Science faculty. Teaching responsibilities include serving as the primary instructor for a graduate-level statistical methods course in experimental design and analysis of biological research (ANSC 571) which is taught every spring semester with an enrollment of approximately 50 students across agriculture disciplines.

About the University, Animal Science Department, AgResearch & Institute of Agriculture

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has an enrollment of more than 31,000 students and is located near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Institute of Agriculture houses the Land Grant component of the university and consists of UT AgResearch, Hebert College of Agriculture, UT Extension, and College of Veterinary Medicine. Academic departments include Animal Science; Agricultural & Resource Economics; Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications; Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science; Entomology and Plant Pathology; Food Science; Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries; and Plant Sciences.
Translational research addressing problems in production of food, fiber, energy and environmental/agricultural sustainability is prioritized. The Department of Animal Science is a diverse blend of applied and basic life sciences, ultimately focused on enhancing the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of the domestic animal industries. The department's activities are accomplished by its 25 faculty members and 13 professionals and support staff on the Knoxville campus and at locations across Tennessee. Approximately 500 undergraduate students are enrolled in the department's Bachelor of Science degree program with academic concentrations in Animal Industries, BioSciences, Pre-Veterinary Medicine, and combined BS-MS (4+1). Encouraging undergraduate participation in research, creative achievement, and real-world experience is a departmental goal. There are approximately 35 graduate students enrolled in the department's M.S. and Ph.D. programs.

Research, Teaching, and Extension programs in the department serve the areas of animal health and well-being, nutritional physiology, genomics, reproductive physiology, and precision livestock farming technology. Extensive field and animal resources are available through UT AgResearch and Education Centers throughout Tennessee. These resources include over 1,000 head of beef cattle and multiple forms of precision livestock farming technologies. UT Extension also leads adult and 4-H youth programs in beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, horses, poultry, sheep, swine, and environmental management. Departmental programs encompass the full range of the land grant university mission (teaching, research, and service) and are administered by the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Opportunities abound to form collaborative and interdisciplinary activities with the College of Veterinary Medicine, Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture to facilitate international partnerships or collaborations, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, commodity and industrial partners, other university units, and regional industries. Additional information about the Department can be found at https://animalscience.tennessee.edu/. Faculty are also active in four recently developed centers/initiatives including the UTIA Genomics Center for the Advancement of Agriculture (https://utiagenomics.tennessee.edu/), Precision Livestock Farming Initiative (https://plf.tennessee.edu/), the University of Tennessee One Health Initiative (https://onehealth.tennessee.edu/), and UT Beef and Forage Center (https://utbeef.tennessee.edu/).

Application Instructions