ITHACA
COLLEGE BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Assistant Professor of Biology
Animal Ecology
The Biology Department at IthacaCollege
is accepting applications for a full-time, tenure-eligible Assistant Professor
position in Ecology (research emphasis on animals), beginning August 16,
2007.The candidate is expected
to develop an active research program with undergraduates, teach general
ecology / field biology / advanced elective courses, contribute to introductory
biology and non-science major courses, and be actively involved in the
environmental studies / science programs.
Qualifications:Applicants
must have significant teaching experience.PhD
in the biological sciences preferred, ABD will be considered if defense
date is set before date of hire.
Interested individuals should apply online at www.icjobs.org
and attach a letter of application, curriculum vita/resume, statements
of teaching and research philosophy, and a list of references with contact
information. Questions about the online application should be directed
to the Office of Human Resources at (607) 274-1207.Additional
inquiries about the position can be made by contacting Bruce Smith at smithb@ithaca.edu.Review
of applications will begin October
1, 2006 and continue until the position has been filled.
IthacaCollege
is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity
Employer.Members of underrepresented
groups (including people of color, persons with disabilities, military
veterans and women) are encouraged to apply.
Teaching
IthacaCollege
is a primarily undergraduate institution where the major focus is on teaching.
Excellence in teaching is of primary importance at IthacaCollege
and is considered a critical factor in tenure and promotion decisions.
Expectations of teaching are specified in the first paragraph; note that
these courses are what an individual should be prepared to teach, depending
on departmental need, but that clearly, no individual would be expected
to do all of this in a given year. The contact load at IthacaCollege
alternates between 9 and 12 hours per semester, for a total of 21 contact
hours per year. Contact hours are counted as: one hour of lecture
= 1 contact hour, one 3 hour lab = 3 contact hours, and supervision of
one research student = 1 contact hour (up to a maximum of 3 credits for
supervising research). Thus, a typical teaching load each semester
in the Biology department is:
3 hrs lecture
2 x 3 hour labs
3 research students
Incoming faculty are usually given a reduced
teaching load in their first semester. Descriptions of current Biology
course offerings and examples of general education courses can be found
on the Biology web
site.
Research
Each Biology faculty member is expected
to maintain an active research program which involves undergraduates. We
are seeking an ecologist who has a research emphasis on animals: this is
complementary to a current faculty member who is an ecologist with a research
emphasis on plants. Clearly, an individual may study plant / animal
interactions or communities involving a diversity of taxa,
providing that animals play a dominant role as subject organisms.
It is expected that the successful candidate will include undergraduates
in meaningful research. All Biology majors at IthacaCollege
are required to work in a faculty research lab for one semester as a part
of their required curriculum. Many students choose to exceed
this requirement, working for more than a single semester. Students
can begin working in the laboratories as early as their first year and
a few students choose to do Honors Research during their Senior year.
Thus, it is crucial for our faculty to maintain vital and interesting research
opportunities for our undergraduates. More detailed information on
the research environment in the Biology Department can be found by clicking
here.
Tenure
Criteria for tenure and promotion of IthacaCollege
faculty include excellence in teaching, scholarly activity, and service
to the college. At IthacaCollege,
the major focus is on teaching. However, a faculty member in the
Biology Department must also demonstrate development of an active research
program, generally through publication in peer-reviewed journals and/or
external funding. Of course, it is understood that the rate
of publication will be significantly less than would be expected at a major
research university. IthacaCollege
has no limit on the number or percentage of faculty members within a department
who may be tenured.
Research Environment
in the Biology Department
IthacaCollege
has demonstrated its commitment to scientific research and quality
instruction in science by providing us with a new $20 million science building
in 1993 which has been equipped with College and external funding.
All tenured and tenure-eligible members of the Biology Department maintain
active research programs. Since 1994, the department has obtained
over $1.5 million in outside funding. A summary of recent grants
received by the Ithaca College Biology Department is presented below:
Research grants: Since 1996, faculty members have been awarded
18 major grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, the National
Fish and Wildlife Service, NSF, NIH, and USDA to support research; 11 of
these grants were for $100,000 or more. We have also received grants
from the National Academy of Sciences, the US Geological Survey, and numerous
NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) grants to support summer
research students.
Equipment, instrumentation, and instructional
grants: The department has received grants from
from the Keck Foundation ($150,000) for instruction and research
in molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry, and two grants from
NSF - one ($375,000) for controlled environmental facilities, and a second
($78,000) for a core microscopy facility. Additional funding includes
NSF grants for equipment to update instruction in genetics and molecular
biology, and to purchase a liquid scintillation counter. We have received
instructional grants to develop and improve laboratory courses.
Undergraduate Involvement
in Research at IthacaCollege
The
Undergraduate Research Experience: IthacaCollege
strongly supports the involvement of undergraduates in faculty research.
As a requirement for an undergraduate degree in Biology, students must
complete at least one semester (3 credits) of Research In
Biology (course # BIOL 30200). Successful completion of Research
in Biology involves, in addition to the research itself, writing a paper
and a 15-minute presentation of the results at our Biology Student
Research Symposium. This mini-symposium provides students
the opportunity to present their work to others in a low-key atmosphere
and prepares them for presentations outside the college. Our philosophy
is that students need to obtain hands-on experience with research in order
to appreciate its complexity, and its potential for promoting a sense of
excitement, creativity, and accomplishment. The research experience
provides students the opportunity to generate hypotheses, design experiments,
and interpret their results. While these areas are covered in the
classroom, research students gain a degree of insight and experience that
cannot be obtained in any other way. Many majors in Biology choose
to exceed the minimum requirement of one semester of research.
Summer Research:IthacaCollege
has provided undergraduate opportunities for summer research since 1972.
In recent summers, the college/department has provided stipends for 14-19
students to carry out 10-week full time projects under the supervision
of a faculty member. External support to individual faculty members
has allowed us to increase the number of summer research students.
For example, we supported 16 students in the summer of 2006. Funding
sources for summer research include department stipends, faculty grants,
the Dana Foundation, NSF, USDA, and a private donation to the
department.
Meeting
Presentations and Publications: Students who participate in research atIthacaCollege
frequently present their research at scientific meetings. Each year
since 1972, the college has financed attendance by 6-10 students at the
Eastern Colleges Science Conference (ECSC). ECSC is a conference
devoted to undergraduate research and is attended by students and faculty
from a consortium of over 50 colleges and universities. The
College also provides funds for students to present papers at the National
Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR); NCUR attendance is competitive
and we send only the most outstanding students. Students also attend
other regional and national meetings with their faculty mentors.
Since 1996, Ithaca College Biology/Biochemistry students have made 51 research
presentations at ECSC, 16 presentations at NCUR, and 81 presentations at
other off-campus meetings. Finally, from 1996-2006, 60 undergraduates
have appeared as co-authors on papers published by members of the department.
Graduates:
The Ithaca College Biology Department has a strong track record in
placing our graduates. Over the period 1999-2006, 412 Biology/Biochemistry
majors graduated from IthacaCollege.
Over half are now attending graduate schools or are in health-related post-baccalaureate
programs. IthacaCollege
graduates are enrolled in Ph.D. programs at Harvard, Yale, Caltech, Princeton,
UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the University
of Wisconsin,
among other schools.
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Last updated 7/28/06