BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT Assistant Professor of Biology VACANCY Full-time, tenure-eligible position in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

The Biology Department at Ithaca College is accepting applications for a full-time, tenure-eligible Assistant Professor position in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, beginning August 16, 2009.  The candidate is expected to develop an active research program with undergraduates, teach Biochemistry/advanced elective courses, and contribute to introductory biology and non-science major courses.

Qualifications:  Applicants must have significant teaching experience.  PhD in biological sciences preferred, ABD will be considered if defense date is set before date of hire.

Interested individuals should apply online at 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.  Inquiries about the position may be made by contacting Marina Caillaud at mcaillaud@ithaca.edu.  Review of applications will begin October 10, 2008 and continue until the position is filled.

Ithaca College is committed to building a diverse academic community and encourages members of underrepresented groups to apply.  Experience that contributes to the diversity of the college is appreciated.

Ithaca College is a primarily undergraduate institution where the major focus is on teaching. Excellence in teaching is of primary importance at Ithaca College 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 Ithaca College 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:

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.  

Each Biology faculty member is expected to maintain an active research program which involves undergraduates.   It is expected that the successful candidate will include undergraduates in meaningful research.   All Biology majors at Ithaca College 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.  

Criteria for tenure and promotion of Ithaca College faculty include excellence in teaching, scholarly activity, and service to the college.  At Ithaca College, 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. Ithaca College has no limit on the number or percentage of faculty members within a department who may be tenured.
 

Ithaca College 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 many major grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Fish and Wildlife Service, NSF, NIH, and USDA to support research; the majority 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.
 

The Undergraduate Research Experience: Ithaca College 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: Ithaca College 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 at Ithaca College 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 Ithaca College.  Over half are now attending graduate schools or are in health-related post-baccalaureate programs. Ithaca College graduates are enrolled in Ph.D. programs at Harvard, Yale, Caltech, Princeton, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, among other schools.