The Biology Department in the College of Science and Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Boston seeks to hire an Assistant Professor in the field of Marine Ecology to begin September 1, 2025. Successful candidates will be expected to undertake externally funded research in marine ecology defined broadly and to satisfy important teaching needs of the Department of Biology in ecology, zoology, conservation biology, and/or evolution. Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent degree and relevant postdoctoral research experience. The Assistant Professor hired for this position will direct the research of students at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels, interact with a dynamic group of ecologists and evolutionary biologists, and become an active participant in our Environmental Biology and/or Molecular, Cellular, and Organismal Biology PhD programs. 

Commitment to excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels is expected, and the application of innovative pedagogical approaches is highly valued. We seek a colleague who will support our goal of ensuring an inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace. We encourage individuals from underrepresented groups in science to apply.

Application instructions:

Candidates should submit: (i) a cover letter detailing how their proposed work would complement existing research within the Department, (ii) a curriculum vitae, (iii) a statement of research, and (iv) a statement of teaching philosophy (including teaching experience and preferred teaching areas). Applicants should also include contact information for three references.

UMass Boston is Boston’s only public research university. Situated on the coast of Boston Harbor at Fox Point, the campus has ready access to Boston Harbor via Marine Operations (https://www.umb.edu/marineops/) and maintains a partnership with the Harbor Islands National Park (https://www.nps.gov/boha/index.htm) as well as the New England Aquarium. UMass Boston also maintains an American Academy of Underwater Scientists accredited scientific diving program (https://www.umb.edu/research/orsp/research-compliance/diving-research--safety-program/). Scientists in Environmental Biology also frequently collaborate with the UMass Boston School for the Environment (https://www.umb.edu/environment/), which hosts The Stone Living Lab (https://stonelivinglab.org/), a multi-investigator project studying the consequences of nature-based solutions for coastal protection.

UMass Boston runs the Nantucket Field Station situated on the Folger Marsh Reserve (https://www.umb.edu/nantucket/). Scientists at UMass Boston also work out of the nearby Massachusetts Department of Marine Resources Cat Cove Marine Lab in Salem (https://www.mass.gov/locations/division-of-marine-fisheries-cat-cove-marine-laboratory), the UMass Amherst Gloucester Field Station (https://www.umass.edu/gloucester-marine-station/), the Plum Island Long-Term Ecological Research site in the Great Marsh (https://pie-lter.mbl.edu/), and the Shoals Marine Lab (https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org/), as well as collaborating with a variety of researchers and other institutions in the region.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impact is both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country—more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups, and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who will engage the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

For further information, visit the Biology Department website at http://www.umb.edu/academics/csm/biology or contact the Chair of Search Committee, Jarrett Byrnes at jarrett.byrnes@umb.edu or Rachel Skvirsky, Chair of Biology, at rachel.skvirsky@umb.edu.

Review of applications will begin on November 20, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HRDirect@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.