TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION
Plant Molecular Biologist
The Department of Biology at the University of Central Arkansas invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the area of Plant Molecular Biology. The appointment will beat the Assistant Professor level and will begin on August 15, 2012. Applications are sought from outstanding individuals whovalue quality teaching and are dedicated to developing an active research program involving both undergraduate and Master’s level students. The position offers a reduced teaching load initially, dedicated research space, start-up funding, and opportunities for internal as well as external grants.
Primary teaching responsibilities will be in sophomore-level Genetics for majors with contributions to plant biology (majors) and our freshman curriculum. Opportunities also exist to develop upper-division and graduate courses that will augment our current programs. Please visit our web site for more details <www.uca.edu/biology/>.
The Department of Biology has 33 full-time faculty, approximately 675 undergraduate majors and a growing Master’s program that currently enrolls 34 graduate students (20 institutionally supported TA positions). Shared research space and instrumentation includesplant growth chambers, three greenhouses,approved animal facilities, a real-time PCR machine, modern SEM and confocal microscopes, and a flow cytometer.
Submit letter of interest, curriculum vitae, copies of graduate transcripts, statement of teaching philosophy, an outline of research plans indicating where students may participate, and the names and contact information for three references to:
Dr. Ben Cash, Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave. LSC 180, Conway, AR 72035-5003.
Ph.D. required. Recent Ph.D.s are encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin on 28 October 2011. UCA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Additional Information Regarding the Plant Molecular Biology Position
Teaching Responsibilities. The primary teaching responsibilities will be Genetics (majors), either freshman general biology (majors or non-majors), and contributions to the plant biology curriculum (majors). Below are catalogue listings for the different classes that this position may be responsible for. Contributions to the plant biology curriculum may involve teaching one or more of these plant-based courses or developing a new course based upon the candidate’s specialty and experience. Usually, research-active faculty teach 9-12 contract hours per semester which usually involves a combination of lecture and laboratory instruction.
2490 GENETICS A core course for majors. This course introduces students to the basic concepts of heredity and natural variation, including elements of classical, molecular, and population genetics. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: BIOL 1441(C or better). Fall, spring, summer.
1400 BIOLOGY FOR GENERAL EDUCATION A general education course. This course introduces students to the structure and function of cells, organisms, and communities. Sections emphasizing human biology are recommended for students preparing for careers in the health sciences. Sections emphasizing environmental biology are most appropriate for students interested in developing a scientific perspective on current environmental issues. Sections emphasizing core concepts will equip students with diverse interests and aspirations to understand the big ideas that are central to the scientific study of life. Completion of any of the described sections will fulfill the general education requirement in Biology and any prerequisite requirements for subsequent courses that require BIOL 1400. Lecture and laboratory. This course cannot be used to fulfill the Biology major requirements. Fall, spring, summer.
1440 PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY I A core course for majors. This course introduces students to the molecular and cellular basis of structure and function of organisms. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisites: High school chemistry or CHEM 1301 (or above) and a composite ACT score of 21 or higher OR BIOL 1400 and CHEM 1301 (or above) both with a grade of C or higher. Students not meeting the prerequisite requirements must have permission of the Biology Department Chair prior to enrollment. Fall, spring, summer.
1441 PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY II A core course for majors. This course introduces students to the evolution, diversity, anatomy, physiology, ecology, and behavior of organisms. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: BIOL 1440 (C or better). Fall, spring, summer.
4410 BIOLOGY OF LOWER PLANTS AND FUNGI An elective course for biology majors. This field biology course examines mosses, ferns, algae, and fungi as they are found in natural habitats. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: BIOL 2490 (C or better). Spring, alternate years.
4470 BIOLOGY OF SEED PLANTS An elective course for biology majors. This course involves study of the adaptations that have made seed plants the most successful plants in the biosphere. Laboratory exercises have strong field orientation. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: BIOL 2490 (C or better). Spring, alternate years.
3390 ECONOMIC BOTANY An elective course for biology majors. This course addresses the impact that plants have on modern society, and includes discussion of major food crops, plants used for paper and wood, medicinal plants, and the role of plant biotechnology in crop improvement. Lecture only. Prerequisite: BIOL 2490 (C or better). On demand.
Potential Research Funding Opportunities
The University of Central Arkansas Research Council
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Arkansas EPSCoR Center for Plant-Powered Production (P3)
USDA
Some Things Worth Knowing About UCA, its Department of Biology, and the Conway Area
UCA is an actively growing institution that attracts good students. The average ACT score of UCA's entering freshmen in Fall, 2011 was ~ 24, which was 3 points above the national average. In the 2011 U.S. News and World Report, UCA was ranked in Tier-1, the only Arkansas public school so highly ranked. In addition to the traditional colleges, UCA has an Honors College, which attracts exceptional students from around the region. Total UCA undergraduate and graduate enrollment for Fall, 2011 is 9,603 and 1,561, respectively. A STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Residential College opened in the Fall, 2010 and houses 200 students that are interested in STEM disciplines. This has created and fostered the only residential community of scholar scientists in the state.
UCA's Biology majors are among the best on campus. Entering freshmen (Fall 2011) declaring a biology major within the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics have an average ACT score of ~ 27, which translates to 3 points above the rest of the UCA freshmen class and 5 points above the national average. We typically have between 600-650 biology majors, which is the second largest major at UCA. Of 595 student members of the Honors College, more students are registered in majors in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics than in any other college.
Our faculty are an active, diverse, and growing group. Currently UCA's Biology Department contains 30 full-time faculty, all but three holding doctorates, plus 5-6 part-time adjuncts. Of the 30 full-time faculty, doctorates were earned at universities spanning 22 states, and 20 of our full-time faculty were hired within the past 10 years. The Chair is assisted by an Associate and Assistant Chair, and numerous faculty committees manage departmental business. The department is served by a capable staff including three secretaries, two laboratory coordinators, and numerous graduate and undergraduate assistants.
Expanding Student Research
Many of our undergraduates participate in research and have earned local, regional, and national awards for their presentations. Our M.S. graduate students (we have 25 this Fall 2011) are typically supported by a teaching or research assistantship. After graduation, many of our graduate students have gone on to pursue a Ph.D., M.D., or found employment with agencies such as the Arkansas Game and Fish, Army Corps of Engineers, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, and the USDA. This expansion of student research has been possible because of faculty success in acquiring extramural grant support through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, NSF, EPSCoR, and NIH.
Our facilities and equipment holdings are extensive and continually upgraded. All offices, labs and classrooms used by the Department of Biology are housed in Lewis Science Center (LSC), which contains over 100,000 sq-ft of usable space. Extensive renovation and expansion of research space in LSC was completed in 1998. This $1.4 million project was funded jointly by NSF and UCA. As a result of these renovations, the Biology Department gained about 35,000 sq-ft of interior teaching and research space, a 750 sq-ft aquarium room, a large 'headhouse' to serve greenhouse users, and numerous items of fixed equipment such as a plant growth chamber facility. Since this large renovation, a second (1,700 sq-ft) and third greenhouse (1,400 sq-ft completed in 2011) have been constructed, and a $45,000 renovation of one of our animal rooms was completed. We maintain an Herbarium of 17,500 specimens, and an ~20-acre nature reserve, plus an Arboretum with about 70 species of woody plants surrounds LSC. Biology faculty have secured numerous NSF grants over the past decade, and these have greatly helped in building our equipment base and facilities. Recent NSF awards supported establishment of a ASPEX Scanning Electron Microscope facility (with EDS X-ray elemental analysis capabilities), Laser Confocal Microscope laboratory, and the development of a modern lab for our Experimental Neurobiology course.
Computerization is everywhere. The entire UCA campus is wireless. In addition, all faculty office computers and labs are networked via optical fiber to multiple servers. We have four teaching labs equipped with computer workstations for use in the courses: Principles of Biology-I, Cell Biology, Animal Physiology, and Experimental Neurobiology. Several other courses (Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Biometry) also incorporate computer simulations/applications as part of their course content. In addition, a PC-based student computer lab is located close to the Biology main office. Biology maintains the College’s Graphics Lab, which contains a wide-carriage poster printer. Mac/PC platforms equipped with a Smart Podiums are in all the Lewis Science Center lecture rooms. Also, all the lecture and lab rooms have digital projectors. Besides the University Instructional Technology staff, the College employs their own computer specialist.
We take pride in an important intangible. Many of UCA's biology faculty will openly admit that the quality of relationships among people was something they picked up on during their interviews and was a major reason for coming to UCA. We argue and debate, but we retain respect for one another, both professionally and personally. We value this atmosphere, and work hard to maintain it. No organization is completely free from politics, but UCA’s Biology Department is a lot freer than most.
Other assets are located nearby. The state's Center for Mathematics and Science Education is now located in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UCA. This Center is a clearinghouse for math and science education materials for all of Arkansas and a focal point for projects designed to improve science education in the schools. UCA also hosts the offices and studios of the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN). These AETN facilities occupy a new building which is part of a recently-completed $22-million project that includes the new 1,200-seat Reynolds Performance Hall, a Mass Communications building, and a modern conference center. In addition to this PBS network facility, two public radio stations originating in Little Rock are also received clearly in Conway. UCA biologists collaborate with scientists and medical professionals at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and the National Center for Toxicological Research near Pine Bluff. A 15-minute drive in any direction puts you in the country. Nearby natural areas include Petit Jean State Park, the Buffalo River (a national wild river), and the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests.
The City of Conway is prosperous and ideally located. Located near the center of the state, Conway's current population is ~50,000, up over 15,000 since 1990. Growth, however, has been relatively well managed. The Conway school system has an excellent reputation, which has been a major factor in the city's growth. In addition to UCA, Conway is the home of Hendrix College (often highly ranked in U.S. News and World Reports) and Central Baptist College. Conway was the fifth city in the world to provide Internet services through a city-wide cable-based system. City utilities are managed by the non-profit Conway Corporation, which is chartered to pump any profits back into Conway educational institutions. Lake Conway and Beaverfork Lake are popular recreational areas, and Conway contains three private country clubs. There is no smokestack industry in Conway, and one of the biggest employers is Acxiom Corporation, a data base management firm. A juvenile curfew is enforced, and the crime rate is low. Conway has no ‘indoor’ malls, but several large malls are just 30 a minute drive along I-40, in north and west Little Rock. Conway is home to two WalMart Supercenters, a Lowe's Superstore, Home Depot, Office Depot, Target, Pier I, Belks, Kohls, PetsMart, Hobby Lobby and numerous other chain stores, as well as many small privately owned stores and shops. Little Rock contains a wide variety of stores, from excellent ethnic restaurants to a Barnes and Noble bookstore.
For more information on our university, city and state attractions and resources, check out the following links:
UCA:
UCA Biology Department Home Page
Annual Spring Student Poster Symposium
College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Monthly Newsletters
Environmental Attractions:
Heart of Arkansas Online - Outdoor Fun
Trail results for Little Rock Arkansas
Conway Information:
General Data and Real Estate for Conway
Health Care:
Other Educational Institutions: