The University of Delaware (UD) Department of Plant and Soil Sciences seeks outstanding candidates for a 9-month continuing track position of Assistant Professor of Landscape Horticulture and Design to begin Fall 2024. This position is 95% teaching, and 5% service.

The Continuing Track (CT) is UD’s full-time, continuing faculty line, similar to the tenure track. CT

faculty enjoy contracts that increase in length over time and, like tenure-track faculty, receive full and generous benefits, including family-friendly benefits, as part of their compensation package. CT faculty with terminal degrees hold professorial rank and have a path to promotion up to full professor; CT faculty without terminal degrees are at the instructor rank and have a parallel path to promotion. All CT faculty earn sabbaticals, have opportunities to pursue research, participate in shared governance, and hold academic leadership positions. More information can be found on the CT Faculty Caucus page, “Why Do You Want to be a CT Faculty at UD?”

This position supports the teaching of plant materials and plants and ecosystem related courses required for the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture curriculum. Students in Plant and Soil Sciences and Entomology and Wildlife Ecology also take these courses as a part of their major requirements. A successful candidate will have broad landscape architecture, horticulture and botany backgrounds and ability or proficiency to teach plant materials courses such as Spring and Fall Landscape Plants and Indigenous Woody Plants of the Eastern United States. A successful candidate will also be expected to teach core design studios at multiple Undergraduate levels and employ a range of project scales and complexities. These might include ecological planting design, landscape restoration, or plant or ecosystem-focused capstone projects. A strong background in current sustainability practices and environmental topics such as pollinator decline, invasive plants, sustainable landscape management, or ecosystem service provision in managed landscapes is preferred.

Required courses:
PLSC 211 Fall Landscape Plants
PLSC 212 Spring Landscape Plants
PLSC 214 Indigenous Woody Plants of the United States
LARC 233 Foundations or other Landscape Studio
LARC 450 Ecological Planting Design
LARC 456 Capstone

In addition, the successful candidate is expected to take an active role within the continued development of the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program, including curriculum planning and assessment, and accreditation support. Candidates will be assessed on willingness and ability to actively take part in this critical service to the program, as well as departmental, college, and university service. UD BLA faculty serve as mentors for the undergraduate students in a dual advising system. As such, candidates should have a proven record of advising or mentorship of students or other professionals in a formal or informal setting, and display ability to help undergraduate students navigate a professional degree program, secure internships, and identify desired career paths. The successful candidate for this position will also demonstrate the capacity to collaborate with various departments, faculty, researchers, and staff within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the University of Delaware Botanic Garden (UDBG), University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, and landscape architecture and industry partners. While the workload assignment is 95% teaching and 5% service, candidates will be assessed on their potential to undertake scholarly activity. According to the University of Delaware faculty handbook, section 4.4.3 Minimum Standards for Promotion, “Since the mission of the University encompasses teaching, scholarship and service, faculty members should strive for excellence in all three areas. Scholarship, whether in the form of research, publication, professional development, artistic creativity, or scholarship related to teaching or service is a significant part of each person's contribution to the academic community.”

Candidates must hold a LAAB accredited professional degree in landscape architecture and a terminal degree in their field of graduate study.

Minimum qualifications:

This position requires completion of a professional accredited degree in landscape architecture and a terminal degree.

For example: a Master of Landscape Architecture (Terminal, Professional Degree) OR Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (Professional Degree) plus PhD in allied field, such as Horticulture, Plant Ecology, Botany, etc. (Terminal Degree).

Professional registration and practical experience as a Landscape Architect is preferred.

General information: The Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program is fully accredited by the LAAB and is home to approximately 65 full-time undergraduate students. The four-year, 124 credit curriculum includes six core studios following two introductory representation courses, a four-course construction sequence and a six-course plants and ecosystems sequence. The program has a strong history of community support and outreach through the Coastal Resilience Design Studio and the Living Lab, both housed within the program. Additional collaborations with the UD Agricultural Extension, The UD Biden School, Climate Hub, and the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) among others foster student learning and provide needed design and planning expertise to Delaware communities.

The Department of Plant and Soil Sciences resides within UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Department faculty are world-renowned and include two American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows, four named professors, and several members who have received high honors from professional societies. Two professors in the department have received the highest honor that UD bestows on faculty, the Alison Professorship. The department is highly collaborative across college and institutional lines and has strong interactions with Cooperative Extension personnel and faculty and staff in other departments and colleges.

The University of Delaware is committed to excellence and consequentiality guided by a Delaware Will Shine blueprint for a preeminent learner-centered research university. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies UD as a “very high research activity” institution (R1), a designation achieved by only 3% of U.S. academic institutions. UD is in scenic Newark, DE, an excellent geographic location within two hours of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The University is a Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Carnegie Research university, with externally sponsored activities exceeding $200 million.

The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from minority group members and women.

Salary: University of Delaware salaries and fringe benefit packages are highly competitive. A start-up package will be available.

Deadline: Application review will begin on January 15, 2024. The search committee will continue to accept applications until the position is filled.

Application: Applications should include a current curriculum vitae, statements of Teaching (2-3 pages), Service (1 page), and three landscape architectural project samples (conceptual or built), a statement describing your previous efforts and future plans to foster and support a diverse and inclusive learning environment (1 page), and the contact information for at least three professional references. Submitted documents of finalists will be shared with departmental faculty. For further information, contact the committee chair, Associate Professor Anna Wik (annawik@udel.edu).