Applications and nominations are invited for the position of Director of the School of Environment
and Natural Resources (SENR) in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
(CFAES) at The Ohio State University.
Responsibilities. The Director administratively leads a comprehensive and diverse program of
research, teaching, and extension/outreach. We are particularly interested in applications from
individuals with diverse life experiences and whose record/potential indicates the ability to
successfully foster effective, collegial, cooperative, and productive relationships among students,
staff, and faculty within the School and with other departments, programs and stakeholders in the
College, at the University and beyond. In addition, the Director is expected to work with other unit
leaders and administrators to advance the vision and missions of the School to optimize resource
needs of the School and promote the School and College with tribal, local, state, national, and
international organizations. The Director is the Tenure Initiating Unit (TIU) Head for SENR. The
Director reports jointly to the Vice President for Agricultural Administration/Dean of CFAES and the
CFAES Senior Associate Dean/Director of Faculty and Staff Affairs.
The School of Environment and Natural Resources. The School is dedicated to applying science to
better understand and address pressing environmental and natural resource management
problems. Our programs are led and delivered by faculty and staff with expertise in various aspects
of aquatic ecology and water resources, environmental social sciences, forestry, rural sociology, soil
science, and wildlife ecology. The School offers 5 bachelor’s degree majors serving 873
undergraduate students: Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability; Environmental
Policy and Decision Making; Environmental Science; Natural Resource Management; and Forestry,
Fisheries, and Wildlife. The School strives to prepare students for professional careers at the
intersection of fields such as sustainable resource management, environmental policy, social
science, research, education, and communication. Graduate programs serve 128 combined students
in a Master of Science program, a professional practice Master of Environment and Natural
Resources, and a Ph.D. program. The School is actively engaged in serving numerous external
stakeholders through extension/outreach efforts. Additional details of these programs can be found
at: https://senr.osu.edu/about-us/extension-resources-directory. The School’s active research
portfolio is comprised of a mix of applied & basic research across a wide range of disciplines,
including biophysical sciences (soil science, forestry, fisheries, aquatic sciences, wildlife, and
ecosystem restoration) and social sciences (sociology, political science, psychology, decision-making and risk sciences). Our research benefits from broad support from federal and state
agencies, private industry, and foundations, with total research expenditures exceeding $4 million
annually. More details can be found at: https://senr.osu.edu/research/research-program-areas. The
School’s 43 tenure-track faculty, 3 professional practice faculty, and 98 staff members are
distributed in both the Columbus and CFAES Wooster campuses. The Director will be based on the
Columbus campus. SENR is committed to fostering a culture that is diverse, equitable, and
unconditionally inclusive in thought and action. Additional information, including the current strategic
plan, is available at the department’s website, https://senr.osu.edu/about-us.
Qualifications. Candidates must: hold an earned doctorate in a field connected to one of the
disciplines of the School; have tenure-track faculty experience and be eligible for appointment as a
tenured full professor in any of the disciplinary areas in SENR; exhibit the ability to administer and
manage the fiscal and human resources of a large multidisciplinary academic unit; demonstrate
leadership qualities that include forward-thinking and the ability to inspire impactful scholarship;
have experience developing academic and extension/outreach programs, and an entrepreneurial
approach; be committed to diversity, equity, justice and inclusion and in particular, they must have a
track record or demonstrated ability to work with, recruit, and retain diverse faculty, staff, students
and to engage with a diverse portfolio of stakeholders; have a demonstrated ability to provide
leadership spanning disciplinary boundaries by developing and maintaining productive working
relationships among the disciplinary areas within the School and with other department chairs and
school directors, alumni, University personnel, state and federal agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, and other stakeholders.
Application Procedure: Review of applications will begin February 28, 2022 and continue until a
qualified candidate is identified. Nominations of qualified individuals are invited at any time.
Qualified persons are requested to submit the following: 1) a letter of application; 2) a statement of
the applicant’s vision for the School and administrative philosophy, which should address leadership
experiences and qualifications; 3) a complete curriculum vitae 4) names, addresses, telephone
numbers, and e-mail addresses, of three references and 5) a statement of philosophy that includes
an articulated approach to and experiences in fostering a diverse, inclusive and welcoming
environment for faculty, staff and students. Initial nominations and inquiries will be kept confidential.
In addition to completing online application forms, all above listed materials will be uploaded as a
single PDF at https://osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSUCareers/job/ColumbusCampus/Director---School-of-Environment---Natural-Resources_R34251-2. Active OSU employees
click on the box titled, “Current OSU Employees and Enrolled Students,” externals on the box titled,
“All Non-OSU Employees.”
Questions and nominations should be directed to:
Dr. Shannon Washburn, Chair of the Search Committee
Professor and Chair, Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership
Telephone: +1 614-292-6909
Email: washburn.130@osu.edu
The Ohio State University is committed to establishing a culturally and intellectually diverse
environment, encouraging all members of our learning community to reach their full potential.
We are responsive to dual-career families and strongly promote work-life balance to support our
community members through a suite of institutionalized policies. We are an NSF Advance
Institution and a member of the Ohio/Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Higher Education
Recruitment Consortium. The Ohio State University is an equal opportunity employer. All
qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran
status