Job Title

Agrilife Center Director

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Research Director Management

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

San Angelo, Texas

Job Type

Faculty

Job Description

Position Announcement

Center Director – Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo

Position Description

Texas A&M AgriLife Research seeks a full-time, research-active, and dynamic individual with a proven record of excellence in research and organizational leadership to serve as Center Director at the agency’s San Angelo Research and Extension Center. This person will be responsible for administering and coordinating all aspects of the Center and participating in active research through collaboration, where appropriate, to enhance faculty research productivity at the Center. This is a 12-month appointment and will be linked with a departmental affiliation within Texas A&M University that best fits the candidate’s background and interest.

The Center Director is expected to provide visionary leadership, recognize, and respond to dynamic research and public service needs regionally and statewide, and catalyze the design and implementation of innovative research projects. The Center Director will also be responsible for fostering productive partnerships and relationships with relevant organizations; recruiting and retaining highly qualified faculty and staff; promoting professional development among faculty and staff; facilitating the acquisition of external resources; and providing fair, sound, and transparent management of human, physical, and fiscal assets. Central to the success of this position is the ability to foster interdisciplinary research and collaborate on the subject matter with department heads, university administration, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, local/state/national government entities, civic and business leaders, and advisory and commodity groups.

Responsibilities

• In collaboration with research and extension faculty at the San Angelo Center, develop a vision for the continued role of the Center and AgriLife Research in the dynamic environment of agriculture, food, and natural resources science in the west-central region of Texas, throughout the state of Texas, across the nation and internationally.

• Provide intellectual, philosophical, and strategic leadership to Center faculty, staff, and students to enhance research, extension, and teaching missions.

• Develop strategic responses to agriculture-related challenges and opportunities, particularly in meeting the needs of the region’s food, fiber, biofuel, range management, outdoor recreation, sheep and goat research, wildlife management, water resources, and value-added processing industries.

• Develop and/or lead research teams to respond to internal and external research grant opportunities with research faculty from AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension, and other research partners.

• Manage human, physical, and fiscal resources, and build a strong and growing portfolio of extramural funding to enhance the Center’s research capacity and reputation.

• Support ongoing collaborative research and foster synergistic new initiatives between Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Texas A&M University System regional universities. The San Angelo Center also has a long-standing relationship with Angelo State University that is mission critical.

• Represent the Center to state and federal agencies, private organizations, partners, collaborators, key industry groups, and international organizations.

• Provide leadership for the coordination of efforts between research, teaching, and extension faculty to create an effective and synergistic working relationship.

• Coordinate with the administration of AgriLife Research to plan initiatives, convey research and extension information, and pursue fundraising opportunities that will benefit the Center far into the future.

• Communicate effectively with AgriLife Research administration, department heads in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, AgriLife Extension leadership, and other Texas A&M University System components.

• Develop collaborative and administrative leadership between Center Director and District Extension Administrator for Research and Extension programs and operations for the Center.

Administrative Relationship

This position reports to the Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/about/leadership/texas-am-agrilife-research/) .

Required Education/Experience

• An earned Ph.D. in an agricultural, natural resources management, wildlife Sciences, agricultural engineering, or associated.

• A well-recognized leader in agricultural or natural resources sciences, with a proven research background in a field relevant to the centers focus , as demonstrated by publications in refereed journals, grant funding, honors and awards, and academic stature appropriate for a full-time faculty appointment at the rank of Professor.

• Demonstrated ability to engage with stakeholder groups, identify critical challenges, and conduct solutions-oriented research to address them.

• Demonstrated success in building, supporting, and leading interdisciplinary teams.

• Experience in managing human and fiscal resources.

Preferred Education/Experience

• At least 10 years of experience leading teams or enabling others to conduct competitively funded research.

• Knowledge of the land-grant university system and a track record of using research and extension to solve problems and convey practical solutions to stakeholders.

• Demonstrated experience navigating conflicting interests to achieve accepted practices among groups (e. g., stakeholders, trade associations, commodity groups, state and/or federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrates excellent writing and speaking skills in English.

• Able to communicate effectively with faculty, staff, administration, and stakeholders.

• Able to manage interdisciplinary teams effectively.

• Able to inspire Center employees, manage teams, and invest in the individual success of staff members.

• Demonstrates a clear commitment to the mission of a land-grant university system.

• Skilled in strategic planning and development to advance the goals of the Center.

• Able to coordinate with broad-based partners and stakeholders to address current and emerging agricultural, food, and natural resources challenges statewide, nationally, and internationally.

Location

Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, 7887 N US Hwy 87 North, San Angelo, TX 76901.

San Angelo Research and Extension Center

The center manages more than 15,000 acres of rangeland and several thousand head of livestock (sheep, goats, and cattle). This includes property near San Angelo, Menard, Sonora, and Ozona. The Center located in San Angelo contains office space for faculty and staff assigned to Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and the Texas A&M AgriLife District 7 County Extension. The station also has classrooms, auditorium, and laboratory space for basic and applied crop, range management, and livestock research activities. Research and Extension faculty and staff located at the Center address problems facing a multi-county area in the Edwards Plateau and West Texas region. The Center has current research focus in forages, cotton, sorghum, maize and small grains production and agronomy and “Ranching Solutions” by keeping ranchers abreast of new developments in sheep and goat production and management, disease control, wool and mohair production, and range, wildlife, and recreational management. The San Angelo Center includes the Bill Sims Wool and Mohair Research Laboratory established in 1985 to address specific priority needs in the national sheep and goat, wool, and mohair research programs. Today the lab measures the quality of animal fibers to the benefit of local producers as well as commercial wool processors. Please use the following link to explore the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center @ San Angelo at its associated sub-stations: https://sanangelo.tamu.edu.

Sonora Research Station

This 3,400-acre station was established in 1916 and has a history of impactful rangeland research and education. In addition to land, wildlife, livestock, and related equipment, the station has office, lab, and meeting space. Employee and visiting scientist or student group housing is available on-site. In addition to scientists in residence, the station provides land for collaborative research within the TAMU system as well as with external partners. Current external collaborators include scientists from Rice, Cornell, and the University of Texas. The Sonora Research Station has an endowment committee of private ranchers and community members dedicated to providing funding in support of graduate student research conducted at this location.

Read Ranch

The 5,000-acre Read Ranch has ranch related resources similar to the Sonora station. It is in a drier, more remote, and more topographically challenging environment than the other San Angelo satellite properties. In addition to ranch housing, this location has a hunting camp with a pavilion for meals and meetings, a game animal processing area, and multiple tent and RV sites.

Martin Ranch

The 5,000-acre Martin Ranch has similar ranch related resources as the other satellite properties. It is in a wetter, less remote, and less topographically challenging location than the others, and is more readily accessible to campus-based scientists.

Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/) , a member of the Texas A&M University System, is administered by the Vice Chancellor and Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences and includes Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/) , Texas A&M AgriLife Research (https://agriliferesearch.tamu.edu/) , the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/) at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Forest Service (https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/) , and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/) .

Texas A&M AgriLife Research (https://agriliferesearch.tamu.edu/) is the leading research and technology-development agency in Texas for agriculture, natural resources, and the life sciences. Our discoveries yield economic, environmental, and health benefits that are key to our state’s success and vital to the lives of its citizens. With 13 research centers throughout the state, AgriLife Research is dedicated to research that improves the Texas economy and lives of local and statewide stakeholders through research across the whole agricultural value chain. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/) provides programs, tools, and educational resources to improve agriculture and food and fiber production, advance human health, protect the environment and natural resources, enhance profitability, and enrich youth development.

Additional information about Texas A&M AgriLife Research is available at:

Texas A&M AgriLife Research: https://sanangelo.tamu.edu

Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo: https://sanangelo.tamu.edu/

Closing Date for Applications

Review of applications will begin on or about 01 November 2024 and will continue until the position is filled. Date position is available: 01 January 2025.

Application Instructions

An application should contain:

• A cover letter including the applicant’s vision for research, and extension, and administrative philosophy for the Center; (max 5 pages)

• A current resume or curriculum vitae; and

• Contact information for three references.

Questions

Address inquiries to Search Advisory Committee Chair:

Dirk Hays, Ph.D.

Center Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research – Weslaco

Email: dirk.hays@ag.tamu.edu (e-mail: drik.hays@ag.tamu.edu) work: 956-968-5586 (office)

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.