Position Description

The Department of Botany in the Faculty of Science at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Point Grey campus, seeks candidates to fill an Educational Leadership (tenure-track) Assistant Professor of Teaching position in the Biology Undergraduate Program in the area of botanical organismal diversity, with an expected start date of no earlier than July 1, 2025. The expected starting salary range for this position is $100,000 to $120,000 per annum. The UBC Biology Program values excellence in teaching and our courses are student-centred and emphasize evidence-based practices in large and small enrollment courses.

Applicants must have a PhD in plant biology, or an MSc in plant biology and a PhD in Biology Educational Research or Discipline-Based Educational Research. They should have teaching and research experience in the area of organismal plant biology, and must have demonstrated ability to teach lower- and upper-level plant diversity lecture and laboratory courses, as well as general biology (introductory) courses. Applicants must also be able to manage and develop diversity-focused plant labs, including the careful coordination of the sourcing, timing, and collection of plant material (e.g., wild-collected and greenhouse-grown material, and material from the Beaty Museum, UBC Botanical Garden, and UBC Farm). 

A strong commitment to incorporating elements of sustainability, indigenization, plant anatomy, and the use of place-based learning (such as field-based teaching, and use of UBC’s natural history collections housed in the Beaty Museum, UBC Botanical Garden, UBC Farm) in plant-diversity courses is required. Candidates must have experience and be skilled in the identification of plants across a diversity of land plant groups. 

Experience with evidence-based teaching, Discipline-Based Educational Research and/or Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is strongly preferred. Successful candidates will demonstrate evidence of outstanding teaching and excellent pedagogical content knowledge and expertise in the subject area.  Candidates must be committed to improving biology teaching in a collegial and evidence-based manner, and demonstrate the ability to contribute to curriculum innovation, including the development of new land plant courses based on the Biology Program’s needs.

Applicants must show the ability and desire to contribute consistently to Educational Leadership and to service-related activities, including leading plant-diversity-related outreach activities, student advising, and helping colleagues and students with plant identification. 

Duties of the position involve primarily teaching and managing lectures and labs for a variety of plant diversity courses, collecting specimen for the labs, training and coordinating Teaching Assistants associated with the laboratory, developing and teaching new plant-focused courses that incorporate sustainability and indigenization elements based on the Program’s needs, contributing to the teaching of general biology courses, engaging in Educational Leadership activities, and contributing to service.

As a member of the UBC Educational Leadership stream, which currently consists of 14 tenure-track faculty, the candidate is expected to demonstrate promise in educational leadership. Please see https://science.ubc.ca/sites/science.ubc.ca/files/FacultyofScience_EL_DP.pdf for examples of current educational leadership within the Faculty of Science.  There are also opportunities to work in collaboration with a Science Education Specialist (https://skylight.science.ubc.ca/contact) in the Biology Program. The candidate is expected to participate actively in departmental activities, service, events, and initiatives.  The successful candidate will have a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, to create a welcoming community for all, particularly those who are historically, persistently or systemically marginalized. 

The successful applicant will become a member of the Department of Botany (www.botany.ubc.ca) and teach within the UBC Biology program, which is offered in partnership with the Department of Zoology.   UBC is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. As one of the world's leading universities, UBC creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world. UBC’s campuses are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples and of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil Waututh) Nations.

How to Apply

Applications must be addressed to Dr. Pamela Kalas and submitted on Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/28960 and include the following:

(1) Cover letter (2 page maximum) that outlines: 

• the applicant’s background and expertise in organismal plant biology;
• how the applicant’s expertise and scholarship in teaching will integrate within the UBC Biology Program;
• how the applicant has displayed leadership in education, community engagement, outreach, and other relevant activities.

(2) Curriculum vitae, including a summary of teaching experience.

(3) Statement (2 page maximum) of teaching interests and philosophy including evidence of past effectiveness.

(4) Diversity statement (1 page maximum) describing the applicant’s lived background experience (if comfortable), past experience, and future plans regarding working with a diverse student body and contributing to a culture of equity and inclusion.

(5) Contact information for three or more people willing to serve as references.

The closing date for applications is November 30, 2024 at 5pm (Pacific Standard Time), with the appointment anticipated to begin on or after July 1, 2025.