Director, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Applications are invited for the position of Director of the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. The School is a national and international leader for improving human wellbeing and quality of life through learning, discovery and engagement in plant and environmental sciences. The School's faculty integrate fundamental discovery as well as applied science to enhance plant and soil health, protect water resources and quality, improve food security, design intelligent human landscapes, and promote environmental stewardship. The School was established in 2018 with the goal of integrating the mission elements across Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Horticulture, and Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science.

Within the School, these disciplines share crosscutting interdisciplinary research and are connected through undergraduate curricula and linked graduate programs, as well as through statewide Research, Extension and Outreach activities. The School will consist of 95 affiliated faculty and postdocs, 48 staff, over 115 graduate students and post docs and 7 undergraduate degree programs encompassing 350 students.

With over $8M in annual research expenditures, the School provides an unparalleled opportunity for interdisciplinary research in the food, energy, environment nexus. The responsibilities of the Director will be to provide strategic leadership and vision for the School, effectively oversee administrative, fiscal and human resource matters, advocate with external stakeholders, and pursue teaching, research and development opportunities. The successful candidate will provide leadership across the School in delivery across all missions of teaching, research and Extension. In addition to those core responsibilities, the Director will actively conduct impactful scholarship within the School's mission.

-Earned Doctorate in Plant, Soil or Environmental Sciences or related field, with an outstanding record of scholarship in research, teaching and/or Extension, and qualified for tenure at the rank of Professor
-Demonstrated ability for leadership, strategic planning in a multidisciplinary environment, and management of people and resources at a unit, departmental or higher level
-Effectiveness in personnel management, interpersonal and stakeholder communication, and consensus building
-Understanding of and commitment to the three missions of a land grant university
-A commitment to Virginia Tech's Principles of Community

-Experience in a land grant university

Regular

Commensurate with Experience

06/30/2025

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance.  These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.