Mississippi State University seeks an accomplished scholar and a dynamic leader to head the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. The head provides visionary leadership for all aspects of the department's current and future activities in teaching, research, Extension, and service and upholds the historical and philosophical traditions of the department and a land-grant university. The head is responsible for fostering creativity and teamwork among diverse faculty and staff, recruiting and retaining motivated and eager students, and nurturing relationships and communication with other colleges/universities and external stakeholders. The head is charged with graduating quality students with the necessary skills to meet the needs of the national and international workplace and furthering the department’s reputation as a leader in research and Extension efforts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The head is a full-time administrative position and reports to the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the Director of the Mississippi Agricultural Forestry and Experiment Station (MAFES), the Director of the Mississippi State University Extension Service (MSU-ES) and the Dean of Engineering. The head provides visionary leadership for all aspects of the department's current and future activities in teaching, research, Extension, and service. The head is responsible for administrative management, fostering teamwork among faculty, staff and students of the department by using appropriate communication, management methods, and organizational guidelines to develop, enable, implement and evaluate programs. The head fosters relationships and communication with other academic and center/institute heads on- and off-campus, and external stakeholders. The head is responsible for managing appropriated funds, extramural support as gifts, grants and/or contracts, allocating departmental resources, making timely decisions, delegating responsibility and motivating faculty and staff toward accomplishment of defined teaching, research and service objectives, as well as other scholarly activities on- and off-campus.

THE DEPARTMENT & COLLEGES

The Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering is a comprehensive department with 16 on campus faculty, and several adjunct/affiliate faculty off-campus within research centers and government agencies, engaged in teaching, research, Extension, and/or service programs; most of whom carry joint appointments. The department is co-administered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Bagley College of Engineering and offers undergraduate (B.S.) and graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) degrees in three distinct program areas: Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business. Within these distinct degree programs, the department has over 500 undergraduates and more than 30 graduate students. The J. Charles Lee Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building includes more than 6,000 square feet of state-of-the-art instructional and research facilities, and includes separate labs for sterile tissue culture, biomechanical testing, environmental and agricultural simulation or modeling studies, electronic/robotic design fabrication and testing, fiber processing, GPS/GIS, renewable bio-energy, and student computing resources. More information about the department can be found at http://www.abe.msstate.edu/.

EEO/AA Policy

MSU is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, disability status, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We always welcome nominations and applications from women, members of any minority group, and others who share our passion for building a diverse community that reflects the diversity in our student population.