The Department of Horticulture at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville, invites applications to fill a 12-month, tenure track faculty position (80% research, 20% teaching) with an applied emphasis on fruit breeding and genetics. The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is a land-grant institution and the flagship research university in Arkansas.
Responsibilities: The successful candidate will be expected to develop a robust, extramurally funded research program focused on multiple aspects of fruit breeding and genetics. Marker-assisted breeding and other molecular applications in applied fruit breeding will be a key focus. Collaboration with current breeding personnel and/or future leadership in cultivar development programs will be another major aspect of the position. The candidate will be expected to demonstrate excellence in grantsmanship, present research results in peer-reviewed publications, and teach graduate and undergraduate level courses. The candidate also will be expected to advise and mentor graduate students, provide service to the department, college, university and state as appropriate for his/her expertise, and collaborate effectively with departmental research and extension faculty and colleagues in related disciplines.
Preferred applicants will utilize marker-assisted techniques in fruit breeding as well as classical breeding approaches in the position. Areas of research specialization include, but are not limited to, marker development and validation, marker-assisted technology procedure developments and innovations, investigations in trait inheritance, and applied cultivar development using classical improvement methods.
Preferred applicants will focus on fruit crops that are actively being improved including peaches, nectarines, blackberries, and grapes.