Career Center

The Martin and Denise Pick Family Chair in Sustainable Cropping Systems

The Department of Plant Agriculture, Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph invites applications for a full-time tenure-track or tenured position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level for the Martin and Denise Pick Family Chair in Sustainable Cropping Systems.  This position is located at the Guelph campus and requires a Ph.D. in Plant Agriculture, Crop Science, Agronomy, Agroecology, Plant Science, or related field.

The Professorship will be expected to demonstrate teaching excellence at the undergraduate level in the areas of crop science and field crop production, and at the graduate level in the area of sustainable cropping systems. They will also be actively involved in the supervision of graduate students, both M.Sc. and Ph.D. The successful candidate will develop and lead a comprehensive, externally funded research program focused on sustainable cropping systems, within the major crop-producing regions of southern Ontario.  The integration of forage and cover crops into rotations for the provision of ecosystem services, and enhancement of economic and environmental sustainability of cropping systems are focal to the position. Applicants should have experience in field crop research and demonstrate the potential to lead collaborative groups. Additionally, the person occupying this professorship will have the lead role in directing the long-term rotation, cover-crop, and tillage trials at the Elora Research Station; these decades-long experiments provide a unique platform for the interdisciplinary study of cropping systems.

The Pick Family Professorship will join a world-class team of faculty members in the Department of Plant Agriculture conducting cutting-edge research in sustainable cropping practices. They will collaborate across several disciplines including plant breeding and genetics, weed science, plant pathology, soil science, and plant physiology.  Salary is negotiable and commensurate with qualifications.  The department will provide competitive research start-up funds and yearly research support from endowed funds.

The Department of Plant Agriculture is Canada’s largest and most diverse applied plant biology department in Canada and has recognized strengths in a broad cross-section of plant sciences including agronomy, horticulture, breeding, molecular genetics, genomics, controlled environment systems, plant physiology, post-harvest physiology, plant pathology, and plant-based bioproducts. The Department currently has 32 faculty members and employs 100 staff and more than 100 graduate students. Faculty within the Department have access to modern laboratory, growth room, and greenhouse facilities, as well as fourteen well-equipped research stations across the province. As part of the Ontario Agricultural College, Plant Agriculture has a long history of achievement in serving the agriculture and agri-food industries within Ontario and beyond.

The University of Guelph is the third-largest employer in Guelph, a city of approximately 130,000 people, located about an hour's drive west of Toronto, Ontario. The University of Guelph is a top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada with an enrolment of more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across over 40 academic units. The University is known for its commitment to student learning, innovative research, and collaboration with world-class partners. It is a unique place, with transformative research and teaching and a distinctive campus culture. People who learn and work here are shaped and inspired by a shared purpose: To Improve Life. Reflecting on that shared purpose in every experience connected to our university positions us to create positive change, here and around the world. Our university community shares a profound sense of social responsibility, a drive for international development, and an obligation to address global issues.

 Application Process

Assessment of applications will begin on June 30, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled.  Applications should consist of the following materials in a single PDF file (Quote AD# 22-42):

• Letter of interest
• Teaching philosophy statement (1 Page)
• Research interests statement: short- and long-term (1 Page)
• Curriculum vitae
• EDI Statement: Describe the strategies you will use to foster inclusion and support a diverse community in your research program and classrooms(300-word maximum)
• References: Contact information for 3

Email applications to:  applypag@uoguelph.ca

Dr. Eric Lyons (Acting Chair), c/o Jen Kingswell, Chair’s Administrative Assistant

Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.  The University recognizes that applicants may have had obligations outside of work that has negatively impacted their record of achievements (e.g., parental, elder care, and/or medical). You are not required to disclose these obligations in the hiring process.  If you choose to do so, the University will ensure that these obligations do not negatively impact the assessment of your qualifications for the position.

The University of Guelph resides on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people, and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and we offer our respect to our Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Métis neighbours as we strive to strengthen our relationships with them. At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to the further diversification of our Institution.

If you require medical accommodation during the recruitment or selection process, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at 519-824-4120 x52674.