University Expectation
MTSU seeks candidates committed to innovative teaching, robust research/creative activity, and meaningful service. We also seek to attract a culturally and academically diverse faculty who value working with diverse students.

Job Summary
The College of Basic and Applied Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University is seeking a visionary leader for the director position (#102005) of the School of Agriculture. Applicants must be eligible to meet the criteria for the rank of either associate professor or professor. Expedited tenure upon appointment is possible. The start date for the position is August 1, 2024.

Reporting to the College of Basic and Applied Sciences dean, the director will provide leadership to a vibrant and dynamic cohort of 24 faculty and staff and over 450 students in the School of Agriculture. The director will lead the vision and guide strategic planning and management of the academic programs, farm laboratories, and horse science center, with support from the farm laboratories director and horse science director. The director is expected to manage department budgets and attract external financial resources and partnerships. Additionally, the director is expected to demonstrate positive interaction at local, state, regional, and national levels with agricultural industries and governmental organizations. Finally, the director will teach courses within their discipline as needed and serve as the faculty advisor for the Agriculture Ambassadors.

MTSU seeks candidates committed to sustaining teaching excellence while expanding the research and outreach effort to fulfill the missions of an R2 institution. 

Department and Facilities
The School of Agriculture offers baccalaureate degrees in agribusiness, animal science (including pre-veterinary science), horse science, fermentation science, and plant and soil science. In addition, a certification in agricultural education and master’s programs in horse science, fermentation science, and agricultural education leadership are also offered.  Located about 6.5 miles northeast of MTSU campus, the Farm Laboratories is located on 750 acres of farm and crop land consisting of a state-of-the-art dairy, beef unit, swine unit, and a small-farm crop unit that include horticulture hoop houses, raised beds, and post-processing facilities. The MTSU Horse Science Center is home to 50 horse stalls, teaching arenas and jump course, equine reproduction laboratory, free-stall exerciser, and training round pens. Campus agriculture facilities include the MTSU Creamery, the International Ginseng Institute, greenhouses, fermentation science analytical laboratory, and agricultural education laboratory.  To learn more about our department, please visit www.mtsu.edu/agriculture.

Applicants with administrative experience as a director, department chair, dean, etc., and those with human resource management and budget experience will receive special consideration.

Review of applications begins November 4, 2023.  For additional information about this position contact search committee chair, Dr. Ron Henderson, ron.henderson@mtsu.edu.

A terminal degree in an area of agricultural science such as animal science, plant science, soil science, agricultural economics, agricultural education, or a closely related field is required.

About Middle Tennessee State University

Middle Tennessee State University’s campus of over 20,000 students is a welcoming, inspiring mix of green space, historic buildings, and 21st-century facilities and technology. Murfreesboro, just 30 miles from Nashville, is a thriving, mid-sized city in a beautiful, easily accessible location. Middle Tennessee State University has once again been named one of the best places to earn an undergraduate degree in the nation by The Princeton Review, which called it “a go-to choice for those wishing to receive a quality and affordable education.” MTSU has a number of signature programs that compete in the national arena, including accounting, aerospace, recording industry, horse science, business, and public history. Degrees are offered at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. A heightened emphasis on academic quality is central to the 10-year academic master plan.

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