Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems

College of Arts and Sciences
Position: Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems

Stetson University invites applications from highly-motivated and energetic emerging leaders for the Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems. This position involves undergraduate teaching, research, and community involvement related to sustainable food systems. Candidates with expertise in food policy, food justice, community health and/or urban and innovative food production systems are encouraged to apply. The Brown Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems will help launch an innovative, interdisciplinary program in Sustainable Food Systems, and will participate in fine-tuning and assessment of the curriculum. The Fellow will collaborate with and be mentored by a dynamic and interdisciplinary team of faculty who will support the development of the Fellow’s research interests and teaching skills in the context of community engagement in the Central Florida regional food system.

Qualifications:
Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree from a program that clearly connects to Food Studies, including but not limited to food policy, food justice and community health, or urban and innovative food production systems. Applicants must be engaged at a national level in this emergent, interdisciplinary field, and demonstrate experience in the classroom and interest in developing teaching skills in a liberal arts context.

Responsibilities: 
In keeping with the teacher-scholar model central to the mission of our liberal learning, this position involves both teaching and research. The Fellow will teach five courses each academic year. These will include Introduction to Food Studies plus an upper level course in their area of expertise. The Fellow will also help develop and teach the hands-on Practicum in Food Studies that includes time spent in food production in a community garden or local farm and food preparation in a local kitchen.

The Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow is expected to impact our learning community by building excellence in teaching across the disciplines and schools.  While the particular form of such impact will vary, depending on the interests and expertise of the Fellow, examples include designing interdisciplinary courses with Stetson faculty, organizing panels and lecture series about food systems, and serving as a resource for faculty who want to include more topics connected to sustainable food systems into their teaching.

Candidates should demonstrate a passion for the highest quality of teaching. For more information on our expectations in teaching and scholarship and our support for faculty development, please see the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs website: www.stetson.edu/provost.  

The Department:
The Department of Environmental Science and Studies (www.stetson.edu/environmental-science-and-studies) is home to academic programs in Environmental Science with emphases in Natural Resources Conservation, Environmental Chemistry, and Geospatial Analysis; and Environmental Studies with emphases in Environmental Law and Policy, Environmental Art and Communication, and Cultural Geography. The Department is launching a new major program in Sustainable Food Systems in Fall 2018.  Five full-time faculty and three part-time faculty serve more than 90 student majors plus 250 additional students each year through general education offerings.

The Cici and Hyatt Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellows Program:
The Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellows Program is the flagship program of the Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence at Stetson University, a central resource for promoting faculty vitality and vibrancy to advance learning. The Fellows Program and the Center were established with a generous endowment from Cici and Hyatt Brown, long- standing University Trustees.

Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellows are invited to join our inclusive learning community as visiting assistant professors for a residency of up to two academic years. The Fellows Program prepares faculty leaders who inspire excellence in learning, teaching, research, and service; in turn, Fellows leave inspired to lead. During their residency, Fellows develop their role as teacher-scholar leaders and bring niche expertise to the Stetson learning community. Within the teacher-scholar model, our faculty live out Stetson University’s mission to provide an excellent education in a creative community where learning and values meet through exemplary teaching and continuous engagement in scholarly and creative inquiry that cultivates a culture of lifelong learning – at Stetson University and beyond.

The College of Arts and Sciences:
Stetson’s College of Arts and Sciences (www.stetson.edu/portal/artsci/) is the largest and most diverse of the University’s colleges and schools; it includes the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, education, and creative arts.  With nineteen academic departments and eight interdisciplinary programs, the College is the liberal arts core of the University.  A great strength of the College is its faculty of approximately 140 full-time teacher-scholars.  The College offers 31 undergraduate majors and 34 undergraduate minors; six graduate degrees are offered in Education, Counselor Education, and Creative Writing.  Every undergraduate major requires a senior research project, allowing students the opportunity to design and carry out independent research under faculty mentorship.  Our academic programs are shaped by the values of social justice and civic responsibility.  All of our courses and programs of study promote engaged learning, whereby students create connections between the classroom or lab and the local, regional, and global community.  The academic programs of the College of Arts and Sciences prepare students to live significant lives, to interact with and positively affect the world around them.

The University:
Founded in 1883, Stetson University (www.stetson.edu) is a private, selective university comprised of a rich array of liberal arts and professional academic programs. Collectively, Stetson’s faculty works with nearly 4,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. The University’s historic main campus, located in DeLand, enrolls more than 3,000 students in undergraduate programs in the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Business Administration, and the School of Music. Stetson University College of Law, Florida’s first law school, moved from the main campus to Gulfport in 1954, and, with the addition of the Tampa Law Center, serves approximately 1,000 students working full-time or part-time toward J.D. or LL.M. degrees. Graduate programs offered at the main campus and at Stetson University Center in Celebration include Business, Accounting, Elementary Education – Education for Social Justice, Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Creative Writing.  Florida’s oldest private institution of higher learning, Stetson has regularly been ranked among the best regional universities in the Southeast and was the first private college in Florida to be granted a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Stetson University provides an inspiring education that engages students with rigorous academic and creative study grounded in liberal learning and promotes civic values of personal and social responsibility. Working closely with faculty and with one another, students cultivate abilities to explore issues deeply, think critically, reason empirically, speak persuasively, and connect ideas creatively. Firmly committed to inclusive excellence, our vibrant community of teacher-scholars nurtures the potential of individual students to lead lives of significance and prepares each to meet the challenges of shaping the future—locally, nationally, and globally.

The Community:
DeLand is a picturesque residential community of 25,000 located 20 miles west of Daytona Beach and 35 miles northeast of Orlando. The area offers extensive cultural as well as recreational activities.

Salary:  Salary is competitive.

Starting Date:  August 13, 2018

Application:
Applicants must submit the following materials for consideration: 1) cover letter that includes a statement about the candidate's teaching and scholarly interests and experience in sustainable food systems, as well as a discussion of how the candidate proposes to use the residency to develop as a teacher-scholar; 2) a philosophy of teaching and learning in a liberal learning environment; 3) curriculum vitae, 4) transcripts (copies are acceptable for screening); and 5) three letters of recommendation – at least one should include an evaluation of the candidate’s ability to facilitate student learning. Candidates are encouraged to highlight skills and experiences that demonstrate a commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusion.

All information may be submitted electronically to the Search Committee at FoodSystems@stetson.edu.  While electronic submissions are preferred, alternatively application materials may be mailed to:

Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow Search
Department of Environmental Science and Studies
Stetson University
421 N. Woodland Blvd. Unit 8401
DeLand, FL 32723

Review of applications will begin November 15, 2017 and continue until the position is filled.

Stetson University is an Equal Opportunity Employer that affirms cultural diversity and inclusion as a core value of academic excellence at Stetson University. We are committed to achieving equal access in education, employment, and participation through the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds, and to meaningful academic and intellectual transformation in curriculum, research and service. We are dedicated to actions and policies that foster a community in which individuals with various identities, cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints work together to create opportunities for engagement through rewarding and fulfilling careers and personal experiences in a culturally and racially diverse society and a globalized world. We strongly encourage members of historically under-represented and economically-disadvantaged groups and women to apply for employment. Stetson University is an EEO, ADA, ADEA, and GINA employer.