Associate/Full Professor - (School for the Environment)

Job Description

The School for the Environment (SFE) at the University of Massachusetts Boston invites applications for the position of Chair of a new academic department focusing on environmental sciences and sustainability to begin September 1, 2026. We seek an outstanding leader with organizational leadership experience and demonstrated transdisciplinary expertise in topics including but not limited to environmental science and health, climate change, environmental sustainability and management. The Chair will provide visionary leadership to co-create the new department's mission and vision, emphasizing transdisciplinary collaboration, transparency, and excellence. We seek a candidate with experience as a department chair or other relevant academic/organizational leadership roles who can bring people together to cultivate a culture of excellence, innovation, and collaboration in support of the School's broader goals.

The recent and future growth within SFE has driven the need for a new Department that will build on the success of SFE. Together with Faculty, the Chair will maintain the core strengths of SFE (transdisciplinary culture, high quality research, complex systems thinking, and a problem-solving approach), while leveraging new opportunities as a Department. The Chair will advance and administer the innovative teachers and researchers in the new Department who are addressing the environmental challenges facing our region and the world. The new department contains seventeen tenured and tenure-track faculty, sixteen affiliated faculty, and offers undergraduate (B.S, B.A.) and graduate (M.S., PhD) programs serving 300 students. Our programs prepare the next generation of environmental scientists and professionals committed to advancing science-informed solutions across diverse communities and ecosystems.

The successful candidate will be expected to sustain a research agenda that is applicable to environmental science and/or sustainability. SFE is particularly interested in scholars whose work addresses climate change or environmental pollution as critical health issues and investigates the disproportionate health burdens experienced by underinvested communities. We seek candidates whose scholarship integrates environmental science, regulation, and/or policy to support more equitable and sustainable outcomes.

SFE's mission is to examine the natural world and explore diverse challenges in natural, built, and social environments, as well as the intersections among them. Using transdisciplinary and equity-informed approaches to research, teaching, and action, we expand environmental knowledge and understanding and create cutting-edge transdisciplinary solutions to environmental and social problems in Boston and beyond. Therefore, the preferred candidate should be able to work within and complement activities and interests of the core and affiliate faculty. We particularly welcome candidates that use methodologies for transdisciplinary problem-solving and/or integrate community-based participatory approaches into their research. SFE faculty support undergraduate (Environmental Science, Environmental Studies and Sustainability), master's, and PhD programs (Environmental Science, Marine Science and Technology). SFE is also home to the Urban Planning and Community Development (UPCD) Department, and we expect the successful candidate to have strong interactions with UPCD faculty and students.

The candidate will have the opportunity to interact with programs and collaborators within the School for the Environment including Living on Earth, Mass Bays National Estuary Partnership, Nantucket Field Station, Stone Living Lab, and the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI). Additional collaborative opportunities exist with the Sustainable Solutions Lab (SSL) and the UMass Boston CANALA (Collaborative of Asian American, Native American, Latino and African American) Institutes, and through the University of Massachusetts Boston's Grand Scholarly Challenges.

UMass Boston is an urban public research university with a teaching soul, whose impacts are both local and global. We are the third most diverse university in the country - more than 60% of our undergraduate students come from minoritized communities and groups and more than half of our students are the first in their families to attend a college or university. Thus, our students come to us from richly diverse life experiences and backgrounds; they bring to our classrooms and research settings the robust range of perspectives growing out of the socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts in which they have lived, along with the challenges they encounter, engage, and strive to overcome. We invite applications from candidates who engage with the diverse life experiences of our student body, who appreciate that students bring their holistic selves into the academic setting, and who recognize and articulate how their own life experiences and backgrounds have shaped their journeys, practices, and commitments as researchers, scholars, and educators.

Responsibilities:

• Visionary Leadership: Provide forward-thinking leadership and work with the Dean's leadership team to advance the department's strategic direction. Champion transdisciplinary research, education, and innovation that strengthen environmental health and climate resilience, and equitable outcomes for communities while practicing active listening, upholding democratic governance, being an advocate for the faculty, and a steward for departmental resources.
• Program Development: Facilitate the growth of the department's academic programs, research initiatives, and strategic partnerships. Guide the expansion of offerings and experiential learning opportunities aligned with emerging global challenges, including environmental ecology, environmental and coastal marine sciences, environmental sustainability, climate sciences, climate adaptation, ecological restoration, and environmental management and policy innovation. Support and uplift faculty-driven initiatives while advancing institutional priorities.
• Teaching and Research: Maintain an active and impactful research agenda that complements existing Faculty research programs. Teach undergraduate and graduate courses, advise students, and contribute to a dynamic, transdisciplinary learning environment.
• Mentorship and Faculty Development: Demonstrate excellence in supporting faculty at all career stages (scholarly productivity, creativity, and professional growth), and foster and enhance a transdisciplinary culture within the department and across the university.
• Collaboration and Outreach: Engage deeply with the university community while cultivating productive relationships with research centers, institutes, industry partners, community organizations, and governmental agencies. Experience in community engagement and nurturing strong partnerships with external sectors (e.g. community, academic, governmental, nonprofit, and/or private) is essential to develop and advance the department's mission.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice across the department's programs and initiatives. Support a diverse student community and cultivate a learning and research environment aligned with UMass Boston's commitment to inclusive excellence and social equity.

Qualifications:

• Successful candidates must have an earned doctorate in natural or social sciences.
• The ideal candidate will have demonstrated a distinguished scholarship, teaching, funding, and leadership record, having achieved tenure at a previous institution, reflecting their commitment to academic excellence and sustained contributions to their field. We prefer candidates whose research and teaching focus on, or have the potential to contribute to crucial issues at the intersection of environmental science, climate change and environmental justice.
• Proven leadership and organizational experience, with a track record of effective department management or similar leadership roles.

Application Process

Interested individuals can initiate the application process by visiting the UMB's Career Portal at https://employmentopportunities.umb.edu/boston/en-us/listing/

Please submit the following via the UMass Boston Employment Portal:

• A cover letter (2-page max) detailing qualifications and vision for the department. Curriculum vitae.
• A statement of leadership (2-pages), research (2-pages) and teaching (2-pages). Contact information for three academic references.

Interested candidates should submit their application by January 31, 2026, for full consideration.

For more information, please contact the search committee chair, Prof. Katherine Dafforn, at katherine.dafforn@umb.edu

UMass Boston expects to pay within an approximate range between $112,500 and $173,000 for this position.

The specific pay for this position will be determined by the University based on the consideration of all relevant factors when and if it decides to extend an offer of employment.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact HR@umb.edu or 617-287-5150.