Job No: 562209
Work Type: Instructional Faculty – Tenured/Tenure-Track
Location: Pomona
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Tenured/Tenure-Track, Full Time, Faculty - Engineering, On-site (work in-person at business location)
Tenure Track Faculty Position
Assistant Professor of Applied Geospatial Analysis
Department of Plant Sciences
Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture
Salary Range: $81,572 - $85,572
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona invites applications for a tenure track faculty position in the Plant Science Department. Cal Poly Pomona is one of three polytechnic universities in the 22-campus California State University system and among 12 such institutions nationwide. Since its founding in 1938, Cal Poly Pomona students participate in an integrative experiential learning education that is inclusive, relevant, and values diverse perspectives and experiences. With a variety of degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, engineering, and professional disciplines, the university is well known for its learn- by-doing approach and Teacher Scholar Model.
The university is noted for its scenic and historic 1,400-acre campus, which was once the winter ranch of cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg. We acknowledge that Cal Poly Pomona resides on the territorial and homelands of the Tongva and Tataavium people who are the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar. The university's nearly 30,000 students are taught and mentored by the campus's more than 1,400 faculty as part of 54 baccalaureate and 29 master's degree programs, 11 credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate in educational leadership.
Highly regarded among its peer institutions, Cal Poly Pomona is No. 2 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of top public regional universities in the west and was named the No. 28 best value college in the nation by Money Magazine. Cal Poly Pomona, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, stands as a national leader in promoting social mobility, and was placed among the 25 top institutions in the country in awarding bachelor's degrees to minoritized students by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. In 2022, the campus launched the Black Thriving Initiative recognizing that Cal Poly Pomona's future as a university is linked to the success of its Black community. More information about our Principles of Community can be found here.
The Cal Poly Pomona campus is located less than 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the intersection of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It is within an hour's drive of beaches, mountains and deserts. For additional information about the university, please visit www.cpp.edu, and for more about faculty life, please see YourLife@CPP.
Student Population. Cal Poly Pomona is the number one polytechnic university in the nation for student diversity and economic mobility. Our caring and inclusive campus community is committed to helping anyone who dreams of success achieve it. In Fall 2024, Cal Poly Pomona served more than 25,000 students and close to 2,000 graduate students, mostly residents of California. Over half of Cal Poly Pomona students are first-generation college students, 70% receive financial aid, and 42% are low-income students. The university enrolls 57% of historically underrepresented students. Our diverse student body identifies as 54% Hispanic/Latinx, 21% Asian, 13% White, 4% two or more races, 3% unknown, 2% African American/Black, 2% International, less than 1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Native American. Forty-five percent of students enroll in our STEM majors, and our top five enrolled programs across the university include mechanical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, psychology, as well as finance, real estate, and law.
Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture: The Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture prepares students to address challenges facing agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and communities through Cal Poly Pomona's signature learn-by-doing educational approach. The College provides students with opportunities to integrate scientific knowledge, emerging technologies, and practical experience through classroom, laboratory, field, and community-based learning. Its location in Southern California provides a distinctive setting for studying agriculture across urban, peri-urban, and production systems and for developing partnerships with agricultural industries, agencies, communities, and other stakeholders.
Plant Science Department: The Plant Science Department is a close-knit learning community that provides students with hands-on, experiential education on plant growth and production, soil health, pest management, environmental stewardship, and technology-supported, data-driven agriculture. The curriculum emphasizes practical problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and the integration of scientific and technological approaches to address challenges facing modern agricultural systems.
Experiential learning is central to the Department's teaching and research mission. Faculty and students have access to diverse on-campus agricultural and research environments including the 125-acre Spadra Farm, the student-led Microfarm, AGRIscapes Center, the CPP Apiary, the Lyle Center for Sustainability and Regenerative Studies, the Center for Turfgrass, Irrigation, and Landscape Technology, vertical growing facilities, and many other agricultural landscapes across campus. These resources provide opportunities to connect field observations and sampling, laboratory measurements, geospatial technologies, and agricultural management decisions.
Position description:
The Department of Plant Science invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Applied Geospatial Analysis.
The successful candidate will teach existing undergraduate courses in their area of expertise and develop new courses and curriculum in GIS, spatial analysis, geospatial technologies, and/or related applied geoscience methods relevant to agricultural and environmental systems. Consistent with Cal Poly Pomona's learn-by-doing philosophy, the faculty member will incorporate hands-on laboratory, field, and data-driven experiences that connect environmental data collection, spatial analysis, interpretation, and visualization to real-world challenges in urban and agricultural landscapes. The teaching assignment is 2-3 courses per semester for the candidate's first two years. In subsequent years, the teaching assignment will be 3-4 courses per semester, with course-reduction opportunities for research, service, and teaching initiatives.
The successful candidate will establish an active scholarship focused on agricultural and environmental systems using geospatial and applied geoscience approaches. The faculty member will disseminate scholarly work through peer-reviewed publications and/or professional presentations and pursue funding to support their research program. Opportunities exist for interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty in the Department of Plant Science in areas such as precision agriculture, entomology, pest management, plant breeding, plant pathology, ethnobotany, soil science, environmental toxicology, urban agriculture, and related disciplines, as well as with faculty and programs across the university. Consistent with Cal Poly Pomona's Teacher-Scholar Model, the successful candidate will mentor students in research activities, field investigations, and applied projects, integrating scholarship with the department's emphasis on experiential and applied learning.
The successful candidate will participate in internal service to the department, college, and university, as well as external service to professional organizations or the broader community. Internal service includes participating in departmental planning activities and serving on academic senate, hiring, or curriculum development committees. External service may include developing collaborative relationships with industry, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners.
The above activities will contribute to the candidate's responsibilities in teaching, scholarship, and service and will be evaluated in accordance with departmental and university expectations for retention, tenure, and promotion.
We encourage applications at various stages of their academic careers, such as advanced "all-but-dissertated" candidates, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty on both tenure and non-tenure tracks, teaching faculty, scholars in contingent roles, those in research and teaching positions outside of traditional academia, as well as independent scholars, to submit their applications. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. by the start of employment.
Minimum requirements include:
- A Ph.D. in geography, environmental science, environmental studies, soil science, plant biology, agronomy, forestry, entomology, agricultural engineering, or other related field from an accredited institution. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.