"Assistant Extension Professor of Agricultural Economics (Food and Agribusiness Entrepreneurship)"

Job Details

Job Title: Assistant Extension Professor of Agricultural Economics (Food and Agribusiness Entrepreneurship)

Requisition Number: FE04554

Working Title: Agribusiness Extension

Department Name: 81040:AGR ECONOMICS

Work Location: Lexington, KY

Type of Position: Faculty

Position Time Status: Full-Time

Tenant Track Status: Tenure Track

Required Education: A Ph.D. in agricultural economics, economics, or a closely related field with an emphasis on food and agribusiness entrepreneurship.

Required Related Experience: N/A

Required License/Registration/Certification: N/A

Job Summary: This is a full-time, twelve-month, tenure-eligible position in the Extension Title Series with an approximate start date of January 1, 2026. The anticipated distribution of effort is 75% Extension, 20% teaching, and 5% service. The candidate should have interests in entrepreneurship and strategic planning at the food business level and food business supply chain management. The candidate will be expected to build programs supporting value-added enterprises across various scales and partner with Extension to help develop areas including i) commercial opportunities for food and wellness, ii) place-based markets, iii) local food system resilience, iv) business innovations to reach emerging local and regional consumer segments, v) agritourism and vi) experience-based goods and services.

The successful candidate is expected to: 1) develop a nationally recognized extension program evidenced by collaborative initiatives with food industry groups, USDA food business programs, SBDCs and university-based leaders in food science and business; 2) successfully attract external funding to support extension and research efforts, including funding of graduate students and Extension Associates; 3) demonstrate a commitment to working with teams of researchers on interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary problems including working with Blueprint Kentucky, Kentucky Center for Ag and Rural Development, Food Systems Innovation Center, The Food Connection, and other economic development partners in the state; 4) direct graduate student research; 5) contribute to the multi-functional, land-grant mission of the Department through outreach and engagement efforts with community stakeholders; and 6) exhibit excellence in classroom instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

For more information about the Department of Agricultural Economics please visit http://agecon.ca.uky.edu/. APPLICATION

Application can be made online and requires:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum vitae
• Graduate transcripts
• Statements of extension and teaching interests (Specific Request 1)
• Contact information for three references (Specific Request 2)
• A job paper (Specific Request 3)

Applications will be reviewed beginning September 1, 2025, and continue until position is filled. Please direct any questions to Dr. Tim Woods at tim.woods@uky.edu.

Skills / Knowledge / Abilities: Ability to conduct high-level independent research, direct graduate student research, and effectively teach at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills are required, as are strong quantitative skills.

Does this position have supervisory responsibilities?: Yes

Preferred Education/Experience: A PhD in Ag Economics or related field is required. An MBA, business school degree, or industry experience in a food business may be helpful.

Open Until Filled: Yes

Organization

Fast Facts

Location: Lexington, Ky.
Founded: 1865
Endowment: $1.1 billion
Budget: $3.5 billion
Research Grants and Contracts Awarded: $316.5 million
Library Holdings: 4.3 million volumes
Enrollment: 30,76
President: Dr. Eli Capilouto
Provost: Dr. David W. Blackwell
Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration: Dr. Eric Monday
Executive Vice President for Research: Dr. Lisa A. Cassis
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs: Dr. Mark F. Newman

About the University

Adjacent to downtown Lexington, UK is nestled in the scenic heart of the beautiful Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. UK's campus covers more than 814 acres, with more than 30,700 students and 13,500 full-time employees, including nearly 2,400 full-time faculty and librarians.

Mission

The University of Kentucky is a public, land grant university dedicated to improving people's lives through excellence in education, research and creative work, service, and health care. As Kentucky's flagship institution, the University plays a critical leadership role by promoting diversity, inclusion, economic development, and human well-being.

Our Guiding Principles

The University is driven by the promise it has made to Kentucky, one that honors its land-grant mission and a heritage honed through 150 years of service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Six principles guide our efforts. They are: creating a vibrant undergraduate learning community, advancing a high-quality graduate and professional education portfolio, cultivating a robust research environment, developing a strong and sustainable UK infrastructure, fostering a positive work environment for faculty and staff, and ensuring a meaningful impact on the Commonwealth and the community.

Employment/Benefits

As Central Kentucky's largest employer, the University of Kentucky supports the recruitment and retention of unparalleled talent - individuals who inspire learning, teaching, service and healing through innovation in work solutions, initiatives, policies and programs. Impressive benefits at the University include an excellent retirement package, with an employer match that doubles the employee's contribution, a dynamic work-life program to assist employees in balancing their work with their personal lives, a wellness program to protect, maintain and promote the health of employees, and a strategic plan that nurtures diversity of thought, culture, gender and ethnicity. For more information regarding benefits, visit http://www.uky.edu/hr/benefits.

Research

In fiscal year 2016, the University of Kentucky was awarded $316.5 million in external grants and contracts. UK is one of only eight universities across the country with the full range of undergraduate, graduate, professional and medical programs on one contiguous campus, leading to groundbreaking discoveries and unique cross-disciplinary research and scholarship. Moreover, UK is currently one of only 22 public institutions with a trifecta of federal designations of excellence in research: for aging, in cancer and in translational science. A new $265 million research facility, due to open in 2018, will bring together clinicians, scientists and scholars from across UK’s campus to reduce health gaps in Kentucky. These health gaps include cancer, cardiovascular disease & stroke, diabetes & obesity, substance abuse, and neuroscience & aging.

Research at UK is a dynamic enterprise encompassing both traditional scholarship and emerging technologies. UK is one of eight universities in the U.S. that has well-established programs in agriculture, engineering, medicine and pharmacy on a single campus, leading to groundbreaking discoveries and unique interdisciplinary collaboration.

In 2013, the UK Markey Cancer Center announced its designation as a National Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This designation places UK among an elite group of 22 research universities that can boast the "Triple Crown" of federal research awards: NCI designation, the Clinical Translational Sciences Award, and a federally supported Alzheimer's Disease Center.

UK HealthCare

UK HealthCare has strategically developed an incredible capacity to serve the Commonwealth through its state-of-the-art patient care pavilion and emergency rooms, advanced biomedical and biological research, and a network of affiliate health care agencies throughout Kentucky. Passion for people and a vision for the "medical campus of the future" have inspired leading physicians and researchers from across the United States to join UK. Their research agenda is balanced with outreach to affiliated and partner hospitals, so Kentucky families can receive high-quality health care at home and travel to Lexington for only the most advanced, complex medical care and procedures.

Living in the Bluegrass

Ranked as one of the nation's best places to live and work, Lexington offers many diverse educational, cultural and commercial opportunities. With a population of more than 314,000 people, Lexington supports cultural attractions such as opera, ballet, theater and musical events. Surrounded by rolling hills and horse farms, the Bluegrass Region is known for its natural beauty. For more information: http://www.uky.edu/hr/employment/working-uk/life-in-lexington.