Essential Job Duties

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University (NC State) invites applications for the position of Head of the Department of Horticultural Science. We seek an engaging, collaborative, and strategic leader committed to advancing excellence in teaching, research, and Extension while fostering a vibrant, collaborative, and forward-looking departmental culture. The Head is responsible for providing visionary and decisive leadership, serve as a strong mentor for faculty, staff, and Extension professionals across on-campus and off-campus locations statewide, and support their success while stewarding departmental resources. The successful candidate will advance a future-focused vision for innovative research, enrollment growth, and high-impact Extension programming; strengthen statewide Extension efforts; and serve as a connector between horticultural science and emerging university-wide research initiatives.

As the department’s lead representative, the Head will build and sustain strong relationships with commodity groups, industry partners, alumni, and donors. The Head will play an active role in development efforts that support new departmental initiatives, distinguished professorships, graduate student fellowships, and enhanced student opportunities and serve as the lead representative in interactions with College and University administrators, industry and commodity groups, and consumers. The Department Head will have the unique and exciting opportunity to shape the future of the Horticulture program at NCSU, capitalizing on a significant generational transition of faculty expected over the next few years. The Department Head is expected to promote collaborations and partnerships with other College and University departments as well as state, national, and international agencies to position the Department as global leaders in their discipline.

The Head’s office and administrative home of Horticulture Science is located on the main campus of NC State University in Raleigh. This position will further have responsibilities with Horticulture departmental faculty, staff, and students with duty stations located at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, and other NC State University research and extension facilities within North Carolina.

Key responsibilities are:

• Provide strategic and administrative leadership for all departmental teaching, research, and Extension programs.
• Advance a clear vision for program growth, innovation, and national visibility in horticultural science.
• Recruit, mentor, evaluate, and support faculty, staff, and Extension professionals across on-campus and off-campus locations statewide.
• Oversee departmental budgets, personnel, facilities, and resources, ensuring effective stewardship and accountability.
• Strengthen undergraduate and graduate academic programs, research productivity, and high-impact Extension programming.
• Foster collaboration within the department, centers, consortiums and other NC State units, including participation in university-wide research initiatives.
• Serve as the primary representative of the department to college and university leadership, industry partners, commodity groups, alumni, and stakeholders.
• Lead development and fundraising efforts to support departmental initiatives, distinguished professorships, graduate student fellowships, and student opportunities.
• Make timely, informed decisions and address complex or challenging issues in support of departmental goals.