Director, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Solomons, Maryland
Guiding our state, nation, and world toward a more sustainable future
The Opportunity
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) seeks a Director of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) who is a visionary leader with a passion for promoting collaboration and innovation in environmental science. We seek a respected scientist with strong interpersonal skills to join us in a key leadership role that emphasizes inter- and trans-disciplinary research, teamwork, and fostering of a supportive workplace. A “Globally Eminent, Locally Relevant” institution, CBL has a long history of leadership in the science of coastal and ocean environments and their watersheds, from local to international regions. For almost 100 years, we have been dedicated to advancing the environmental sciences through discovery, integration, application, and education across the world, including science leadership in the Chesapeake Bay — the nation’s largest estuarine system.
The Director leads by example and is responsible for the academic and administrative leadership of CBL, including inspiring excellence across the Laboratory and institution. The Director oversees faculty and staff, administers facilities, develops and manages the Laboratory budget, plans and implements program directions for research, leads fundraising activities, and promotes public outreach and science engagement. The Director is a member of the UMCES executive leadership team and reports directly to the university president.
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
UMCES is one of twelve universities in the University System of Maryland (USM). UMCES encompasses a network of six units across Maryland, including CBL in southern Maryland, the Appalachian Laboratory in western Maryland, the Horn Point Laboratory on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park, and the Integration and Application Network in Annapolis. UMCES is home to some 350 scientific and support staff, including 75 faculty members and a similar number of graduate students who engage in cutting-edge research and science application within the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and in locations around the world. UMCES awards M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and aims to expand its educational programming.
UMCES faculty engage in research and advisory work across multiple disciplines encompassing such research areas as ocean, coastal, and estuarine dynamics and ecology; environmental chemistry and toxicology; fisheries ecology, management, and aquaculture; molecular and microbial processes; terrestrial ecology and land management; water resources and watersheds; marine biotechnology; climate and energy; and environmental entrepreneurship. UMCES serves as a trusted scientific advisor to state, national and international leaders, providing world-class research to inform public policy, while educating future scientists to meet the global environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Our assets and strengths include:
● Global eminence and innovation: Outstanding research across diverse disciplines at local, regional, national, and international scales.
● Local relevance: A strong history of research and policy advice on natural resource issues that has built stature and credibility within Maryland.
● Applied science: A key part of UMCES’s mission is actionable science and service to natural resource management agencies.
● Commitment to an inclusive workplace: UMCES has an organizational culture of collaboration, shared governance, and is actively working to make the environmental sciences more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
● Commitment to student mentorship and training: Maryland has a longstanding commitment to higher education. UMCES graduates are leaders in environmental science, management, and policy, and we are proud of the success of our students.
CHESAPEAKE BIOLOGICAL Laboratory
CBL (https://www.umces.edu/cbl) is located in Solomons, MD on the Patuxent River and on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. CBL is the oldest state-supported marine laboratory on the east coast, and it currently has 111 employees, including 26 faculty and 29 graduate students pursuing M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in environmental science through the inter-institutional Marine, Estuarine & Environmental Science Program (www.mees.umd.edu). CBL research program strengths include fisheries, estuarine and coastal ecology, polar oceanography, environmental chemistry, statistics and data science, and toxicology. These are complemented by excellence in research in oceanography, watershed hydrology, landscape ecology, molecular biology, stakeholder engagement and science communication at the other UMCES units.
The CBL Director position offers an opportunity to lead a talented team of researchers, staff, and students to address the environmental challenges facing society. The position is a fully supported 12-month position with the opportunity to balance administrative responsibilities with scholarship. The successful candidate will have a STEM doctoral degree, experience working in environmental science, and an academic background to qualify for the rank of Professor.
Duties
The position involves:
● Academic administration, including a leadership role in faculty hiring, promotion, retention, supervision, and mentorship, fostering a collaborative environment within CBL and across UMCES, and supporting the education of the next generation of environmental scientists;
● Administrative leadership, including advancing the profile of CBL’s science through developing and executing a strategic vision and helping the UMCES executive leadership team advance institutional priorities;
● Human resource management, including cultivating a culture of collaboration, cooperation, curiosity, and mutual respect, promoting civility and belonging for individuals of all backgrounds, and supporting and championing CBL employees;
● Communication, internal and external, including a commitment to transparency, shared governance, knowledge sharing, and institutional values and priorities;
● Financial leadership, including working effectively with staff, faculty, and UMCES administration to manage and support CBL’s multi-million dollar research enterprise;
● Public relations and fundraising, including networking to promote CBL to multiple constituencies including USM, state government, donors, foundations, and supporters of CBL.
Compensation
The successful candidate is entitled to university benefits including generous state employee health and retirement benefits, tuition remission and paid annual and sick leave. Salary is commensurate with experience.
To Apply
Please submit a cover letter describing interest in the position and a statement (up to 3 pages) of how your vision for CBL fits within the job ad, a curriculum vitae, and contact information of six references using the UMCES job portal below.
https://umces.peopleadmin.com/postings/1875
Inquiries may be addressed to the search committee chair, Dr. David Nelson (dnelson@umces.edu).
Review of applications will begin on July 9, 2024 and the position will be open until filled.
Applications will be kept in strict confidence until the final stages of the search when top candidates will be invited for on-campus interviews.
UMCES is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. The University System of Maryland and UMCES value all forms of diversity. Women, members of minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.