Goodnight Professor of Coastal Resilience and Sustainability and Director of Coastal Resilience

Organization

North Carolina State University

Deadline

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Start Date

Monday, August 1, 2022

The Goodnight Distinguished Professor and Director of the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative must be an experienced, innovative, creative and collaborative leader who has excelled in engaged, interdisciplinary and convergent team research to address the grand challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation in the coastal plain.  The successful candidate will have an exemplary record of working across disciplinary boundaries, thinking holistically about socio-ecological systems, and building successful teams that have included faculty and external partners in a variety of sponsored research endeavors.   
 
The Goodnight Distinguished Professor will be appointed in one of the three departments of the College of Natural Resources (whichever is most appropriate to their background), but will be expected to engage with faculty across the campus to lead and conduct problem oriented, interdisciplinary and engaged research. The Director of the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative reports to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and these duties constitute 50% of the appointment. 
 
The Goodnight Distinguished Professor will have the following responsibilities:  

  • Teach one course per year in area of focus that enhances the curricula of the College of Natural Resources;
  • Advise and mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellow towards successful careers, as evidenced by publication of jointly authored research articles in peer-reviewed journals and other products;
  • Build and maintain an internationally competitive sponsored research program to support your endeavors; 
  • Be an active presence in the department, college, university, and appropriate professional communities;

 
The Director of the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative has the following responsibilities: 

  • Provide strong leadership and strategic direction for the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative, which currently includes over 200 faculty from all 10 Colleges at NC State; 
  • Foster and facilitate high-impact interdisciplinary collaboration across the University and with other academic institutions in the region and beyond;
  • Build relationships and partnerships with public and private entities outside the University, including the State of NC, the communities of eastern NC, businesses, agricultural, forestry, and other natural resource constituencies, and not-for-profit organizations; 
  • Regularly meet and collaborate with partners and stakeholders to identify needs and follows up on progress towards agreed-upon goals and projects;
  • Lead and support the development of sponsored research proposals that elevate the reputation of the University and contribute to solutions of the grand challenges of climate change, coastal resilience and sustainability.