Merakey Jobs

Position Summary

The Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Integrative Biology (IBIO) and []{#IntyZEgUjB6}MSU Museum invite applicants for the position of Tenure System Assistant Professor and Curator of Vertebrate Collections. Although preference is for candidates at the Assistant Professor rank, we will also consider exceptional, early-stage Associate Professors. The IBIO Department's core mission is to advance understanding of the function, stability, resilience, and adaptation of complex biological systems via research, teaching, and outreach while striving to recruit and retain a diverse, vibrant, and inclusive community of scholars (https://integrativebiology.msu.edu). The MSU Museum (https://museum.msu.edu/) maintains a collection of over 117,000 vertebrate specimens (birds, fish, herps, mammals, and paleontological), and has a long history of supporting faculty and student engagement via teaching, outreach, and collections-based research.  

This tenure-stream position comprises research, teaching, and curation components. The applicant is expected to have an independent, specimen-based research program with strong potential (or record, in the case of the more senior applicants) for external funding. The research program should contribute to the growth of []{#IntleAVk8L5}the vertebrate collections and provide research opportunities for students. The applicant will also teach an upper-level course in their area of expertise.  

As Curator of Vertebrates, the successful candidate will work with the Collections Manager to facilitate the use of collections for research and education, oversee growth of the collections, write proposals to support collections care and digitization, and provide expertise to the campus community and to state and local authorities. The MSU Museum is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation project to implement state-of-the-art climate control systems, among other improvements (https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2024/msu-museum-begins-18-month-renovation-project).  

We will consider applicants whose work focuses on any vertebrate taxonomic group and with expertise in any of a variety of fields including global change, phylogenomics, functional morphology, macroevolution, conservation biology, and evolutionary biology. 

The position is funded by IBIO and the College of Natural Science. The successful candidate will have office space for themselves and students in the MSU Museum and laboratory and associated research space in a nearby building.

IBIO uses innovative tools to address important questions about genetics, genomics, development, physiology, behavior, ecology, and evolution in a wide array of organisms, over multiple temporal and spatial scales. Under new leadership, the department is undergoing growth and expansion with several new hires. The department includes more than 30 faculty members, strong graduate and undergraduate programs, and supportive administrative and technical staff. Most faculty members are also affiliated with one or more units outside IBIO; these include the MSU Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, Kellogg Biological Station, and numerous cross-college interdisciplinary graduate programs. 

Both IBIO and the MSU Museum have a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), in alignment with the college and institution's strategic plans towards inclusive excellence. We encourage applicants who have []{#Inte0cZyoiH}a track record of implementing DEI principles and practices in their teaching, curation, and/or research, or who have compelling ideas for future activities. Valued DEI activities include, but are not limited to, building and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive lab; applying DEI practices in courses taught and the evaluation of those courses; as well as integrating DEI into