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Open position for Avian Genetics/Genomics

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma invites applications for a split tenure-track position of Assistant Curator of Ornithology and Assistant Professor of Biology, beginning in fall 2016, as part of larger hiring initiatives in the department and at the museum. We are searching for a creative, collaborative thinker with a collection-based research program involving molecular approaches to studying avian systems.

We are especially interested in candidates who use genetic or genomic tools and datasets in combination with innovative computational, ecological, behavioral and/or comparative approaches to address important biological questions ranging from the origin and maintenance of organismal diversity, adaptation to changing environments, and human health and disease.

Areas of research interests include, but are not limited to: comparative genomics, landscape/population genetics, geographical ecology, global change biology, evolutionary genetics, and mechanisms of evolution.

The Sam Noble Museum is an organized research unit of the University of Oklahoma and is one of the finest university museums in the world. The museum has an outstanding curatorial, collections, education, exhibits, and support staff that serves the museum’s mission from research to preservation to education at all levels. The Department of Biology is a leading academic department with a tradition of excellence in organismal biology. It is home to 20 of the 44 faculty in the University's graduate program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and it is currently in the process of conducting several exciting strategic hiring initiatives over the next two to three years to expand on its strengths in geographical ecology and the biology of behavior. Our new curator will be joining three new colleagues from a Geographic Ecology Cluster Hire in the Biology Department: a physiological ecologist, aquatic ecologist, and geographic ecologist.

Join us.

How to apply

Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree, teaching experience, and field and museum research experience in ornithology. Preference will be given to biologists with a documented record of collections-based research in natural history who also clearly demonstrate cross-disciplinary research programs.

The successful candidate will be expected to: (1) develop and maintain an innovative, extramurally-funded research program in avian systems; (2) oversee care and obtain support for a collection of more than 26,000 specimens by maintaining records, identifying and cataloging specimens, supervising preparators and assistants, expanding and preserving the collections, and developing long-range plans for collection maintenance and development; (3) contribute to museum public exhibit development and support; (4) develop and contribute to museum-related outreach activities; and (5) contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching, including instruction of one course per year (one-half the regular department teaching load) in ornithology, animal behavior, biogeography, genetics, evolution, ecological modeling, or bioinformatics. A full-time collection manager is funded in this collection (50% collection, 50% Genetic Resources Core Facility), and a rotating graduate assistant appointment is assigned to the collection.

Applicants should send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, summaries of experience and goals (including teaching, research, and curation), and and selected reprints/preprints as PDF files to Dr. Michael A. Mares, Director, mamares@ou.edu. Applicants should also arrange to have three signed letters of reference sent to mamares@ou.edu or to Genetic Ornithologist Search Committee, Sam Noble Museum, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, Oklahoma, 73072-7029. Visit us at snomnh.ou.edu and biology.ou.edu.


Screening of candidates will begin 1 October 2015 and will continue until the position is filled.

The University of Oklahoma is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and encourages diversity in the workplace. Protected veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.