The Department of Food Science & Technology is seeking a Department Head. This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, professional faculty position.
The Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) is in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis. FST is internationally recognized for excellence in teaching, research, Extension, and outreach, with strengths spanning sustainable food processing and packaging, dairy science, fermentation and microbiology, food and flavor chemistry, sensory, food safety, food and health, product and process development, and artificial intelligence applications in food systems. The Department has a strong land-grant mission and delivers impactful Extension programming in enology, fruit and vegetable processing, dairy, and sustainable food systems. FST is home to a dynamic and collaborative community of faculty, staff, and students and maintains strong partnerships with industry, supported by an engaged and impactful Advisory Board.
The Department Head provides overall administrative leadership to the Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) for all of its education, research, and Extension functions. These functions include undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, outreach, development, and international activity. The Head oversees a food science and technology program spanning the Corvallis campus including pilot winery, brewery, and dairy operations, the Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland, and the OSU Seafood Research & Education Center (SREC) in Astoria as one program in three locations. The Department Head is responsible for ensuring the delivery of high standards for teaching, research, and Extension and Outreach by departmental faculty, and for managing, administering, and coordinating the operations of the Department. The Department Head reports directly to the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, and makes management decisions, affecting programs, budget, staffing, and related matters.
This position of Department Head and Jacobs-Root Professorship appointment is subject to reappointment at the discretion of the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. The successful candidate must be tenured or eligible for tenure within the Department and have demonstrated scholarship and the potential for successful academic leadership, as shown by their record of professional service.
The Department Head directly supervises 17 tenured and tenure-track faculty, four professors and instructors in other ranks, 6 professional faculty (staff), and several research and courtesy appointments on the Corvallis campus, and collaborates with leadership at the FIC and SREC as the academic homes for faculty at those locations. The student population consists of 47 graduate students and 95 undergraduate majors.
The Department of Food Science and Technology is supported by approximately $5 million in state funding, $6 million in grants and contracts, and over $9 million in foundation endowments supporting scholarships and research. The department offers a BS in Food Science & Sustainable Technologies including degree options in Food Science, Fermentation Science, and Enology & Viticulture. The Food Science and Fermentation Science options are accredited by the Institute of Food Technologists. The unit offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science and Technology. The unit also operates Beaver Classic, our student-led brand which develops, produces, and sells products on campus and in our community. FST has an external Advisory Board that advocates for the department and provides advice and strategic direction to the Department Head.
College of Agricultural Sciences faculty are committed to enhancing student success by engaging students in quality opportunities related to their academic program, research, internships, global studies, and other experiential learning. Positions primarily responsible for extension and outreach are committed to learner success through programming appropriate for diverse audiences. The Department Head is expected to embody and advance the principles and practices conveyed in the CAS CARE Commitment document.
Oregon State University’s commitment to student success includes hiring, retaining, and developing diverse faculty to mentor and educate our undergraduate and graduate students from entry through graduation. The Oregon State Plan, Prosperity Widely Shared, exhibits the strategies we believe are critical to advancing and equalizing learner success. The College of Agricultural Sciences is likewise committed to the success of all learners, as evidenced by its extension and outreach programs under our Strategic Advantages. The new OSU Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex will be a dynamic home for team-based transdisciplinary research and teaching. It will be a place where creative, driven faculty and students come together to solve critical challenges facing the world in areas such as climate science, clean energy and water resources. The complex will be home to one of the nation’s most powerful supercomputers and will advance the application of AI to OSU’s areas of strength.
