Title: Assistant Professor (Agricultural Economic Policy)
Position Number: 0085336
Hiring Unit: College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM)
Location: Hilo, HI
Date Posted: October 8, 2025
Closing Date: Continuous - application review begins December 5, 2025
Monthly Type: 11 Month
Additional Salary Information: Minimum Starting Salary $89,868; commensurate with education and experience.
Tenure Track: Tenure
Full Time/Part Time: Full Time
Temporary/Permanent: Permanent
Other Conditions: Position Workload: 45% Instruction (25% Extension and 20% Academic), 35% Research, and 20% Service; subject to adjustment based on operational needs. First review to begin December 6, 2025 or soon thereafter. For best consideration, all application materials should be submitted by December 5, 2025, 11:59PM HST.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM) invites applications for an 11-month, tenure-track faculty position in agricultural economics and policy to support equitable, sustainable, and resilient food systems, natural resources, and rural communities. This position is critical to meeting CTAHR’s strategic priorities of vibrant tropical and Pacific Island agriculture, food security, ecosystem health, and resilient and thriving communities. Finally, this position supports the food and agricultural products self sufficiency goals of the state.
This position is designed to provide critical, state-wide agricultural economic analytical support for policies related to diversified, resilient and thriving agriculture. The successful candidate will build a research program targeted to provide timely, evidence-based insights to Hawai‘i policy makers and industry leaders to drive impactful policy design and private sector decision making that improve agricultural sector outcomes. One key effort will be developingpartial equilibrium economic models that represent policies and markets accurately, and can be used to generate outlook reports and policy analysis. The successful candidate will develop stakeholder-informed agile models capable of providing decision makers with timely estimates of the impacts of agriculture, trade, housing, land use, water rights, climate adaptation, biosecurity, and other policies. Other research efforts would be informed by stakeholder needs and could focus on supply and value chain analyses (e.g., identifying new market opportunities for and bottlenecks to sustainable production and food value chains; assessing infrastructural and labor needs; identifying value-added opportunities) and the impact of new technologies.
We seek candidates with excellent agricultural economics skills who have applied experience in coupled agricultural-rural human-natural systems such as Hawai‘i and the Pacific islands and who have strong potential to develop an effective, integrated extension and research program in economic policy analysis to support resilient and thriving agricultural production systems and rural communities. First-hand knowledge of relevant local and US policies and policymaking process will be essential to frame the research, represent policy, and understand potential mechanisms and timelines. The successful candidate will have experience working with interdisciplinary research teams to tackle complex agricultural-economic policy questions.
Our campus welcomes all student but given our responsibilities to the community in which we operate, as part of our strategic mission, we strive to become a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning, a place that is committed to integrating Native Hawaiian language, culture and/or values into its academic and campus environment.
Duties and responsibilities:
Instruction (45%) and Extension Instruction (25%):
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Provide extension leadership in agricultural economic analysis to support a resilient and thriving agricultural sector in the State of Hawai‘i, and in partnership with private, non-profit, federal, state, and county agencies and stakeholders.
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Maintain an active extension program focused on identifying opportunities through new and innovative technologies to build resilient and thriving agricultural sector and rural communities; expanding local and global market opportunities; supporting public and private decision-making; and connecting stakeholders to appropriate federal and state grant and support programs.
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Develop audience-appropriate extension materials, such as training modules and decision support tools, for the adoption of new technologies for agriculture and food systems in Hawai‘ii n partnership with the Agricultural Finance Agent, other agricultural economics faculty, and/or state of Hawai‘i agricultural economists.
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Obtain internal and external grant funding to support this extension program.
Academic Instruction (20%):
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Teach one (1) to two (2) undergraduate and/or graduate courses annually in agricultural policy, trade and market or value-added analysis.
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Contribute to teaching and mentoring CTAHR students through: serving on graduate student committees; providing undergraduate capstone project, internship, or mentored research opportunities; and providing guest lectures or field trips for other CTAHR and NREM classes.
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Co-manage CTAHR’s Agribusiness Certificate Program by developing new curriculum, teaching courses, advising students enrolled in the program, and participating in program assessment and improvement efforts.
Research (35%):
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Develop a Hawai?i-focused and globally-recognized, extramurally funded research program that leverages cutting edge quantitative modeling approaches to analyze agricultural sector policies, with an emphasis on the sustainability, and resiliency of food production systems and natural resources, in order to provide sufficient, acceptable and accessible food for the people within Hawai‘i and the Pacific Island region, including those in rural communities.
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Deliver timely, objective, and policy-relevant research that supports decision-making in agricultural policy in Hawai?i.
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Obtain extramural grants to support program.
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Publish scholarly outputs in academic journals.
Service (20%):
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Participate in Department, College, and University service, including serving on graduate committees, department and University committees, and faculty senates.
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Contribute to local or national professional societies by reviewing for, or editing academic or professional books or journals, serving as officer or on the board of professional organizations, organizing professional conferences, workshops, or training programs, judging entries at national meetings, serving on review committees for grants or programs, or judging student entries at local or national science fairs.
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Contribute to the Hawai‘i community through policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change. This service will be achieved through service on boards or advising local non-profits working in the area of agricultural conservation and natural resource management, or providing unpaid subject matter expertise or testimony in areas of expertise.
Minimum Qualifications:
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Ph.D. from a college or university of recognized standing with major in Agricultural Economics, or a closely related field, including academic preparation and formal coursework consistent with the subject areas of extension, research and instruction stated above.
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Demonstrated ability to conduct applied agricultural policy research related to the adoption of innovative technologies, sustainability, and resilience of agricultural production, natural resource use, and rural community livelihoods, specifically working with economic models in the evaluation of policy impacts
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Proven ability to work effectively with community organizations, government agencies, farmers, stakeholder groups, food industry representatives, commodity groups, private businesses, and other groups representing the agricultural industry
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills as demonstrated by authorship in peer-reviewed publications and refereed presentations.
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Ability to teach agricultural economics and policy courses.
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Demonstrated ability to collaborate on or lead academically oriented and interdisciplinary research.
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Professionalism in meeting and conferring with others.
Desirable Qualifications:
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Record of scholarly research in agricultural economic policy analysis.
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Demonstrated ability to obtain and manage competitive, extramural, applied research and/or extension funding.
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Demonstrated experience working on policy analysis for small- and medium-scale agriculture, tropical or sub-tropical agricultural systems, insular areas, and rural community development.
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Demonstrated experience in teaching courses online or in a hybrid format (combination of online and in-person instruction).
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Strong record of collaborative engagement to develop and share research, impact policy, and create positive change in communities, agencies, and the environment.
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Familiarity of Hawai‘i and U.S. legislative and executive processes, preferably through employment experience with USDA, US government, or an agricultural organization.
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Demonstrated experience in successfully serving the needs of local communities and the public.
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Cover letter indicating how you satisfy the minimum and some, if not all, desirable qualifications;
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Curriculum vitae (CV);
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Statement of extension teaching;
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Names of three (3) professional references (contact information including email address); and
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Official transcripts or original documentation from the institution confirming the degree (copies acceptable; however, official transcripts sent directly from the degree-granting institution are required upon hire). Diplomas will not be accepted.
Note: Complete applications and required document attachments must be submitted before close of vacancy. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed by the hiring committee.
Inquiries: Tomoaki Miura, [email protected]
