Blacksburg, Virginia
Posted: 14-Oct-25
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Type: Full Time
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Categories:
Required Education:
Additional Information:
Internal Number: 534467
The Virginia Tech Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) seeks an accomplished, energetic and visionary leader for the position of Department Head. Responsibilities of the Department Head include leadership of all departmental programs and administrative responsibility for strategic planning, fiscal management, and human resources including: recruitment; development and advancement; and retention of faculty, staff, and students. The Department Head will advocate for FST within and outside the university, and actively secure resources to strengthen its mission. The best-fit individual will foster excellence in teaching, research, and extension and encourage a positive, collegial climate and participatory decision-making process within the department. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success and distinction in one or more of the disciplines in food science either in academic, regulatory or industry organizations. The ideal candidate will also have a transformational leadership style, utilizing engagement and open communication to facilitate change. FST’s next leader is expected to build upon the existing momentum within the food sciences for departmental growth and unification, student training, procuring extramural funding and strengthening research, teaching, extension, outreach, and alumni engagement. This position reports directly to the Dean and is administratively and faculty-reviewed every five years.
The Department of Food Science & Technology (FST) is one of the core units in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). FST is dedicated to the tripartite land grant mission of teaching, research and extension and is the home department of 28 faculty members in the tenure track, collegiate, professor of practice, extension specialist, and administrative ranks and 7 staff. FST offers an undergraduate B.S. degree in Food Science & Technology, a thesis-based M.S. in Life Science in Food Science & Technology and a Ph.D. in Food Science & Technology. Additionally, we participate in the CALS Online Masters in Agriculture and Life Sciences (OMALS). Presently, the FST Department has 125 undergraduate and ~40 graduate students. The Department manages a base budget (state and federal capacity) of over $2.9M and a current research portfolio of projects totaling nearly $2.6M annually. FST’s comprehensive Extension programs, led by 10 faculty, support safe, high quality food production from field to table in Virginia and beyond.
Required qualifications: Doctorate in food science and technology or related field; Record of academic and/or professional achievement commensurate with a tenured appointment at the rank of professor; Evidence of visionary leadership and strategic planning in academic, industry, regulatory, or government organizations; Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the three missions of a land grant university: excellence in teaching, research, and extension/outreach; Demonstrated experience in the leadership of people, projects, and consensus building; Effectiveness in personnel management, interpersonal and stakeholder communication, and financial and physical resources; Excellent organizational and communication skills; A commitment to Virginia Tech's Principles of Community.
Preferred qualifications: Experience at or with land-grant university activities and goals; Experience with the unique administrative structures, student demographics, and accreditation standards of US higher education institutions; Demonstrated ability to secure extramural funding, including through institutional advancement and development.
Job Duties: (75%) Provide strategic leadership and vision for the department, effectively oversee administrative, fiscal, marketing initiatives, and human resource matters, provide annual objective faculty and staff performance reviews, advocate with external stakeholders, and pursue development opportunities. Provide leadership for the design and implementation of the curricula, infrastructure, and new hires along with their advancement for the department; (25%) Remain engaged in various impactful scholarship activities aligned with the Department's mission.