Horticulture Tenure-Track Faculty & Program Director en Parkland College

Horticulture Tenure-Track Faculty & Program Director

This position is an on-campus, full-time, 12 month, tenure-track appointment based in Champaign, Illinois covered by the Parkland Academic Employees (PAE) collective bargaining unit. Starting salary for 12 months between $59,218.32 - 87,176.99 dependent on certifications, years of teaching experience, and education received.

  Application Close Date/Time: Monday, November 24th, at 6PM CT

The Horticulture Tenure-Track Faculty/Program Director develops, prepares, and delivers courses in both classroom and various lab settings.  The Horticulture faculty member will teach as per the Parkland Academic Employees (PAE) bargaining agreement and have partial release time for program development and recruitment.  The faculty member will also advise and mentor students, collaborate with industry partners, and participate in governance of their departments and the college.  The Program Director is responsible for providing leadership of the college’s Horticulture program and supervising the greenhouse manager. 

The contractual load for each semester will be a combination of director and teaching responsibilities that will equal 15 equated contact hours (ECH). This position requires 215-days with a minimum 9 ECH summer assignment to oversee facility operations.

Applicants must submit:

• An online employment application
  
• Cover letter 
  
• Resume or CV
• Copy of official transcripts from the institution where you received your highest degree. If hired, certified official transcript is required.

Essential Job Functions:

Faculty

• Performs professional duties in accordance with the established policies and procedures of the college.
  
• Provides classroom instruction in accordance with the stated philosophy, objectives, and established course outlines of the college.
  
• Informs students of course regulations, evaluation procedures, and other information pertinent to the course; prepares a course syllabus for each course and distributes it early in each term.
  
• Is available for student advising/mentoring.
  
• Maintains regular office hours to ensure availability for student consultation; provides assistance to students in a timely manner.
  
• Maintains accurate scholastic records of students; submits required reports on student progress according to published deadlines.
  
• Participates in departmental governance (including curriculum development, instructional materials selection, and academic assessment) and maintains collaborative relationship with other department faculty.
  
• Participates in college-wide shared governance, including Parkland College Association (PCA) Senate, its committees, administrative committees, and accreditation committees.
  
• Participates in professional development activities related to discipline knowledge and/or teaching skills.
  
• Performs other duties as assigned by the department chair.
  

Horticulture Program Director

• Collaborates with the department chair and dean to establish program vision and direction. 
  
• Facilitates program-level assessment and program review. 
  
• Proposes class scheduling, teaching assignments, and room assignments to the department chair.
  
• Initiates and sustains industry partnerships, including but not limited to organizing and leading advisory committee meetings. 
  
• Collaborates with the department chair and associate dean to coordinate the program’s partnership with other college units (including marketing, career and community engagement, and admissions) to promote the program and recruit and enroll students. 
  
• Leads the process for updating the horticulture curriculum, including proposing catalog updates and course information forms (CIF) revisions.
  
• Provides support to fellow faculty members—including full-time program instructors, adjunct faculty, and dual credit faculty—in areas such as onboarding and instructional alignment.. 
  
• Recruits, recommends for hire, supervises, and evaluates adjunct faculty (including dual credit faculty), classroom/lab assistants, student workers, and the greenhouse manager. 
  
• Manages the horticulture program’s allocated budget and follows college policies and procedures related to expenditures. 
  
• Ensures appropriate lab/equipment maintenance and upkeep, including maintaining professional and safe work environments marked by organization and cleanliness.
  
• Submits requests for equipment, facility, or budget needs for the horticulture program. 
  
• Collaborates with academic advisors to ensure accurate registration, course sequencing, and academic planning for both new and continuing students in the horticulture program. 
  
• Supports and advises student organizations affiliated with the horticulture program, including coordinating activities, events, and outreach efforts.
  

Minimum Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Horticulture or a closely related field (e.g., Plant Science, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems), or a master’s degree in any discipline with at least 18 graduate credit hours in Horticulture or a related area. Illinois
• Pesticide Applicator License, or ability to obtain within first three (3) months of employment.
  
• At least three (3) years of full-time equivalent work experience in horticulture related field (e.g., greenhouse operations, landscape installation/management, sustainable farming, specialty crop production, irrigation design/installation, etc.)
  
• Ability to learn the Parkland information system and new programs as technology changes.  
  
• Prospective new hires will successfully complete a post offer, pre-employment criminal background check with fingerprinting. The background check review includes, but is not limited to, exclusionary offenses per the Illinois School Code and Title IV of the Higher Education Act. 
  
• In an effort to comply with SURS return-to-work restrictions for employers (40 ILCS 5/15-139.5), candidates for employment at Parkland College must either not be a SURS annuitant or must be willing to suspend his/her SURS annuity upon employment. This applies to all SURS annuitants except those receiving their annuity under either the Self-Managed Plan (SMP) or by lump sum payment.
  

Robust benefits, including medical insurance with no monthly premiums, dental, life, disability, retirement plans, flexible spending, dependent care, EAP, work/life balance with generous paid time off, and tuition waiver. More information on the benefits package may be found online at our Benefits page.

Sponsorship for work authorization is not available for this position.

Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://www.parkland.edu/careers will not be considered.

Please monitor your email, including spam or junk mail folders, for future correspondence from Parkland College Human Resources.
For further information on the application process, please contact Parkland College Human Resources at 217-351-2220.

Applicants with disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process.

Requests may be submitted by contacting Human Resources at 217-351-2220 or by emailing [email protected].

Equal Opportunity Employer