Tenured/Tenure-Track: Associate Professor or Professor in Ornamental Horticulture

The Department of Horticultural Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University invites applications for a full-time, 9-month tenure-track or tenured faculty position. Applicants will be considered for the faculty titles of Associate Professor or Professor, depending on qualifications and experience. The successful candidate will provide leadership in ornamental horticulture through an integrated program of research, teaching, and outreach/service. Successful candidates with an exceptional scholarly record will also be considered for appointment to the Ellison Endowed Chair in Ornamental Horticulture, subject to the university review and approval process.

Ellison Endowed Chair Consideration and Mission: The mission of the Ellison Chair is to advance the health and vitality of the ornamental horticulture industry — nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and landscape — on a national and international scope. The Ellison Chair will support the green industry through exemplary academic leadership, cutting-edge research, innovative stakeholder outreach programs, and by mentoring well-educated, impassioned leaders to enhance the future of the industry.

The faculty member is expected to bring colleagues together around common goals, build partnerships across disciplines and institutions, and obtain significant and sustainable program funding from appropriate internal and external sources, including grants and contracts from industry, state and federal agencies, and private and philanthropic support. If appointed to the Ellison Endowed Chair, the faculty member will also provide leadership consistent with the mission and stewardship expectations of the endowment.

The faculty position description is intentionally broad and is not defined by a single subdiscipline or reserved for any one specialty. We welcome applications from individuals with backgrounds in horticulture and plant science, as well as agricultural and behavioral economics, consumer and social sciences, data science, and health sciences, whose work is substantively grounded in ornamental plants and horticultural systems.

The department seeks a leader who will advance understanding of the relationships among plants, nature, and human health and well-being. As scientific interest in the health, cognitive, social, and ecosystem benefits of plants continues to expand, the successful candidate will help strengthen the plant-centered knowledge base needed to support this growing field. The candidate will champion this vision, contribute to an emerging certificate in horticulture for human well-being, and communicate the value of plants to industry, policy, and public audiences while strengthening horticulture's identity and impact.

Programmatic areas of emphasis may include, but are not limited to:

·            The value proposition of plants, including health, well-being, cognitive and social outcomes, and ecosystem services benefits

·            Consumer behavior and market insight, including access to the Human Behavior Lab, the largest facility of its kind in this field

·            Efficient and sustainable production systems (e.g., water quality and quantity, energy, substrates, and environmental footprint; modern greenhouses, growth chambers, container nursery, and field plot areas are available for activities such as plant breeding and production)

·            Human capital and industry leadership development (e.g., undergraduate teaching, graduate training, and executive education)

·            Risk management and business resilience (e.g., financial, production, and market risk in a maturing industry)

·            Economics and marketing of ornamental crops, where the candidate’s background supports it

The successful candidate is expected to build genuine depth in one or more of these areas rather than cover all of them, and applicants are encouraged to propose directions of their own. The faculty member will collaborate across Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the wider Texas A&M University System, and industry partners nationally and internationally.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

The successful candidate will develop an innovative, externally funded research and outreach program that addresses critical challenges facing the ornamental horticulture industry and results in high-impact, peer-reviewed scholarship. The faculty member is expected to translate rigorous research into insight that growers, retailers, allied industry, policymakers, and the public can act upon; translation, and not only discovery, is central to the role.

Teaching responsibilities typically include one undergraduate or graduate course each semester, together with the mentoring of graduate students, undergraduate researchers, and postdoctoral scholars. The faculty member will contribute to interdisciplinary courses, certificates, and curriculum development, including instruction that reaches students well beyond the horticulture major. Other courses may be assigned as needed by the department.

Outreach and service responsibilities, comprising approximately 30% of the appointment, include statewide, national, and international outreach to industry and community audiences; contributions to the department, college, and university; and active participation in professional societies. If appointed to the Ellison Endowed Chair, the faculty member will also be expected to steward the endowment and its advisory committee relationships.

The anticipated start date for the position is August 17, 2027.

Distribution of Effort:  40% research, 30% teaching, and 30% Outreach/Service.

Required Qualifications

●  An earned doctorate in horticulture, plant science, or a closely related discipline — for example agricultural or behavioral economics, consumer or social science, data science, or health sciences when accompanied by substantial demonstrated experience in horticultural systems.

●  A record of scholarly achievement sufficient to support tenure review upon hire at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor at Texas A&M University, including a strong record of peer-reviewed publication and success in garnering competitive external funding.

●  Demonstrated experience in outreach, or comparable stakeholder and community engagement.

●  Demonstrated record of scholarship, teaching, and/or public engagement related to horticultural systems. 

●  Demonstrated success as an external bridge builder and internal team builder — building durable relationships with industry, commodity, and stakeholder groups beyond the university, and collaborative teams within it.

●  Strong communication and listening skills — the ability to deliver keynote-caliber presentations to industry, scientific, and general audiences, paired with a demonstrated record of listening to stakeholders and learning from them.

●  Demonstrated ability to synthesize and connect — to draw together findings across disciplines and render them as coherent, actionable insight for practitioners and decision-makers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Effectiveness as a cross-disciplinary educator, with evidence of teaching that reaches and engages students outside the major.
• An established or emerging public presence — media, popular writing, podcasts, social platforms, or other channels that carry horticulture to broad audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to reframe horticulture for the public, articulating the value of plants in terms that resonate beyond the industry.
• Experience informing policy conversations at the state, national, or international level.
• A demonstrated commitment to preserving horticultural identity as a discipline.
• Experience developing interdisciplinary courses, certificates, or curricula.
• Deep credibility with the ornamental horticulture industry, or a clear aptitude for earning it.
• Working knowledge of production economics and the business realities of horticultural firms.
• A record of interdisciplinary collaboration and of securing extramural funding from federal, state, industry, and philanthropic sources.
• Commitment to advancing the plants, nature, and health vision, including willingness to help build and teach an emerging certificate in horticulture for human well-being.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Applicants must submit:

• A cover letter (2-page limit)
• Curriculum Vitae
• A personal statement describing the applicant’s philosophy and plans for research, teaching, and outreach/service or Extension; applicants may conclude the statement with their vision for advancing the mission of the Ellison Endowed Chair in Ornamental Horticulture (single document; 3-page limit)
• Contact information for three references.

Applications will be accepted online at apply.interfolio.com/196065. Initial screening of applications will begin on November 15, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. The anticipated start date for the position is August 17, 2027.

Direct inquiries to:

Dr. Michael Arnold, Search Committee Chair

Texas A&M University, Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU 2133, College Station, TX 77843-2133

Email: mike.arnold@agnet.tamu.edu

Application Process:

This institution is using Interfolio’s Faculty Search to conduct this search. Applicants for this position receive a free Dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge.