Faculty Positions

Position Title / Rank: Assistant Professor in Community Health and Lifestyle Promotion

College: College of Biological Science

Department: Human Health and Nutritional Sciences

Date Posted: June 8, 2023
Deadline: September 1, 2023
Please reference AD #23-34

Position Description:

The Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences in The College of Biological Science at the University of Guelph invites applications from black scholars for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in the area of Community Health and Lifestyle Promotion.

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in health education, health promotion, public health or related social science/psychology field with expertise in health promotion or health behaviour change. This position requires expertise in knowledge translation of nutrition and/or exercise in the promotion of health and lifestyle in black communities. The successful candidate will have relevant postdoctoral or faculty experience, along with evidence of strong potential to establish a productive, externally funded research program in knowledge translation and health promotion in black communities. The successful candidate will have a track record of recruiting and mentoring diverse, high quality graduate students. The successful candidate may employ any number of cutting-edge approaches and innovative techniques and methodologies that will translate into black communities to allow stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions around health particularly as it relates to nutrition and exercise. We are looking for a collaborative connector, a leader of interdisciplinarity and a wholistic, integrative and creative thinker.

Applicants must also demonstrate a commitment to effective and innovative teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. The successful candidate will teach courses or parts of courses in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences. Courses may include teaching at the senior level in the BASc degree program in Kinesiology at the University of Guelph-Humber, and undergraduate and graduate courses in the Honours BSc students in the Nutrition and Nutraceutical Sciences, Human Kinetics and Biomedical Sciences programs at the University of Guelph.

This tenure-track faculty position is part of the University of Guelph’s Black and Indigenous Hiring Initiative . Launched in June 2022, the Black and Indigenous Hiring Initiative (BIHI) calls for hiring fifteen or more Black and Indigenous faculty and four or more Black and Indigenous professional staff across the University of Guelph during the next three years. The faculty and staff positions will be filled in areas that support the advancement of Black and Indigenous academic excellence and the University of Guelph’s commitments to inclusion, anti-racism, indigenization and decolonization.

For this position The University of Guelph seeks qualified individuals who identify as persons of Black African or Caribbean descent. Applicants will be asked to self-identify through the Applicant Tracking Questionnaire (ATQ) facilitated by Diversity and Human Rights.

The successful candidate will join a dynamic, multidisciplinary Department with ~28 faculty and an excellent record of research in human health, exercise, nutrition, metabolism, biomechanics and physiology as well as teaching and learning, who employ a wide range of techniques and methodologies at multiple levels of biological organization to advance the fields of human health and nutritional sciences. This faculty and this Department are organically growing in the area of knowledge translation with interests in being more community-involved at the local, national and international level. This is reflected in two major initiatives. We are part of an inter-College initiative, the Guelph Family Health Study, a longitudinal study helping families in the community build healthy eating and activity habits. Secondly, CBS is home to SMART, a tri-council national training program in Healthy Cities and Implementation Science.

In the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences and the College of Biological Science, we value diversity and inclusivity because we know that diversity in experiences and perspectives is vital to advancing innovation, critical thinking, complex problem solving, and the creation of a modern, representative academic community. The Department is committed to developing and maintaining a culture that is positive, collegial, and respectful of all members, and in which wellness and healthy work-life balance are valued and contribute to excellence in research and teaching. To develop an inclusive and vibrant departmental culture, the Department maintains standing committees focused on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Mental Health and Wellness and has developed specific recommendations for faculty hiring that incorporate these important issues. Read the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Science’s EDI statement.

Qualifications:

  • Black scholars with Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in health education, health promotion, public health or related social sciences/psychology field with expertise in health promotion and health behaviour change. This position requires expertise in knowledge translation of nutrition and/or exercise in the promotion of health and lifestyle in black communities.
  • Relevant postdoc or equivalent experience.

Research:

  • Evidence of strong potential to establish a productive, externally-funded research program.
  • Evidence of strong potential for collaboration.
  • Researchers who make use of cutting-edge approaches or tools or innovative methodologies to foster interdisciplinary collaborations would be particularly appropriate. The candidate may employ any number of approaches to disseminate health and lifestyle information to stakeholders (such as policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, institutions, community members and communities) to make evidence-based decisions around health as it relates to nutrition and exercise. Research must include lifestyle and health promotion in black communities.
  • The research statement (2 pages max):
    • Present a vision of the short-term (5 years) and long-term goals (10+ years) of the research program, including funding strategies.
    • Explain how the research program will promote interdisciplinarity and collaboration within the Department, College and University.
    • Describe how the research plan will include highly qualified personnel and trainees.

Teaching and HQP:

  • Demonstrated commitment to effective, creative and innovative teaching at the undergraduate level.
  • Able to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in HHNS.
  • Evidence of potential for effective mentorship of graduate students.
  • Teaching statement (2 pages max):
    • Describe an overall teaching philosophy.
    • Provide examples of specific teaching strategies that have been used effectively in previous courses of strategies that you plan to use in future courses.
    • Describe potential teaching contributions to the department.

EDI and Collegiality:

  • Commitment to a Departmental culture that is positive, collegial, and respectful of all members, and in which wellness and healthy work-life balance are valued.
  • Diversity statement (1 page max):
    • Describe history of advocacy and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion both professionally and personally.
    • Describe strategies to ensure the applicant’s research, teaching, and mentorship activities will provide equitable opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and will foster a welcoming and inclusive environment in their courses and research group.

The University of Guelph is the third largest employer in Guelph, a city of approximately 130,000 people, located about an hour drive west of Toronto, Ontario. University of Guelph is a top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada with an enrolment of over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across over 40 academic units. The University is known for its commitment to student learning, innovative research, and collaboration with world-class partners. It is a unique place, with transformative research and teaching and a distinctive campus culture. People who learn and work here are shaped and inspired by a shared purpose: To Improve Life. Reflecting that shared purpose in every experience connected to our university positions us to create positive change, here and around the world. Our university community shares a profound sense of social responsibility, a drive for international development, and an obligation to address global issues.

Application Process

Assessment of applications will begin September 1, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled. Interested applicants should submit the following materials (preferably as a single PDF): (1) cover letter; (2) curriculum vitae; (3) research vision statement; (4) teaching statement; (5) diversity statement; (6) names and contact information of three references.

The research statement (2 pages max) should present a vision of the short-term (5 years) and long-term (10+ years) goals of the research program, including funding strategies and potential for integration and collaboration within the Department, College and University. It should also describe how HQP will be included in your research program. The teaching statement (2 pages max) should describe an overall teaching philosophy, provide examples of specific teaching strategies that have been used effectively in previous courses or that you wish to employ in future courses, and summarize potential teaching contributions in the Department. The diversity statement (1 page max) should describe your history of advocacy and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and the strategies you plan to use to ensure your research, teaching, and mentorship activities provide equitable opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment in your courses and research group.

Applications should be sent by email to the attention of:

Dr. Coral Murrant
Professor and Department Chair
Human Health and Nutritional Sciences
College of Biological Science
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON N1G 2W1

Email:hhnsrecruit@uoguelph.ca

Please put the job title in the subject line of your email.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The University recognizes that applicants may have had obligations outside of work that have negatively impacted their record of achievements (e.g., parental, elder care, and/or medical). You are not required to disclose these obligations in the hiring process. If you choose to do so, the University will ensure that these obligations do not negatively impact the assessment of your qualifications for the position.

The University of Guelph resides on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and we offer our respect to our Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis neighbours as we strive to strengthen our relationships with them.

At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion (https://uoguel.ph/ox2p9) is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.

If you require a medical accommodation during the recruitment or selection process, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at 519-824-4120 x52674.