Herbarium Director

The Department of Plant Biology (PLB) at Michigan State University (MSU) seeks applications for a director of the MSU Herbarium at the Assistant, Associate or Full professor level.
The Department of Plant Biology is in the College of Natural Science and is one of the top plant sciences programs in the country with a core mission to advance the understanding of plant biology from molecules to ecosystems. Our strength lies in encouraging a variety of perspectives and approaches to science and in supporting a collaborative, inclusive community of scientists.

The MSU Herbarium is a leading center for research, teaching, outreach, and engagement within and beyond the MSU community. The herbarium hosts over 520,000 specimens, including one of the largest collections of lichenized fungi in North America. It is a key teaching resource, providing hands-on experience to hundreds of MSU students across campus every year and hosting undergrad honors and research projects. The MSU Herbarium is also a hub for community connections, engaging with hundreds of visitors every year through a range of on-campus and off-campus events. The PLB department and MSU administration strongly support the mission of the herbarium and see biological collections as crucial pieces to responding to challenges that will change the natural world. More information is available on the MSU Herbarium website: https://herbarium.natsci.msu.edu/.

This is a 12-month tenure-stream faculty position that combines independent research, undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentoring, service to the university and the profession, and administrative responsibilities as the Herbarium Director. The successful applicant will maintain and grow the MSU Herbarium as a national leader in supporting plant and fungal collections-based research, teaching, and outreach. The successful applicant will also establish a research program in plant or fungal systematics, ecology, and/or evolution that contributes to the department’s goal of addressing fundamental biological questions about photosynthetic organisms at all scales. All applicants are expected to demonstrate a commitment to graduate and undergraduate teaching as well as research mentoring. Specific teaching responsibilities include a required upper-division undergraduate course in Plant Systematics, taught once per academic year.

Review of applications begins October 3, 2025. Please see the job posting for specific requirements and additional information. Contact the search committee chair, Emily Josephs at plantbiologysearch@msu.edu with any questions.