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The Biology Major's Handbook

posted September 11, 2008

TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION
IN NEUROBIOLOGY

General: The Department of Biology seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in neurobiology. The successful candidate will will hold a Ph.D. at the time of appointment. Post-doctoral experience is preferred but is not an absolute requirement. This position is to replace a colleague working in an area related to neurobiology who left us to take a position at her alma mater.

Areas of Research/Teaching Specialization:

The Biology Department wishes to hire a person with broad training in neurobiology and is particularly interested in the following specialties:

• Molecular and cellular neurobiology.
• Structure and function of the nervous and neuro-sensory systems focused primarily at the cellular and network levels.
• Neural system development.

Please note that we are not seeking an individual with primary expertise in electrophysiology.

Important Additional Factors:

• Undergraduate Research Program: A central requirement is that the applicant's research program must be able to involve undergraduate research students (typically 1 to 3 at a time) during the academic year. Also, involvement in the College's summer research program for undergraduates is encouraged but not required.
• Organisms: It is our belief that individuals who use model organisms that are relatively easy to maintain (e.g., zebra fish, some types of invertebrates) and/or tissue culture are more likely to be able to establish a successful program at an institution such as ours. We do not maintain a rodent colony (although there is one housed in the psychology department.) Also, please note that it is largely the responsibility of each faculty member to maintain their experimental animals and/or tissue cultures.

This said, our research facilities are excellent and the Department and College provide excellent support for research that compares very favorably with the best undergraduate and many graduate institutions.

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Teaching Expectations: Holy Cross has a "3/2" teaching load. Each academic year, a faculty member teaches three courses (or labs) in one semester and two in the other. The arrangement of this load can be either 2/3 or 3/2, consistent with faculty and departmental needs. Labs and seminars typically count as full courses towards the yearly total of five. Two sections of the same course count as two courses.

We seek a candidate who will develop or contribute to the following courses:

• A new laboratory course that would serve as well-rounded, rigorous introduction to neurobiology. Please note that while there is a neurobiology course listed in our catalog, it has not been taught for a number of years.
• An additional new course for biology majors in an area compatible with current course offerings. Typically this course would be in some area that is presently not represented in our curriculum, and within the applicant's area of interest but broad enough to be appropriate for an undergraduate curriculum. It could be offered either with a lab or with the option of adding an accompanying laboratory in the future.
• A course for non-science majors (see "Biological Principles" courses). These courses typically do not have labs, although that option is possible.
• The willingness and breadth to, on occasion, teach either the Introductory Biology course for departmental majors (Biology 131) or one of the courses offered for junior or senior year premedical students who are not biology majors, General Biology 1 or 2. We are also interested in anyone willing to teach, on occasion, one of the biochemistry courses.

Within the context of the 3/2 teaching load, the exact mix of courses and their rotation over several years is up to the new faculty member in consultation with the Department's Chair. The "lineup" may change over time as departmental needs and faculty interests evolve.  Participation in extra-departmental teaching (Montserrat, College Honors) is also possible.  You can read more about the Biology Department Curriculum here and you can get an additional idea what courses many of the Biology Department teach by going to faculty member's homepages.

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About the College and the Department: Holy Cross is a highly selective, exclusively undergraduate, Jesuit, liberal arts college (enrollment 2700) that values excellence in both teaching and research. The College is consistently rated among the top national liberal arts colleges by publications such as U.S. News & World Report.

Facilities: The Biology Department is housed in the recently renovated and expanded O'Neil Hall and in adjacent parts of Swords Hall. For more information, please see Departmental Facilities.
These facilities are part of a large science complex that also includes the departments of Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics as well as the O'Callahan Science Library.
In addition, the College is presently in the construction phase of a new Integrated Science Complex.

Research at the College: The College and Department strive to provide an environment where committed teacher-scholars can thrive. To help foster both, the College maintains a generous leave and sabbatical policy. All junior faculty members receive one semester research leave at full pay in their third year at the College. Sabbaticals are offered every seven years as either a fully paid one-term leave or one year leave at 80% salary. In addition, some College-administered stipends are available for summer work or for occasional research leaves during the academic year.

Undergraduates and Research: The Biology Department typically accepts 70 - 80 incoming first year majors, and graduates 40 to 45 (the difference being students who change to other majors). In excess of 75% of recent biology majors have gone on to professional or graduate school. The Department is especially proud of its undergraduate research program. A significant number of our majors engage in supervised independent research, both within the Department and elsewhere in the College and at surrounding institutions. Many faculty publications are co-authored by undergraduates, and this is the ultimate goal of all the research at the College.

Faculty contracts are 9 months (academic year) with the summer free for research. Faculty members often supervise research students in the summer (who may be supported by either grant or College funds). Summer research is done either at the College or at some remote location when that is appropriate.

Present Biology Faculty: The Department presently has 12 tenured or tenure-track members and five visiting full or part-time professors. In addition, there are three full-time teaching laboratory supervisors, two secretaries, one post-doctoral fellow and two research associates. Specialties of the faculty are diverse and range from biochemistry to ecosystem ecology. (For more information, please see Faculty and Staff.)

Important Note: It is the policy of the College not to split/share positions. This said, there are employment opportunities for scientists in the area and there are occasional opportunities within the Department. There are also limited opportunities for research associates in the department.

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The Application, should arrive no later than 15 October 2008 and should consist of:

• Curriculum vitae.
• Undergraduate and graduate transcripts. These are used to help us assess an applicant's training. Unofficial copies are acceptable with the application, but the Dean's Office requires official copies before a candidate is interviewed.
• Copies of publications.
• Research and teaching statements.
• Letters from three referees. Please be certain that these are sent by the deadline. E-mail may be used as a placeholder but the Dean's Office requires a signed original letter before a candidate can be interviewed.

It should be mailed to:

Dr. Ann Sheehy
Chair, Neurobiology Search Committee
Department of Biology
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA 01610

E-mail:asheehy@holycross.edu
Phone: (508) 793-2255

Paper (non-electronic) applications are strongly preferred and FAX is strongly discouraged.

The committee will move rapidly after the closing date to select possible finalists. In the past, a short list has been submitted to the faculty within one week of the closing date. Please be certain that your application is received no later than October 15 and that all letters of recommendation have been submitted by that time.

The College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all Federal and Massachusetts laws concerning Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in the workplace.

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For additional information, please contact:

Dr. Ann Sheehy (homepage)
Chair, Neurobiologist Search Committee
E-mail:asheehy@holycross.edu
Phone: (508) 793-2255

Other members of the search committee:
Dr. Mary Lee Ledbetter (homepage)
Dr. Ken Prestwich (homepage)