[Taxacom] Professorship: Systematic Biology

[Stefan Andersson]

Lund University (Sweden) announces an opening:

Professor in Systematic Biology

Lund University is Scandinavia’s largest institution for education and research in a broad
range of disciplines, such as engineering, natural sciences, law, social science, economics,
medicine, theology and the arts. The University has over 40 000 students and approximately
6 000 employees located in Lund, Malmö and Helsingborg. We have a comprehensive global
network and a growing co-operation within the Öresund University framework of Southern
Sweden and Eastern Denmark.

The Department of Biology was founded on January 2010 by a fusion of the Departments of
Ecology, Cell and Organism Biology (COB), Undergraduate Studies in Biology and the
Biological Museums. At the same time, the building of the new Biology Centre has been
completed within the North Campus, and all biology research and teaching at Lund
University is now gathered together within a single site for the first time – providing unique
opportunities for high quality research and innovative education within biology. The
Department of Biology has ca. 300 employees, out of which ca. 80 are PhD candidates. The
Biological Museums together represent one of the world’s largest university collections (c. 12
million specimens) including, in particular, large collections of insects and vascular plants
from the Nordic countries. Research at the Department is organized around research groups
working within many areas of biology. We offer a range of bachelor and master teaching
programmes in “Biology” and “Molecular Biology” to both Swedish and international
students. Further information about the Department of Biology can be found at:
http://www.lu.se/biology

Basic facts regarding the position

Reference no: 2184
Closing date for applications: September 15, 2011
Date of appointment: As soon as possible
Placement: Department of Biology
Trades unions at Lund University: OFR, SACO and SEKO
Information about the position: Christer Löfstedt, Head of Department: +46-46-222 9338,
christer.lofstedt at biol.lu.se;
Information about conditions of employment and the application process: Faculty Personnel
Manager Gunilla Thylander, +46 -46 222 40 32, gunilla.thylander at kanslin.lu.se

Description of responsibilities
The main emphasis of the position is research within systematic biology with a focus
on studies of evolutionary relationships at the level of species, and/or higher taxa.

The successful candidate will be expected to play a key role in establishing a
competitive word-class research programme in systematics at the Department of
Biology. The candidate should take responsibility for leading a research group, and
be active in the development of the collections at the Biological Museums. He/she
should actively seek external funding from national research councils and other
research funds in order to cover part of the salaries and operational costs for the
research group. The candidate is also expected to develop collaborations with other
research groups within the Department that are active in related research areas, such
as evolutionary biology, molecular ecology and biodiversity research.

In addition, the successful candidate is expected to be actively engaged in teaching
and development of courses (at both basic and advanced levels) within systematics,
evolution and biodiversity, and in the supervision of Bachelor and Master projects, as
well as PhD students.

Qualifications
According to Chapter 4, Section 3 of the Higher Education Ordinance (SFS
2010:1064) a person who has demonstrated both research and teaching expertise shall
be qualified for employment as a professor except in disciplines in the fine, applied or
performing arts.

The successful candidate is expected to have a distinguished record of achievements
in the area of systematic biology with a focus on studies of evolutionary relationships
at the level of species, and/or higher taxa. Scientific qualifications will be evaluated
mainly on the basis of the quality and number of scientific publications at the highest
international level. Demonstrated academic leadership skills, experience of
supervising undergraduate and graduate students, collaborative skills, and an ability
to compete successfully for external funding are of central importance. Demonstrated
ability to develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in systematic
biology are also important merits. A demonstrated ability to establish intra- and
interdisciplinary research collaborations is important for the position, and the ways in
which the candidate´s background and expertise may strengthen the research profile
in evolutionary biology and biodiversity research at the new Department of Biology
will be taken into consideration. Experience of curating of museum collections is
regarded as a merit.

The assessment criteria for appointment as a professor, according to Chapter 4,
Section 3 of the Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 2010:1064), shall be the degree of
the expertise required as a qualification for employment. Equal attention shall be
given to the assessment of teaching and research expertise. Each higher education
institution determines its own additional assessment criteria.

When making the appointment, consideration will also be given to the viewpoints
expressed in the Strategic Plan adopted by Lund University and in Lund University
Teacher Appointment Regulations.

In  the overall assessment we will take into consideration any personal ability
regarded as valuable in fulfilling the requirements of the position, and the fact that the
University strives to achieve an even gender balance for this type of position.

Required content of the application
The Faculty Board has specified instructions for the application and its
accompanying documents. These can be found at the Internet address:
http://www.naturvetenskap.lu.se/o.o.i.s/11729
(http://www.naturvetenskap.lu.se/anstallning)

Information can also be obtained upon request by e-mail or ordinary mail.

On behalf of the Faculty

Gunilla Thylander

Postadress Box 118, 221 00 LUND Besöksadress Sölvegatan 37  Telefon dir 046-222 4032, växel 046-222 00 00  Telefax 046-222 40 24, E-post gunilla.thylander at kanslin.lu.se  Internet www.science.lu.se