Department Contact: Robert Torres, 575-646-1807, rmt@nmsu.edu
Internal or External Search: External - Open to all applicants
Advertising Summary: We are seeking candidates with an understanding of and appreciation for undergraduate/graduate education, research, and outreach, with a strong commitment to the Land Grant mission.
Position Details
Position Title: Academic Department Head/Agricultural & Extension Education
College/Division: Agricultural,Consumer & Env Sci Col
Department: 300400-AGRICULTURAL AND EXTENSION EDUC
Location: Las Cruces
Offsite Location (if applicable):
Target Hourly/Salary Rate: Commensurate with qualifications
Appointment Full-time Equivalency: 1.0
FLSA Status: Exempt
Bargaining Unit Announcement: This is NOT a bargaining unit position with American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Contingent Upon Funding: Not Applicable
Standard Work Schedule: Standard (M-F, 8-5)
If Not a Standard Work Schedule:
Job Duties and Responsibilities: Duties may include, but are not limited to:
Faculty recruitment and development; faculty annual evaluation; program development; program review; curriculum development; student recruitment and retention; departmental fiscal management; and secure external funding, fundraising, or partnership development.
The Department Head serves as the chief academic and administrative officer and principal advocate for the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education. Reporting to the Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the Department Head provides strategic leadership for the department’s teaching, research, Extension, outreach, and service missions while fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment for faculty, staff, and students.
Leadership and Administration: The Department Head advances departmental, college, and university priorities; leads strategic planning and organizational improvement; communicates departmental needs and accomplishments; resolves concerns; and uses data to guide decisions and allocate resources. The Department Head also oversees departmental facilities, equipment, technology, and operations.
Academic Programs Success: The Department Head provides strategic leadership for undergraduate and graduate programs, ensuring quality, relevance, and continuous improvement of curricula, instruction, assessment, and experiential learning opportunities. The Department Head oversees faculty and staff workload assignments, promotes the effective allocation of departmental resources, and teaches at least one upper-division or graduate course each academic semester.
Student Recruitment, Engagement, Retention, and Success: The Department Head leads proactive, data-informed efforts to recruit a diverse and academically prepared student body; strengthen student engagement, belonging, and persistence; and improve retention, degree progression, and graduation rates. Working closely with faculty, advisors, college leadership, and university partners, the Department Head supports effective advising, mentoring, career preparation, and timely intervention for students experiencing academic or personal challenges.
Faculty and Staff Leadership: The Department Head recruits, supervises, supports, and evaluates faculty and staff in accordance with university policies. Responsibilities include conducting annual evaluations, mentoring faculty through promotion and tenure, supporting professional development, addressing performance or workplace concerns, and administering personnel actions fairly and consistently.
Fiscal and Operational Stewardship: The Department Head develops and manages departmental budgets, personnel resources, accounts, grants, contracts, and revenue-generating activities in coordination with college personnel. The Department Head ensures that purchasing, contracting, equipment management, and other financial commitments comply with university policies and standards of ethical stewardship.
Research, Extension, and Outreach: The Department Head champions faculty research agendas; supports the development, funding, implementation, and dissemination of high-quality research; and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration within the department and across the college, university, and external partners. The Department Head provides oversight for grants, contracts, research compliance, and related responsibilities; supports initiatives of the Center of Excellence in Food and Sustainable Agriculture; and develops partnerships responsive to New Mexico’s schools, communities, agricultural industries, and Extension clientele.
Communication and External Relations: The Department Head serves as an ambassador for the department by building relationships with alumni, donors, schools, government agencies, industry, professional associations, and community organizations. The Department Head supports fundraising, student recruitment, program visibility, and responsible communications consistent with university requirements.
Professional Development: The Department Head remains knowledgeable about university policies, academic administration, fiscal and personnel management, research administration, and regulatory requirements. The Department Head is expected to pursue relevant training and consult university professionals as needed to lead the department effectively.
The selected candidate will also be expected to foster collaborations and participate in activities and on research teams that support the work of the Center for Excellence in Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems (CESFAS).
More information about New Mexico State University, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education can be found on their respective websites.
Qualifications
Required Education and Experience:
Candidates must have an earned Ph.D. in Agricultural Education, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Communications, or a closely related field and must have compiled a demonstrable record of academic achievement and professional experience consistent with the university rank of Full Professor or Associate Professor eligible for promotion to Professor within the department.
Candidates must provide evidence of leadership, team-building skills, strong interpersonal and communication skills, administrative experience, and a strong record of academic teaching and advising proficiency.
In addition, candidates must demonstrate interest or experience, in actively recruiting and mentoring students and/or faculty from diverse cultures and promoting an academic program to the community, university, industry, granting agencies, government, and other stakeholders.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Knowledge of land-grant university missions, academic programs, student success, personnel management, budgeting, promotion and tenure, grants and contracts, and research compliance. Familiarity with agricultural and Extension education and/or related disciplines is expected.
Demonstrated integrity, sound judgment, emotional intelligence, collaboration, and commitment to student success. Strong leadership, communication, planning, problem-solving, conflict-management, personnel-supervision, and resource-management skills are required.
Ability to build trust, establish priorities, manage competing responsibilities, use data to guide decisions, apply policies consistently, develop partnerships, advocate for the department and its faculty while leading organizational improvement.
Equivalent Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
Special Certification/Licensure:
Working Conditions and Physical Effort
Environment: Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.
Physical Effort: No or very limited physical effort required.
Lifting Requirements: Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 10 pounds or some standing or walking.
Risk: No or very limited exposure to physical risk.