Assistant Professor Vertebrate Functional Morphologist #26-24

Tenure-Track Faculty Position Announcement

Department: Biology

Faculty Hire Number: #26-24

Rank: Assistant Professor

Effective Date of Appointment: August 20, 2026 (Subject to Budgetary Approval)

Anticipated Hiring Range: $83,349 to $92,610 (Dependent upon qualifications)

CSUN’s Commitment to You:

CSUN is committed to achieving excellence through teaching, scholarship, learning, and inclusion. Our values include a respect for all people, building partnerships with the community, and the encouragement of innovation, experimentation, and creativity. CSUN strives to cultivate a community in which a diverse population can learn and work in an atmosphere of civility and respect. CSUN is especially interested in candidates who make contributions to equity and inclusion in the pursuit of excellence for all members of the university community.

As a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), inclusiveness and diversity are integral to CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement. As of Fall 2025, CSUN enrolls 36,960 students, where 57.5% are Latinx, 18.4% are White, 8.5% are Asian-American, 5.5% are Black/African American, 0.1% are Native American, and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

For more information about the University, visit: http://www.csun.edu


About the College:

For more information about the College of Science and Math, see: https://www.csun.edu/science-mathematics/college


About the Department:

For more information about the Department of Biology, see: https://www.csun.edu/science-mathematics/biology


Position:

The Department of Biology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is seeking a tenure-track faculty member to serve as a Vertebrate Functional Morphologist at the rank of Assistant Professor. The successful candidate may teach courses in introductory biology for majors (BIOL 106) and in the candidate’s specialty, which may include field-based courses in Avian Ecology (BIOL 414) and/or Mammalogy (BIOL 415), or develop a new senior/graduate-level course in Vertebrate Functional Morphology. The candidate’s teaching portfolio will complement existing courses in the department, including upper-division organismal and field courses, ecology, evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, biometry, and computational modeling. The successful candidate will demonstrate the potential to develop an independent externally funded research program that engages undergraduate and graduate students in authentic research experiences. The successful candidate will also be familiar with the birds and/or mammals of Southern California and develop a collections-based research program that uses and grows the department’s vertebrate collections and serves as the Curator of Ornithology and/or Mammalogy. The successful candidate will seek opportunities for collaboration with other Biology faculty and peers from other institutions and state and federal agencies.

In addition to teaching, the position requires weekly office hours, attending faculty meetings, participation in assessment of student learning, and service to the department, college, and university. The successful candidate may be required to teach on weekdays, evenings, weekends, and/or online and will be held to the standards and requirements of the College of Science and Mathematics and Department of Biology for recommending tenure and promotion. Given CSUN’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and engagement in a diverse environment, the successful candidate will help the Department of Biology achieve equitable academic outcomes for all students through teaching, student mentorship, scholarship, and service.


Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Biology or a closely related field from an accredited institution
• At least six months of postdoctoral research experience or one year as an assistant professor at an accredited institution
• Experience in college or university-level, in-person teaching
• Experience mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in research
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals, including first-authored papers
• Record of acquiring extramural research funds to support the candidate’s research
• Research experience in functional morphology of birds and/or mammals excluding humans and traditional model organisms (e.g., domestic poultry, lab rodents)
• Research experience that is at least partly collections-based
• Museum collections experience with ornithology and/or mammalogy specimens (e.g., curator, collections manager, curatorial assistant, preparator)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Evidence of effectively engaging, or the ability to engage, with a diverse student body
• Experience using, or ability to use, culturally responsive pedagogy that promotes equitable outcomes for all students
• Experience creating, or ability to create, a student-centered learning environment, including evidence of teaching effectiveness and/or training in pedagogical strategies
• Research experience that includes working with students from diverse backgrounds
• Experience adopting inclusive approaches to student mentoring
• Ability to teach an introductory course for biology majors focused on core principles of ecology and evolutionary biology
• Ability to teach specialized courses in vertebrate functional morphology, avian ecology, and/or mammalogy
• Ability to contribute to the growth and development of ornithology and/or mammal collections
• Evidence of established collaborations with departmental or institutional colleagues and/or peers from other institutions or state and/or federal management agencies

Application Deadline:

Preferred application deadline is March 15, 2026, and applications received after this date may be considered on an as needed basis. However, the position will remain open until filled.


How to Apply:

Candidates should apply by completing the CSUN online application. To apply and for more detailed information on the application and hiring process, please visit this link: www.csun.edu/careers

Applicants must submit to the website in the section above (1) a cover letter, (2) curriculum vitae, (3) statement of research interests (two pages), (4) statement of teaching philosophy and experience (two pages), (5) names of three references. Although we do not request a separate diversity statement, candidates should highlight their experience and philosophy for working in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment in their research and teaching statements.

At the time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S. citizen, must have authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the United States. Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States.

Please note: California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is currently not sponsoring applicants for H-1B employment that are subject to the $100,000 fee established by the “Presidential Proclamation: Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” issued on September 19, 2025. Applicants are responsible for determining the applicability of the fee.


General Information:

In compliance with the Annual Security Report & Fire Safety Report of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, California State University, Northridge has made crime-reporting statistics available online here . Print copies are available by request from the Department of Police Services, the Office for Faculty Affairs, and the Office of Equity and Diversity.

The person holding this position may be considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or the continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

In accordance with the California State University (CSU) Out-of-State Employment Policy, the CSU is a state entity whose business operations reside within the State of California and prohibits hiring employees to perform CSU-related work outside of California.

CSUN is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, and disability. Our nondiscrimination policy is set forth in the Interim CSU Nondiscrimination Policy . Reasonable accommodations will be provided for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting Robert Espinoza at 818-677-4980 or robert.e.espinoza@csun.edu .

Advertised: Feb 11 2026 Pacific Standard Time
Applications close:

• 

• California State University (CSU) Northridge

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