Below is a posting of open teaching, project and research assistantships in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology.  All positions below require that the person selected be a current graduate student during the appointment and some of the positions require enrollment in either the Forestry or Wildlife Ecology graduate programs.  Please check out our Graduate Study pages for more information on our graduate program.

12/3/2020

CAREER PATHWAYS IN NATURAL RESOURCES — PROJECT ASSISTANTSHIP, SPRING 2021

I seek a project assistant for spring 2021 to contribute to a baseline understanding of career pathways in natural resource fields. These STEM fields apply ecological theory and decisionmaking approaches to achieve long-term sustainability. However, they lag other STEM disciplines in achieving a workforce that reflects the broader society. Toward new insights, the successful candidate will work on…

1. Literature review: career pathway development, retention, and related topics specific to forestry, wildlife, ecology, natural resources, and agriculture with an emphasis on how the latter one departs from the prior four.
2. Labor market opportunities: current and future trends related to traditional and emerging fields related to the above topics; public perceptions of these fields; transferability of competency across other STEM fields.
3. Identify a small number of ideas that show promise to improve recruitment in natural resource fields.

This 50% project assistantship includes a stipend for the spring 2021 semester, plus tuition remission and health care benefits. The stipend rate is equivalent to $24.10 per hour. Start date is January 19, 2021, and the position will end on May 16, 2021.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and excellent English writing and verbal communication skills. Prior to commencing the position, applicants must be graduate students enrolled for spring 2020; and able to dedicate, on average 20 hours of work per week to the project. Work will be remote due to COVID and scheduling is flexible. Experience with and/or interest in natural resource, social science literature, or higher education is desirable.

To Apply

To apply, please send as one complete, compiled pdf file the following: (1) cover letter, (2) cv/resume, and the (3) contact information for three professional references to Sonia Beyer at sonia.beyer@wisc.edu. In your cover letter, please identify the graduate program(s) in which you are enrolled or to which you have been accepted for spring 2021.

Review of applicants will begin immediately, but the position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Applications received by December 20, 2020 are guaranteed full consideration.

For more information about the project, please contact Mark Rickenbach, Professor of Forest & Wildlife Ecology, project lead. Mark can be reached at mark.rickenbach@wisc.edu or 608-890-0225.

The UW-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences is committed to maintaining and growing a culture that embraces diversity, inclusion, and equity, believing that these values are foundational elements of our excellence and fundamental components of a positive and enriching learning and working environment for all students, faculty, and staff. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

10/29/2020

Jim Berkelman will be hiring a half time (50%) TA for F&W Ecol 306 “Terrestrial Vertebrates: Life History and Ecology” for the spring 2021 semester. The TA will be responsible for leading two 2-hour laboratory sections. Other duties include setting up and taking down material for labs, grading exams and assignments, and helping students with questions. Applicants should have a background or coursework in terrestrial vertebrate ecology and taxonomy (e.g., mammalogy, ornithology, herpetology) and should be familiar with Wisconsin species.

Lab sections will be held in person, following university guidelines. Students and instructors will be required to wear masks, and we will follow appropriate social distancing procedures. Maximum enrollment for each lab section will be 10 students.

Application Procedures:

To apply: please send a cover letter/email and resume (including relevant courses) to Jim Berkelman (jberkelman@wisc.edu) via email by Friday, October 30. Include the following in your cover letter:

• Work, research, or course experience in terrestrial vertebrate natural history and taxonomy
• Level of familiarity with Wisconsin terrestrial vertebrate species
• Teaching or TA experience

Last updated 10/29/2020 (DL)