Horticulture Instructor

Department/Unit

Plant, Food and Envir Sciences

Location

Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

About the opportunity

The Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences (PFES) in the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture invites applications from qualified candidates for a full-time, three-year (potentially renewable) position as an Instructor in support of first and second year teaching at the FAFU International College (FAFU), located in Fuzhou, Fujian, China, beginning in the winter term of 2025. The successful applicant will mainly be teaching horticulture courses such as HORT 1000 – Landscape Plants I, HORT 1003 – Landscape Horticulture, and may be asked to assist or teach other courses in the Landscape Architecture program as per the department’s teaching arrangements. In addition, the incumbent will manage the administrative coordination of all teaching assistant and marker/demonstrator positions related to their courses. The successful candidate will contribute to Teaching (80%) and Service (20%) responsibilities.

The fall semester in China typically falls between September and January. The winter semester typically falls between late February and late June. The instructor is expected to spend 12 weeks per semester in China and will be in Truro during the remainder of the year for department and faculty activities and/or service and administrative tasks, as required. If needed, the instructor may be asked to teach in Truro; however, the primary teaching responsibilities are in China.

Dalhousie covers flights and other travel expenses between Canada and China. FAFU provides on-campus residence and a fixed weekly meal allowance in cash (Chinese currency). The Instructor is responsible for travel between the residence and classrooms (approximately km) and any other personal expenses generated in China. Residence and meal allowance will not be provided in Truro.

About the Employer
Dalhousie is a leading, research-intensive Canadian university offering a wealth of programs through diverse faculties. With campuses located in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia, as well as a Medical School site in Saint John, New Brunswick, Dalhousie has more than 6,000 faculty and staff who make up the university’s energetic academic community.

The Faculty of Agriculture is located on the Dalhousie University Agricultural Campus, located in Truro, Nova Scotia. The Faculty offers technical, undergraduate, and graduate (MSc, PhD) programs in agriculture, aquaculture, environment, and related life and social science disciplines, and is home to approximately 1,000 students and 50+ professors. Dalhousie University is the largest university in the Maritime region of Canada and a member of Canada’s U15 research-intensive university group. It is comprised of 13 faculties with a current enrollment of 21,000 graduate and undergraduate students, including 3,500 in graduate programs, from 115 countries.

The Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences is home to a vibrant team of scientists and instructors focused on four priority areas: plant and horticultural sciences, environmental sciences and agroecology, food science, and landscape architecture. Related areas of Departmental research strengths include crop physiology, soil health, climate change, organic agriculture, agronomy, and molecular biology. The department also benefits from strong collaborations with the agricultural industry, and research stations of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, throughout the Atlantic region and beyond.

FAFU is one of the three key high-level provincial universities supported by Fujian Provincial Government in China, jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and is the only high education institution in Fujian Province specializing in agriculture and forestry. Located in Fuzhou, a coastal port city in the southeast of China, FAFU has four beautiful campuses: Jinshan, Qishan, Nanping and Anxi, covering an area of 320 hectares.

Currently FAFU has 19 colleges and 1 independent college with full-time undergraduate and postgraduate education. It offers 65 undergraduate programs, 12 doctoral and 27 master’s programs of first-grade disciplines, and 11 postdoctoral research stations. 30,000 full-time students are currently studying in FAFU, of which about 4,500 are graduate students.

About the Position
The primary teaching location for the position is in Fuzhou, Fujian, China. The successful candidate is expected to teach in China for close to 6 months per year. The candidate is expected to return to the Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie Agricultural Campus, Truro, Nova Scotia during the non-teaching periods for other faculty activities.

Instructor’s responsibilities include:

80% teaching and 20% administrative work The program will have a maximum of 120 students. First and second year courses will have a class size of up to 60 students. Third and fourth year courses will have a class size of up to 40 students. The instructor will likely be responsible for a minimum of 2 courses per term (a minimum of 2 sections per class). The actual teaching load might be higher, with a maximum of 8 sections in total per term. The teaching arrangement will be the same as in Canada: 2 classes per week, hours per class. If the candidate teaches 2 courses with 4 sections in total, the teaching time is 12 hours per week. The instructor is responsible for labs/practices/tutorials, and marking of assignments/tests/exams, etc. When the teaching load is high, TAs/Markers may be assigned. The instructor is responsible for collaborating with TAs. The instructor is expected to participate in other faculty activities, such as contributing to committees, participating in annual program reviews, etc. Occasionally, the instructors may be asked to teach in Truro, if needed.

The successful applicant will:

Have a Master’s degree or higher in horticulture, landscape architecture, plant science or a related field (degree must be awarded by the start of appointment) Have a minimum of two years of teaching experience or equivalent at the undergraduate level. Be a clear and stimulating communicator who can inspire students of all levels, support Faculty initiatives, and participate in growing the reputation of the Faculty and University. Be able to travel to and spend approximately 12 weeks per term in China (not more than 183 days total per year) Have a strong background in plant identification, their value and use in landscape as well of the horticultural techniques used to manage plants and vegetation in the landscape. Knowledge of tropical plants, in addition to the plants grown in Canada, will be considered an asset.

A complete application package for this position should include:

A cover letter summarizing qualifications and experience relevant to this position (maximum of 2 pages) A CV (maximum of 5 pages) A teaching philosophy statement (maximum of 2 pages) An equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) statement (maximum of 1 page) A list of three (3) references

This position is a part of the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) Bargaining Unit.

Applications for this position must be made through Dalhousie’s online portal via this posting.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Dalhousie University commits to achieving inclusive excellence through continually championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. The university encourages applications from Indigenous persons (especially Mi’kmaq), persons of Black/African descent (especially African Nova Scotians), and members of other racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, and persons identifying as members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and all candidates who would contribute to the diversity of our community.

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