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The Department of Pathobiology in the Auburn University College of Veterinarian Medicine seeks a strategic leader, established scientist, and accomplished educator to serve as its Department Head.  The Department Head will be responsible for all aspects of the department’s academic mission in research, instruction, and clinical diagnostics.  The mission of the Department of the Pathobiology is to discover and disseminate new knowledge of diseases through research and diagnostic services that will benefit the health of animals and the public, while engaging and educating students for productive careers.   The Department Head reports directly to the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. 

The successful candidate will be expected to provide creative leadership and integration for professional veterinary/graduate education, and for faculty development in areas of teaching, research, and diagnostic services. The Department Head will be expected to effectively represent and promote the Department and its faculty, and encouraged to participate in teaching, research, and/or diagnostic services.

The Department of Pathobiology (http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/academic-departments/dept-of-pathobiology/) is one of three academic departments in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Department personnel currently include 31 tenure-track faculty, 6 non-tenure track faculty, and 73 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents in clinical, anatomic and avian pathology programs. Faculty teach in the veterinary and graduate curricula, as well as in the new Bachelor of Science in Public and One Health Program (https://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/academics/public-and-one-health/). The department’s nationally and internationally recognized faculty enrich the educational experiences of students and residents through cutting-edge research in areas of molecular virology and bacteriology including molecular diagnostics and pathogen detection, pathogenetic mechanisms of infectious diseases, embryo-pathogen interactions, epidemiology, food safety, public health, toxicology, aquatic pathobiology, molecular and cancer genetics, basic and applied immunology, platelet pathophysiology, parasitology, poultry pathology, and neuropathology. In addition, some faculty members hold appointments in the Scott-Ritchey Research Center (SRRC), Alabama State Diagnostic Laboratory, Alabama Agricultural Experimental Station (AAES), Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) and the Sugg Laboratory for Animal Health Research. Diagnostic services include anatomic and clinical pathology, parasitology, bacteriology, mycology, virology, serology, flow cytometry, and molecular diagnostics.

The College of Veterinary Medicine is located on the edge of the Auburn University campus, in the east central Alabama community of Auburn-Opelika. Collaborations in the College (Canine Performance Sciences, SRRC), University (MRI Research Center, College of Engineering, College of Sciences and Mathematics, College of Human Sciences, College of Pharmacy, VCOM, College of Agriculture, AAES, ACES) and institutions across the region (University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Georgia, Tuskegee University and The Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology) are available and contribute to the success of Auburn’s research and clinical programs. Faculty members include specialists in internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology, critical care, anesthesia, clinical pathology, radiology, radiation oncology and surgery. Onsite equipment in the Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital includes MRI, CT, linear accelerator, hyperbaric oxygen chamber and CRRT unit. In addition, Auburn is the home of the world’s first field-installed clinically approved Terra.X.7T magnetic resonance imaging scanner, providing advanced imaging for multiple species.

Auburn University is one of the nation’s premier public land-grant institutions. In 2024, it was ranked 54th among public universities by U.S. News and World Report and named a “Best in Alabama” employer by Forbes magazine. Auburn maintains high levels of research activity and high standards for teaching excellence, offering Bachelor’s, Master’s, Educational Specialist, and Doctor’s degrees in agriculture and engineering, the professions, and the arts and sciences. Its 2024 enrollment of 34,145 students includes 27,907 undergraduates and 6,238 graduate and professional students. Organized into twelve academic colleges and schools, Auburn’s 1,435 faculty members offer more than 200 educational programs. The University is nationally recognized for its commitment to academic excellence and community engagement, its positive work environment, its thriving student life programs, and its beautiful campus.

Auburn residents enjoy a thriving community, recognized as one of the “best small towns in America,” with moderate climate and easy access to major cities or to beach and mountain recreational facilities. Situated along the rapidly developing I-85 corridor between Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Alabama, the combined Auburn-Opelika area has a population of over 200,000, with an excellent nationally recognized public school system and a regional medical center.