Career Center

The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact (Knight Campus) invites applications for the inaugural Chair of the Department of Bioengineering in the Knight Campus, who will be named the Lorry I. Lokey Chair of Bioengineering. This is a tenure-track/ tenured associate or full professor faculty position in the Knight Campus at the University of Oregon. Salary and benefits are highly competitive.

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Knight Campus, the Chair has overall responsibility for leading the Department of Bioengineering, including administrative, budgetary and personnel decisions. The Chair also has significant responsibility for external affairs, including fundraising, community outreach and alumni and industry relations. The Chair is expected to provide academic and administrative leadership and maintain an active research program. Candidates must have the leadership skills and vision necessary to advance the Knight Campus mission with a commitment to translating research discoveries into innovations to improve the human condition.

Department or Program Summary

The Knight Campus is a bold new effort designed to accelerate the cycle of translating scientific discoveries into innovations that improve quality of life for people in Oregon, the nation, and beyond. Rooted in the University of Oregon’s 60-year history of interdisciplinary collaboration, the Knight Campus catalyzes new research opportunities, forges partnerships with industrial and clinical practitioners, and provides integrated experiential training for the next generation of citizen scientists and entrepreneurs. Initial faculty expertise is in areas such as regenerative medicine, human performance, biofunctional materials, medical devices and biosensors, neural engineering, protein engineering and synthetic biology. The Department of Bioengineering will be housed in the Knight Campus’ spectacular new building that opened in 2020. A second 175,000 square foot building is scheduled for completion in 2025. More information on the Knight Campus can be found at https://accelerate.uoregon.edu/.

The Knight Campus is dedicated to the UO’s goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications from minorities, women, and people with disabilities. Applicants are encouraged to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal.

About the University

The University of Oregon is one of only two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities and holds the distinction of a “very high research activity” ranking in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO enrolls more than 20,000 undergraduate and 3,600 graduate students representing all 50 states and nearly 100 countries. In recent years, the university has increased the diversity of its student body while raising average GPAs and test scores for incoming students. The UO’s beautiful, 295-acre campus features state-of-the art facilities in an arboretum-like setting. The UO is located in Eugene, a vibrant city of 167,000 with a wide range of cultural and culinary offerings, a pleasant climate, and a community engaged in environmental and social concerns. The campus is within easy driving distance of the Pacific Coast, the Cascade Mountains, and Portland.

Minimum Requirements

• Doctorate in Engineering, Bioengineering, Biology, Human Physiology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, or related discipline from an accredited institution of higher education.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, and support students from diverse backgrounds.
• Teaching experience in courses relevant to bioengineering curricula as relevant based on seniority.
• Successful record of external support for research program as relevant to seniority in the position.
• Successful record of peer-reviewed publications as relevant to seniority in the position.
• Eligible for tenure at the University of Oregon at the rank of Associate or Full Professor.
• Leadership experience relevant to serving as a Department Chair.

Preferred Qualifications

• An internationally recognized track record of scientific achievement as evidenced by an outstanding publication record and other appropriate external indicators as relevant to the individual’s seniority in the field.
• Experience working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments with the ability to build successfully at multiple interfaces (e.g. UO colleges and departments, other Oregon universities, and industry).
• Demonstrated visionary leadership building innovative research and/or academic programs.
• Demonstrated experience with large government agencies, foundations, industry, and philanthropy with a thorough understanding of funding opportunities and strategies to successfully attract funding.
• Demonstrated commitment in translating research discoveries to applications that improve the human condition.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversifying the pipeline of participants in STEM training and careers.
• Demonstrated success using evidence-based pedagogical methods.