Small Farms Resource and Innovation Center (SFRIC) Director

The Small Farms Resource and Innovation Center (SFRIC) Director will guide the center to capitalize on opportunities and address challenges by examining pressing issues and trends that affect small farmers in the broader food, agricultural and environmental systems. The position will help the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) integrate its efforts in research, extension, and teaching innovations spanning food, agriculture, and environmental sciences to collaboratively complement and strengthen tailored outreach to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers (SDFRs). The SFRIC Director will also help CAES expand and elevate its overall outreach that enhances the economy, environment, and well-being of people in North Carolina and beyond through research-based information and education.

The SFRIC Director will work to reduce threats to small farmers’ economic viability. The traditional view of the importance of farming and value of agricultural enterprises has shifted in the last decade. What was once seen as a viable and sustainable way to make a living and provide economic impact in communities is no longer a viable option for next generational farmers. Many of these threats are due to diminishing returns on their investments (cash and assets invested into the operation of their farming enterprises to only break even or potential lose money) and emergence of “big box” e-commerce distributors that have revolutionized how products are sold and delivered.

The SFRIC Director will operate across the college’s tripartite mission of teaching, research, and extension while applying full understanding of the ecology of farming and integration across agricultural disciplines and the production spectrum (production-marketing-consumption).

Primary Function of Organizational Unit

N.C. A&T is a public, land-grant, doctoral research institution and has been the largest historically Black university in the country for the past decade. With an enrollment of 14,311 students in Fall 2024, the university offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, 36 master’s programs, and 12 doctoral programs. It is America’s top producer of Black graduates in Engineering and Agricultural Science bachelor’s programs, as well as a top five producer in numerous additional disciplines, including Liberal Arts and Communications/Journalism. It also ranks no. 3 in master’s degrees awarded to Black graduates in Engineering Technologies and Related Fields, no. 4 in master’s degrees in Engineering, and no. 11 best business school for women in the nation.

Nationally recognized for its leadership and excellence in STEM education and research, N.C. A&T is classified as “R2-High Research Activity” in the Carnegie Classifications and is poised to achieve “R1-Very High Research Activity” status. It also holds Carnegie’s earned credential in Community Engagement and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation. With an annual economic impact of $2.4 billion, N.C. A&T plays a vital role as a higher-education economic driver in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region and across a state that is ranked No. 1 in the nation for the second straight year as “best for business” by the CNBC financial network.

The CAES is the largest college of Agriculture among the 1890 Land-grant universities and as such is the national top producer of African Americans with degrees in Agriculture. CAES offers 9 BS degrees, 3 MS degrees and 1 PhD and educates over 1100 students. BS degrees include: Agricultural and Environmental Systems, Agricultural Education, Animal Science, Biological Engineering, Child Development and Family Studies, Family and Consumer Sciences, Food and Nutritional Sciences, Laboratory Animal Science and Landscape Architecture. MS programs include: Agricultural Education, Agricultural and Environmental Systems and Food and Nutritional Sciences. In Spring 2022, the CAES launched a PhD in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences with 5 specialization tracks covering the college’s academic disciplines. Through its Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension Programs, CAES conducts research on issues of national importance and provide research-based extension education and outreach services to citizens, communities, and industry partners across the state of North Carolina.

Minimum Requirements

• A Master’s degree in Agriculture or other related discipline and at least 10 years of experience in outreach, teaching or working in a position involving agriculture, agribusiness, agricultural marketing
• Strong interpersonal skills. Ability to work with teams and build partnerships
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, to document and market program impacts, and provide leadership and demonstrate self-reliance in collaborative environment

Preferred Years Experience, Skills, Training, Education

Ph.D. in Agriculture or closely related field and at least 5 years of experience in areas related to:

• Knowledge of NC agriculture and the needs of the limited resource farmers and ranchers
• Track record of developing and maintaining a network of positive relationships and partnerships with organizations, including in the public sector, industry and/or community groups
• Understanding of the issues and challenges affecting small farmers and opportunities for ensuring sustainability of small farming communities
• Experience in developing and delivering impactful professional materials on topics related to program development and policy for small farmers
• Ability to research and analyze complex topics and data related to program impacts, financial/budgetary matters, and policies pertaining to small farmers and limited resource communities
• Experience of aiding in policy or program development in collaboration with public and private agencies
• Prior experience and success securing competitive grants and contracts