Career Center

The John E. Rouse chair is a full-time, tenure track Associate or Full Professor position in Beef Cattle Breeding and Genetics. The Department of Animal Sciences is committed to focusing upon integrated beef cattle production systems, the development of economically relevant selection tools, and facilitation of research initiatives in Sustainability (including climate change), meat quality, and cattle health for which genetics play a key role. The successful candidate is expected to have a vision for future development of research initiatives, complementing the current Breeding and Genetics personnel and other Department faculty, and for facilitating interactions between the Breeding and Genetics program and other Departmental affinity groups such as AgNext, Meat Science, Animal Behavior, Nutrition, etc. The CSU beef cattle Breeding and Genetics group has identified potential research areas in parallel with either existing or future industry needs, including but not limited to, understanding genetic mechanisms associated with carbon footprint of beef cattle production, improved animal health as it relates to high altitude adaptability of feedlot performance, and production efficiency as it relates to the financial viability of beef cattle supply chains.

Given the breadth of research problems, applicants should be recognized experts in genetics, with a primary interest in beef cattle, and in using quantitative, genomic and/or bioinformatic tools to develop new theory and approaches that enhance profitability of beef production systems via genetic improvement and utilization of genetic diversity. Leadership, teaching, outreach, fiscal management, and grantsmanship are also expected to result in enhancing the Department’s reputation in genetics and beef cattle production. Effective communication skills and an ability to interact with industry stakeholders are crucial to the success of the candidate. The ideal candidate must demonstrate knowledge regarding needs and trends in the beef industry.

The Rouse Chair will have access to substantial animal resources located in Colorado and Wyoming and which span different production and environmental settings. The successful candidate will play a major role in the Rouse Ranch breeding program, a 400 head herd of purebred Angus cattle at the John E. Rouse Beef Improvement Center in Wyoming, along with its historical performance database containing more than 30 years of performance records and approximately 5,000 genotyped individuals. In addition, the successful candidate has access to the Agriculture Research Development & Education Center (ARDEC) herd of 150 purebred Angus and Hereford cows and a 500-hd research feedlot; the Eastern Colorado Research Center (ECRC) consisting of 350 commercial British-crossbred cows and a 600-hd research feedlot; and the Maxwell Ranch consisting of a 325-hd herd of Angus-Hereford cows (operated by the CSU Research Foundation). Computationally, the Breeding and Genetics group has access to substantial computing resources for the analysis of production and genotypic data.