ASSISTANT CURATOR

Assistant Curator

Ph.D. in Anthropology or a related field by the date of appointment; evidence of collections-based research using archaeological collections; and evidence of excellence or strong potential for excellence in research through publication record, grant record, or potential to conduct grant-funded research.

Assistant Curator of Environmental Archaeology

The Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida (UF) seeks qualified applicants for a full-time,12-month, tenure-accruing, Assistant Curator of Environmental Archaeology. This position will be filled at the Assistant faculty level in the Florida Museum’s Department of Natural History. For over 40 years, the faculty and staff of the Environmental Archaeology Program (FM-EAP) at the Florida Museum of Natural History have played a foundational role in the development of zooarchaeology, with secondary emphases in archaeobotany and archaeopedology. We curate archaeological animal, plant, and soil assemblages from across the Americas, including the southeastern United States, insular Caribbean, Mesoamerica, and South America. Several of the collections from sites are co-curated and managed across other archaeological museum collections (e.g., Florida Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Caribbean Archaeology). The collections represent more than 1.7 million specimens from over 800 sites, including the largest zooarchaeological comparative collection in the southeastern USA. Through museum research, student mentorship, and collaboration, the FM-EAP is an international leader in zooarchaeological methods of identification and analysis. The zooarchaeological collections are complemented by macrobotanical resources, including comparative wood and seed collections from the southeastern United States. The FM-EAP faculty, staff, and collections support research on a wide range of questions related to human-environment interactions, including subsistence, domestication, coastal adaptations, migration, trade and exchange, resource management, landscape use, and cultural and environmental change. The program also supports interdisciplinary research and training that incorporates geochemical and biochemical analyses as complementary approaches to these questions. The FM-EAP provides an exceptional opportunity for a curator to build on a strong tradition of collections-based research, especially in the circum-Caribbean region, while developing innovative approaches to environmental archaeology that will continue to advance our anthropological understanding of human-environment relationships through time and across the globe.

About the Florida Museum

The Florida Museum of Natural History is the official state museum of Florida. It is located on the campus of the University of Florida, which is ranked no. 7 among the nation’s public research universities by U.S. News and World Report, and is the flagship of the state university system. The Florida Museum’s mission includes stewardship of 40 million specimens and artifacts, award-winning exhibitions, public programs, and emerging virtual and digital engagement. The research and collections programs of the Department of Natural History are world class and attract about $10 million annually in government and philanthropic support. The Florida Museum is a national and international leader in AI and biodiversity informatics, enhanced by its formative role in iDigBio, the national hub for digitization of natural history specimens.

The Department of Natural History, a college-level unit within UF, is a vibrant community of about 300 employees, including 30 full-time faculty, ~80–100 graduate students, ~20 postdoctoral research associates, hundreds of undergraduates engaged in research, curation, and education, as well as administrative, collections and research support staff. The department has dedicated labs for digital imaging, molecular genetics and genomics, and preparing skeletal specimens. Natural History enjoys cross-campus collaborations with many of the 16 UF colleges, including those of potential relevance to this new faculty position: Liberal Arts and Sciences, Agricultural and Life Sciences (Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences), Education, Engineering, Libraries, and Veterinary Medicine. Other campus resources relevant to this position include the UF Museum Studies Program, FM Randell Research Center, UF Genetics Institute, UF Biodiversity Institute.

The starting salary range for this position is $90,000 to $105,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The University of Florida (UF) offers an exceptional benefits package, including health, dental and vision insurance; state retirement plans; a generous leave program; and tuition assistance. UF is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer. For more information on benefits, please visit UF HR Benefits and Rewards at https://benefits.hr.ufl.edu/.

We seek to hire an innovative environmental archaeologist whose research and teaching will foster an interdisciplinary approach to natural history scholarship, including collections-based research design and student mentorship. We invite candidates who address questions in the broad field of environmental archaeology and who will contribute to, and make use of, the Florida Museum’s extensive and world-renowned environmental archaeology collection. We anticipate that the successful candidate will have the opportunity to both bolster and expand the FM-EAP’s collections through sustained research, formal academic advising, teaching and service. An ideal candidate will contribute to the museum’s goals of understanding, preserving, and interpreting biological and cultural diversity, and conduct research with opportunities for integrative collaborations with other faculty and divisions within the Florida Museum and across the 16 colleges of the University of Florida. Candidates using multidisciplinary approaches are highly encouraged to apply. Successful candidates must have a Ph.D. in Anthropology or a related field, conduct collections-based research on archaeological collections, and demonstrate excellence or strong potential for excellence in research through publication record, grant record, or potential to conduct grant-funded research.

Interested applicants must apply online at: careers.ufl.edu. For full consideration, applications must include:

• Cover letter
• Full curriculum vitae, including lists of peer-reviewed publications and grants received
• Research statement describing the applicant’s current and planned research
• Statement describing the applicant’s experience with museum/research collections and vision for curating, managing, and using FM-EAP collections
• Statement describing the applicant’s experience or potential in teaching, mentorship, and outreach
• List of the names and email addresses of three professional references. Letters of recommendation are not required at this stage.

Review of applications will begin on October 16, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

The final candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered official if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States must be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

For inquiries concerning this position, contact Dr. Michal Kowalewski, Search Chair, at kowalewski@ufl.edu.

The University of Florida is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. If accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD). Employment is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Law.