Working/Functional Title

Zoologist

Position Summary

Michigan State University Extension is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive organization, which requires all staff to contribute towards a vision for success. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to our work, regardless of title or position within the organization. This means that all staff at MSU Extension are dedicated to the following:

• We work together to ensure that programming is delivered to diverse audiences, produces equitable impacts for all participants, and demonstrates partnership and inclusion for all groups.
• We embrace that it is everyone's job to create a culture that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• We ensure that every team member is prepared with the skills and resources to contribute to our welcoming and inclusive culture.
• We foster inclusion by recognizing and valuing diverse perspectives, skills, experiences, and work to create equal access to programming for communities.
• We commit to continuous learning for diversity, equity, and cultural competency, in order to achieve inclusive excellence.
• We understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential elements to our work and are vital to the organizational culture and programmatic success of MSU Extension.
• We embrace a culture of understanding, coaching and feedback towards achieving a vision of success for the entire organization and its staff.
• Together we will achieve success and we commit to these goals in our work, continued education, and ongoing efforts.

POSITION SUMMARY

Assists in overseeing and coordinating field and/or laboratory operations, assists in planning and designing experiments, conducts experiments and field sampling, and analyzes resultant data as a part of completing research projects.

As part of MSU Extension (MSUE), the Community, Food and Environment Institute (CFEI), and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI), the zoology-focused research assistant will collect, analyze, and communicate information about Michigan's rare and declining animals, maintain Michigan's Natural Heritage Database, and work cooperatively with public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals to inform and guide decisions that impact biodiversity management and conservation.

The mission of MNFI is to guide the conservation of Michigan's biodiversity by providing the highest quality scientific expertise and information. MNFI's vision is to be the authoritative source of information on biodiversity that is widely used to conserve Michigan's unique natural heritage for current and future generations. MNFI maintains the statewide Natural Heritage Database documenting the occurrences and status of exemplary natural communities and rare species. This core function is an essential component of many MNFI projects. The database is required by partner agencies who perform legally mandated regulatory functions, allowing them to complete tasks, perform regulatory reviews, produce products, and meet deadlines. This ongoing research is used by federal, state, and local agencies and private organizations to guide land management, development, and conservation decisions. The database forms the foundation for providing information to decision makers. MNFI utilizes the Biotics platform, which is an integrated, web-enabled system for tabular and spatial data management for the Heritage Network. As the research assistant, you will be responsible for data management using Biotics and the full suite of Esri GIS products. You will collect, evaluate, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information about rare and declining animal species and manage data within multiple databases, including the Michigan Natural Heri