<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Dena Louise Grossenbacher</b> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:dgrossen@calpoly.edu">dgrossen@calpoly.edu</a>></span><br>Date: Thu, Nov 20, 2025 at 4:55 PM<br>Subject: plant eco/evo postdoc at Cal Poly, SLO<br>To: Jason Sexton <<a href="mailto:jsexton2@ucmerced.edu">jsexton2@ucmerced.edu</a>><br></div><br><br><div class="msg-5484964811921099943">




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Hi Jason,</div>
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I hope all is well in the foothills this fall.</div>
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I just received an award from my college to support a postdoctoral research fellow for 2 years, starting in Summer or Fall of 2026.  The fellow would teach one course per year with me, but the majority of their time is for research.  </div>
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This is an especially great fit for someone who is aiming for a teacher-scholar faculty position, like what we have here at Cal Poly.  That said, our postdocs have gone on to all sorts of faculty and industry positions after, which is great.</div>
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I've pasted some preliminary details below.  The formal job ad will be announced in the new year.  </div>
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Please share with anyone you know who might be a good fit, and have them reach out to me directly with their CV, a description of why they are interested, and any burning questions.</div>
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Thanks!<br>
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Dena</div>
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#### Preliminary Info Below</div>
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#### Formal job ad to be posted in the new year</div>
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<b>Position: </b>Postdoc - plant ecology and evolution </div>
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<b>Location:</b> Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo</div>
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<b>Start date: </b>Summer or Fall 2026</div>
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<b>Duration: </b>2 years (2nd year contingent on 1^st year performance)</div>
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<b>The ideal candidate:</b></div>
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<div style="margin:0px" role="presentation">Does interesting research in plant ecology and evolution, and is willing to take a leading role on a paper involving one of my core projects: a) flower color evolution in
<i>Leptosiphon</i>, b) alpine species distribution shifts in response to warming in the Sierra Nevada, and c) serpentine adaptation in monkeyflowers and a monkeyflower phylogeny update.  </div>
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<div style="margin:0px" role="presentation">Is stoked to teach or co-teach one undergrad plant related course per year with me (e.g., plant ecology, plant taxonomy, intro to botany).  We have a fantastic undergrad botany teaching program and provide lots
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<div style="margin:0px" role="presentation">Is able to live in San Luis Obispo, CA during the academic year.  </div>
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<div style="margin:0px" role="presentation">Interest in mentoring undergrad and master's students is a big plus, and makes the work here a lot of fun.</div>
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The base pay will be ~68K with full benefits (CalPERS retirement and health benefits).  For each class taught (one per year), the fellow will earn an additional ~10,450$. The fellow will also receive a 2500$ travel stipend per year.</div>
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</div></div><div><br clear="all"></div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Jason (Jay) Sexton</span></font></div><div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">(he/him/his)<br></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Associate Professor</span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></font></div><div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Department of Life and Environmental Sciences<br></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">University of California, Merced<br></span></font></div><div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">236 Science and Engineering Building 1</span></font></div><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><a href="mailto:jsexton2@ucmerced.edu" target="_blank">jsexton2@ucmerced.edu</a><br><a href="http://sextonlab.ucmerced.edu/" target="_blank">https://sextonlab.ucmerced.edu</a></span></font></div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></font></div><div><font size="2"><span>Faculty <span>Director</span><br>UC Merced Natural Reserve System</span></font></div><div><span><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><br><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></font></p>





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