Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts
Position F28330
Full time Tenure Track Position beginning August 16, 2013
Application Deadline: November 30, 2012
Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Art is seeking an outstanding artist and active professional to teach in the Department of Photography and Film and in other fine arts and design programs in the School, focusing on cross-disciplinary media. The successful candidate will be comfortable working and thinking across disciplines. Candidates will have interests and experiences extending beyond his or her specialty, with a broad ranging practice pushing the boundaries of their field. All candidates are expected to be conversant with contemporary art issues, critical theory and a contemporary studio practice with an established research agenda. A MFA or equivalent, teaching experience beyond graduate school and a substantial exhibition record or comparable research accomplishments are position requirements.
Teaching responsibilities include courses in the Department of Photography and Film as well as teaching in other areas in the School of the Arts identified by the faculty’s area of expertise. Possible areas of cross-disciplinary collaboration and teaching include, but are not limited to, Sculpture, Kinetic Imaging, Painting and Printmaking, and the Art Foundation Program. University and Department service responsibilities will include serving on Photography and Film graduate committees and other duties as assigned.
The Photography and Film department has a strong history with a renowned visiting artist program. The department offers a BFA with 120 undergrads, the majority in Photography. The MFA program in photography is a two-year, full-time degree accepting five students annually for a class of ten. The Photography and Film Department has the resources and infrastructure to support both analog and digital processes.
U.S. News & World Report ranks the School of the Arts as the top public university art and design school in the nation. The School of the Arts is comprised of over 3000 students and 15 nationally recognized programs in design, visual and performing arts. Virginia Commonwealth University is an ethnically and culturally diverse urban institution serving 32,000 students. VCUarts students are known for their meritocratic imagination, strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit. The School of the Arts has cultivated an environment of collegiality and support for its faculty, which has been key to the success of the institution. The city of Richmond, also a significant figure in the success of the School, has a robust community of artists and arts institutions, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the VCU’s planned Institute for Contemporary Art. VCU has strong connections to the major urban art centers of North America and increasingly the international art world. The school has a sister campus in Doha, Qatar, offering a BFA and MFA in design.
Qualifications:
Applicants must have an MFA or equivalent, teaching experience beyond graduate school and an active exhibition or professional record. VCU prides itself on the quality and of its programs and the collegiality and productivity of its faculty. The faculty member must also have demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU. Applicants are expected to reflect these qualities and therefore be able to encourage and support creative expression among the highly diverse body of colleagues and students in the School of the Arts. The faculty member will be required to have an established research agenda and a clear potential for external funding, and potential for scholarship or creative expression to complement and expand existing expertise in the departments. If hired at the Associate Professor level, the faculty member must have a well-developed scholarly/research portfolio with evidence of multi-disciplinary applications and external funding appropriate to complement and expand existing expertise in the departments.
Applications are due November 30, 2012. This is a 9-month faculty position starting August 16, 2013. To apply, please send a letter outline your interest in the position, an academic vita, 20 examples of professional work, examples of student work, and names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses for four current references to Christina Lindholm, clindholm@vcu.edu, Search Committee Chair. Only electronic applications will be accepted. (Documentation of creative work should be in the form of medium-size jpegs [approximately 300kb per image]. Referral to a web page or other online image site is also an option).
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university providing access to education and employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, political affiliation or disability.
