Search for University Jobs in Fine Arts

The School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas invites applications for a non-tenure track Visiting Assistant Professor in Experimental Media to start August 2023. This is a nine-month, renewable faculty appointment for up to three years, with a standard workload of 40% teaching, 40% research, and 20% service.

The candidate will primarily teach undergraduate and graduate curriculum within the Sculpture + Experimental Media area as part of the studio art program. The successful candidate will be comfortable teaching digital tools and demonstrate expertise in research and teaching in one or more of the following digital/media arts practices: digitally mediated performance, creative coding, sound (design, composition, installation, etc.), advanced Digital Signal Processing, moving image production, experimental game design, animation, compositing and VFX.

In addition to their primary role in Sculpture + Experimental Media, the candidate will have the opportunity to teach courses in our intensive Foundations program, work with graduate students, and to collaborate with other programs in the School of Art and across the University of Arkansas.

The School of Art at the University of Arkansas highly values equity, access, diversity, and inclusion in creating, studying, and teaching. This position is part of a cluster of searches designed to foster an equitable, innovative, and inclusive environment for teaching, mentoring, research, and service. The School of Art is especially interested in applicants whose work aims to broaden the canon, demonstrates a commitment to mentoring students from diverse backgrounds, creates the conditions for classroom experiences that are marked by empathy and mutual respect, and fosters collaboration, community, and open dialogue. We seek faculty committed to working and creating in ways that foster encouraging and supportive learning experiences that expand the School of Art’s current efforts to engage the campus and community in dialogue.

Duties will include:
• Teach a 2/2 course load
• Maintain an active and nationally or internationally significant program of research
• Participate in area and program governance
• Organizational support of Sculpture + Experimental Media
• Supervision of graduate assistants
• Participate in MFA Studio graduate reviews and thesis committees
• Active participation in program, School of Art, and university community

Regular, reliable, and non-disruptive attendance is an essential job duty, as is the ability to create and maintain collegial, harmonious working relationships with others.

Minimum Qualifications:

• MFA or equivalent terminal degree conferred by the start of employment

• An active research/creative practice

• College teaching experience 

• Experience in (or the potential for) building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment in teaching, mentoring, research, life experiences, and/or service

• Evidence of strong interpersonal and communication skills 

• Expertise in digital media tools, production, or development

• College teaching experience as instructor of record

• Evidence of excellence in teaching (related fields)

• Broad knowledge of historical and contemporary practices and theory in media arts.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong potential to advance research in media arts/technology

• Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in creative/research practice

• Demonstrated excellence with inclusive teaching

• Experience mentoring a diverse student body

• Research that aims to challenge a homogenous canon

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Completed applications received by February 1, 2023 will be assured full consideration. Late applications will be reviewed as necessary to fill the position.

For additional inquiries, please contact the search committee chair, Dr. Adam Hogan, at ashogan@uark.edu.

Required Documents

• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of Application
• Link to portfolio of creative work & research
• Links to portfolio of student work (10 examples)
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy
• Artist statement (or statement of research)
• Two course syllabi (different levels)
• Statement detailing your contributions to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), including information about your understanding of these topics, how your professional experience or background has prepared you to promote EDI in this role, and your specific plans and goals for advancing EDI if hired at the University of Arkansas 
• List of three professional references (provide name, title, email address, phone number; note, letters of recommendation will be requested only for candidates selected for finalist interviews)

Optional Documents

• Other materials applicant deems relevant to application
• Proof of Veteran Status

About the School of Art:

In 2017, the University of Arkansas was awarded a $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation to establish a School of Art in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The gift created the first and only school of art in the state of Arkansas, and is helping to advance art education, design, art history and studio art in the state while providing unparalleled access and opportunity to students. In addition, in 2017, the School of Art also received a $40 million gift from the Windgate Foundation to develop and build a new Studio Art and Graphic Design facility. Most recently, in 2021, the Windgate Foundation gave a $30 million partial challenge grant to develop and build a facility to house a professional gallery, auditorium, the foundations program, as well as idea fabrication and arts entrepreneurship labs. The mission of the School of Art is to develop one of the highest quality educational, research and service programs in the visual arts available nationally. The School of Art is a fully accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and includes 54 faculty, 8 staff members, and more than 500 students. There are currently 8 degree options: BFA in Art Education, BFA in Graphic Design, BFA in Studio Art, BA in Art History, BA in Studio Art, MA in Art Education, MFA in Studio Art, and MDES in Communication Design. Advanced degrees in Art History are currently in development.\

About Sculpture + Experimental Media:

Experimental Media Arts (EMA) is a research unit and part of the new interdisciplinary studio area Sculpture + Experimental Media in the School of Art. EMA focuses on artistic research and development in advanced moving image, sound, digital computing, performance, mechatronics/electronics and other emerging fields of media arts. EMA supports a wide range of student, faculty and visiting artists research fostering new experimental forms of artistic studio practice as well as developing new creative digital/computational solutions. The core mission of EMA is to prepare an emerging generation of hybrid artists, filmmakers, composers, computer scientists and engineers as well as to work with established practitioners to create, document, and preserve knowledge in the ever-evolving field of media arts. However, the bleeding edge is only one direction and EMA has a strong connection and commitment to the past through history and preservation/restoration of media arts and time-based practices.

All application materials must be uploaded to the University of Arkansas System Career Site https://uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/UASYS  

Please do not send to listed recruitment contact.