Associate or Full Professor of Visual Arts

Position Details

Position Title Associate or Full Professor of Visual Arts
Department Visual and Dramatic Arts
Position Description

Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts
Associate or Full Professor of Visual Arts, future Department Chair

The Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice University is seeking to hire a full-time senior level artist, filmmaker or critical practitioner conversant in the many intersecting fields of contemporary art practice. As the next Departmental Chair, we are seeking an individual that is strategic, inspirational, and visionary, with a broad-minded and interdisciplinary approach to contemporary art. Rice University has just committed to a new state of the art facility for the department; this hire will have the opportunity to play a significant role in the vision and planning of the building.

A successful candidate will bring organizational and strategic thought leadership as future departmental chair; engaging and maintaining an active and ambitious program of research and creative scholarship; participating in student mentoring and advising; serving on department and university committees; and taking a leadership role in the planning and development of an MFA program. There is a reduced teaching load during term as chair, to two classes per year (one fall semester and one spring semester).

Candidates who are visual artists, or filmmakers must have an MFA, a significant record of exhibition and participation on the national and international level; exceptional organizational, communication, and collaborative skills; a deep understanding of the general history, practice, theory, and criticism of contemporary art; and at least five years of teaching experience on the undergraduate or graduate level. Candidates who are critical practitioners, must have a PhD, a proven record of publication and service commensurate with their career stage and at least five years of teaching on the undergraduate or graduate level.

We are seeking a candidate with broad experience and familiarity with many levels and avenues of public engagement with art, an engagement with theoretical positions and ideas of art and aesthetics; an experimental mindset, and the desire to foster a creative environment in a diverse educational setting. Given that Rice students are predominantly double-majors, our program’s curriculum is in dialogue with other disciplines (such as engineering, creative writing, architecture, and biology), to a degree that might exceed other programs. We are looking for a candidate that can participate in the process of expanding and redefining an arts curriculum in this context. Rice is a small but growing art department in which mentoring of individual advanced students is a core part of a professor’s teaching experience. A departmental priority as we move forward is advancing the diversity of the departmental faculty.

Rice University is a liberal arts research university offering a visual arts curriculum in film production, theatre, and the studio arts (printmaking, painting, drawing, sculpture, and digital as well as traditional photography). Rice University has approximately 4,800 graduate, undergraduate, and professional students with approximately 650 full- and part-time faculty. Rice is located in Houston, Texas, a culturally diverse metropolitan city with a strong visual and performing arts community. The department enjoys a talented and intellectually curious group of student majors on three academic concentrations, along with progressive academic offerings and collaborations with The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection, Project Row Houses, the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Glassell School of Art Core Fellow Program, and many alternative art spaces and galleries.

Review of applications will begin immediately, continuing until the position is filled. For fullest consideration application materials should be submitted by December 15, 2020. Appointment begins July 1, 2021.

To be considered for this position, please send a letter summarizing your interest and qualifications, statements on teaching and research philosophies, along with a current curriculum vitae, five names and contact information of references, and a portfolio or other materials to http://jobs.rice.edu/postings/21125

Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer with commitment to diversity at all levels, and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

EEO Statement Education Required Other Terminal Degree Specify Concentration / Degree Type

MFA

Education Preferred Other Required Qualifications Other Qualifications Preferred Physical Demands Rice University Standard of Civility

Serves as a representative of the University, displaying courtesy, tact, consideration and discretion in all interactions with other members of the Rice community and with the public.