Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technical Direction, Department of Performing Arts

A ssistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technical Direction

Department of Performing Arts

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Theatre Division of the Department of Performing Arts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) seeks applicants to fill a tenure track position at the Assistant Professor level in Lighting Design and Technical Direction August 1, 2023.

We seek candidates who have strong potential for excellence in teaching students at all levels. Instruction responsibilities include teaching upper-level undergraduate courses in Lighting Design, Sound Design, upper-level special topics in design, and Introduction to Theatre. This position has a 4/4 teaching load expectation, with course reductions for significant design work. Preference will be given to applicants who meet the qualifications below and whose design work would contribute to the B. A. in Theatre, including a newly established concentration in Design and Technology.

Required qualifications include:

• MFA in Lighting Design
• Experience in Technical Direction and Sound Design
• Demonstrated commitment to excellence in undergraduate teaching
• Strong record of artistic accomplishments and creative activity appropriate to level of appointment
• Evidence of working collaboratively with colleagues
• Demonstrated potential for effective integration of technology into instruction
• Demonstrated potential for commitment to the mission of the university to actively engage students; embrace diversity and inclusion; inspire positive change; and enrich and sustain our community

Review of applications will begin in November 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications must include:

• Cover letter addressing qualifications for the position
• Statement of teaching experience and philosophy
• Statement of creative activity
• Diversity statement detailing the applicant’s value of and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the candidate’s previous contributions to DEI and a vision for future activities
• An updated curriculum vitae
• All unofficial transcripts
• Names, titles, and email addresses for three (3) references, from which UTC will request confidential letters of recommendation. At least one of these references must be able to comment on teaching ability

Questions about the position should be directed to Steve Ray, Associate Head of the Department of Performing Arts, Steve-Ray@utc.edu . Applications must be submitted electronically through the UTC Faculty Career Site.

The Theatre Division has 8 full-time faculty with 50 majors, with newly established concentrations in Acting, Directing, Design and Technology, Theatre Education, and Theatre Entrepreneurship. The UTC Theatre Co. produces four mainstage shows each year.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the second-largest campus in the University of Tennessee System and serves a diverse student body of more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five academic colleges. Since its founding as Chattanooga University in 1886, UTC has established a reputation for excellence built on a unique blend of the private and public traditions of American higher education. Today, UTC brings a passion for excellence in all pursuits and is dedicated to making a difference in our community and in the lives of our students.

At UTC, we welcome and cultivate diverse perspectives and populations—whether shaped by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, intellectual diversity, political beliefs and other life experiences and ideologies—and embrace equity and inclusion.

UTC is a university distinguished by respect for the dignity, uniqueness, and value of every individual. We foster a campus community that is welcoming and inclusive of all. We value diversity in our workplace and learning environments, benefiting from the varied backgrounds and abilities of our campus community. The diversity of our voices and experiences is vital to our pursuit of excellence and fulfillment of our mission.

UTC is in the heart of Tennessee’s fourth-largest city, located in the southeastern part of the state near the border with Georgia and at the junction of four interstate highways. Conveniently situated within just a two-hour drive from Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville and Birmingham, Chattanooga, offers the opportunity to live and learn in an exciting and enchanting environment. Dubbed the ‘Scenic City,’ and endowed with incredible vistas and popular area attractions, the city has been recognized nationally for its downtown renaissance and a revitalized riverfront that has become the blueprint for other cities to emulate. Chattanooga achieved the first gig internet capacity in the country, and today has the nation’s fastest internet service with a 100% fiber network that links every residence and business in a 600-square mile area.

The city is home to companies such as Unum, McKee Foods, U.S. Xpress, Volkswagen, Coke United, and Amazon, and a number of tech startups attracted to its blazing fast internet and low cost-of-living. Thousands of visitors are drawn yearly to the Tennessee Aquarium, Lookout Mountain, Civil War battlefield sites, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center—Chattanooga African American Museum, Creative Discovery Museum for Children, Riverbend Festival, and the weekly Nightfall Summer Concert Series held in the heart of downtown. Chattanooga also has a long and rich history interwoven with the Civil Rights movement and Native American heritage. The Trail of Tears National Historic Route runs through the city and is on the traditional territory of Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East).

Whether it’s Chattanooga’s ideal geographical location with comfortable temperatures year round to suit an active lifestyle, its cultural and culinary diversity, reasonable cost of living, world-class healthcare facilities, reputable educational institutions like UTC, or countless other reasons, it’s no wonder more and more people are choosing to make Chattanooga their home.

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or protected veteran status.

Qualifications :