Full-Time Faculty Position in Interior Design

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), an internationally renowned college of art and design, business and technology of the State University of New York, invites nominations and applications for a full-time tenure track faculty position in the Interior Design Department, School of Art and Design.

The Fashion Institute of Technology, a part of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for nearly 70 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are relevant to today's rapidly changing industries. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers more than 45 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace.

With close ties to industry, FIT draws faculty from the city's art, business, and design elite, and from the rich academic community of the region. The college continually seeks creative faculty members who are passionate about their field and demonstrate exceptional professional capability in the core competencies of instruction design, learning enrichment, globalism, and use of technology, as well as mastery of established and emerging industry practices.

The mission of FIT's School of Art and Design is to educate the next generation of creative, socially responsible and globally relevant professionals able to succeed in the broad spectrum of art and design fields. The school challenges students to create new and valuable ideas through innovation, collaboration and experimentation.

The Interior Design Department prepares students for professional excellence in Interior Design through a rigorous design-based AAS and BFA curriculum, including a rich selection of liberal arts and related area courses. Faculty members draw on industry and advisory board connections to provide students with an in-depth view of the interior design industry.

Job Description:

The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced, innovative design professional with recognized design knowledge and expertise who is actively engaged in all phases of the interior/architectural design practice. Candidates should demonstrate evidence of excellence in teaching, scholarly work, and professional practice.
The successful candidate will:

• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the interior design industry's current practices, trends, and utilization of technology and innovation.
• Demonstrate the ability to teach college-level design courses in the AAS and BFA degree programs with the incorporation of various types of projects.
• Assist the department in conceptualizing its direction for the future and shaping and driving those changes by serving in a leadership role in the development of the department's infrastructure.
• Provide vision and guidance in the implementation of the College's strategic plan.
• Demonstrate cross-disciplinary skills to collaborate with academic departments, the broader community, and the design industry in curricular development and extracurricular activities.
• Enrich their pedagogy and maintain currency in the evolving professional arena. The successful candidate will pursue continuing education and professional development to maintain and expand their existing body of academic research and/or professional artistic explorations.
• Demonstrate experience teaching various facets of interior design, including the design process, color principles, lighting, acoustics, building systems, building codes and regulations, selection of furniture, fixtures, and equipment, drafting and hand rendering, and proficiency in 2D and 3D visualization using different computer applications.
• Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary projects with colleagues at the College and with external partners to develop initiatives and professional collaborations.

We seek a faculty member who will effectively communicate with and guide students to achieve their educational goals. The successful candidate will contribute to the department, School, and College, and beyond the classroom in curriculum development and with committee service.

Requirements:

Specific Competencies

Successful candidates will excel in the following areas:

Globalism

• Possess an ability to think globally and demonstrate an awareness of the impact of design education, industry, and the profession.
• Communicate and convey to students the ethical implications of design decisions affecting the global environment and people.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of design in the context of broader social, cultural, economic, scientific, and technological forces.
• Possess experience working with people from various cultural, racial, ethnic, religious and social groups that will support the education of a diverse student population.
• Demonstrate appreciation for cultural diversity and a positive approach to cultural differences.
• Engage in global cross-disciplinary discourse in the discipline of interior design.

Instructional Design

• Demonstrate ability to utilize technology and electronic information to deliver course materials to students.
• Utilize instructional variety in order to accommodate students of different learning styles, abilities, demographics, or diversity.
• Demonstrate ability to cultivate and foster critical thinking, problem-solving, information literacy, and creativity.
• Demonstrate implementation of instructional methodologies and practical applications that enrich students' learning experience through innovative pedagogies, research, and/or creative scholarship.
• Demonstrate execution of socially responsible and sustainable design projects that instruct and inspire a diverse student population.
• Demonstrate experience in developing or teaching a curriculum that addresses diversity in design.

Learning Enrichment

• Embrace the role of faculty as facilitators, mentors, and integrators of information and knowledge.
• Possess a passion for learning with the ability to inspire interest, curiosity, and creativity in students.
• Demonstrate responsiveness to industry changes and/or practices, including technology, and the ability to incorporate evolving changes in a progressive curriculum.

Professionalism

• Demonstrate a continued engagement in creative and/or scholarly work in the discipline of interior design.
• Understand established and emerging interior design practices and convey their importance to students.
• Demonstrate the ability to organize and lead initiatives for the department and the College.
• Demonstrate professional projects that illustrate a varied and innovative design portfolio of evidence-based projects.
• Demonstrate research ability, knowledge of, and engagement with industry through built work, competitions, exhibitions, publications, and/or awards.

Technology

• Demonstrate technological skills relating to software and hardware widely used in the interior/architectural design profession.
• Demonstrate ability to communicate through technology and utilization of the college course management system and campus portal.
• Demonstrate a commitment to maintain currency in technological skills and knowledge.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree required with three (3) years of teaching experience in interior/architectural design in higher education. Minimum six (6) years of high-level, full-time professional experience and current engagement in the profession of interior design or related disciplines.

Candidates must demonstrate currency in their competencies by maintaining active industry licensure and certifications as recognized in their field or profession. The successful candidate will be required to have passed all three sections of the National Council for Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ) exam before applying for tenure. Candidates should be affiliated with professional organizations and/or networks in their respective field or specialty.
Candidates must demonstrate a compelling track record of professional accomplishments related to interior design including but not limited to published peer-reviewed research and/or exhibited creative scholarship in juried exhibitions, publications, and/or competitions. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

An MFA/MA/MS degree, interior design education, and NCIDQ certification preferred.

This position will be required to constantly read and comprehend, occasionally perform calculations, constantly verbally communicate, frequently analyze, and constantly write. The working conditions for this position will be any combination of the classroom, lab, and/or office space. Certain roles may be required to handle machinery and chemicals. The physical requirement for this position will require occasional sitting, constant standing, occasional bending, frequent walking, and occasionally lifting 10 lbs. or less.

Additional Information:

This faculty position will begin Fall 2022. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The salary and appointment rank will be based on education level and cumulative experience.

Application Instructions:

Please note that a background check is required for appointment to this position.

For consideration, please provide:

• Letter of interest indicating your qualifications for the position;
• Professional Resume/Curriculum Vitae;
• Maximum of a 5-page sample of personal, professional qualifying work;
• A minimum of three professional references, including names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail contact information.

Additional application materials may be requested at a later date

Please note that due to the volume of applications, we will not be able to contact each applicant individually. Additional information about the Fashion Institute of Technology can be found at: www.fitnyc.edu. 

FIT is firmly committed to creating an environment that will attract and retain people of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. By providing a learning and working environment that encourages, utilizes, respects, and appreciates the full expression of every individual's ability, the FIT community fosters its mission and grows because of its rich, pluralistic experience. FIT is committed to prohibiting discrimination, whether based on race, national origin, gender, religion, ethnic background, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other criterion prohibited by applicable federal, state, or local laws. FIT is committed to providing equal opportunity in employment, including the opportunity for upward mobility for all qualified individuals.

The College reserves the right to select one or more candidates after having been duly reviewed and presented to the President in conformance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.