Full-time Faculty, Director, MFA Community Arts

Position: Graduate Studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) invites applications for a full-time faculty position to serve as program director of the Community Arts MFA program at a private art and design college nationally known for the high quality of its graduate programs, its dedication to student learning and teaching excellence, and its distinction in fine art and design at national and international levels. The program director is a faculty position with administrative responsibilities on a multi-year renewable contract at this non-tenure institution, which begins August 2022.

Job Description:

The ideal candidate will be a dynamic individual and dedicated artist-educator with significant professional experience, who is prepared to nurture existing community partnerships, innovate curricula, and develop projects and partnerships that engage graduate students with the current practice and theory of community-based work and contemporary art practice. The candidate will have an established practice that demonstrates a critical engagement with art, social justice, culture, and community across a range of fields that may include, but are not limited to, socially engaged visual arts, partnered projects, and social or participatory practices. They will have experience developing student-centered programs, pedagogical approaches, and research relevant to a student, faculty, and community population rich in diversity across race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, culture, ability and class.

The next Community Arts MFA program director will have a solid grounding in historical, structural, and systemic issues that inform and challenge community-based work; an understanding of current theory and practice for community-based or socially-engaged work; and a vision for the future of the field in its local and international contexts – and the ability to articulate ways in which graduate study can inform or transform all of these. Through these contributions, the future program director will further advance the position of MICA and the Community Arts MFA program as leaders in community-based social-justice oriented art practice.

The director provides the academic and administrative leadership of this cohort-driven program of up to 20 students, necessitating in-person or on-site teaching and management across the calendar year. As a faculty member in the program, the director works directly with students, leading seminars and studio visits and observing students in the field. As administrative leader, the program director assumes responsibility for curriculum and program facilities, academic programming and budgets, program assessment and accreditation, student recruitment and mentorship, faculty hiring and management, and supporting legacy community relationships while cultivating new strategic partnerships and alliances. The program director is expected to contribute to the life of Graduate Studies and the College through cross-programmatic collaboration (especially with other field-based graduate programs), committee work, leadership meetings, student recruitment events, community engagement, and other institution-related duties. All full-time faculty at MICA are expected to pursue research and/or professional engagements that contribute to the educational mission of the College.

The following are minimum qualifications for the position: 

• MA or MFA degree or equivalent professional experience in the fine or applied arts, community arts, or related field

• Experience teaching multigenerational groups in alternative learning spaces such as community organizations, non-degree programs, or residencies

• Experience teaching at graduate and/or undergraduate levels 

• Experience teaching others how to ethically program, teach, and/or work within communities

• Demonstrable skills in program management, including: setting priorities, planning and implementing initiatives, budgeting, facilitating, hiring, and evaluating

• Excellent communication skills

Preferred qualifications:

• Distinguished professional career in the the fine and/or applied arts or related field

• Demonstrated ease with networking, writing, and presentation  

• Ability to navigate academic hierarchies, disciplinary boundaries, and professional or relational dynamics, especially within art & design contexts

• Expertise in constructing programs that support emerging artists in being critical, committed, and crafting a professional path

• Experience supporting long-term community partnerships

Additional Information:

Candidates must successfully complete a full background check.

Salary:  Commensurate with experience and college policy; excellent benefits package.  

Apply:  Applications will be reviewed as they are received. This position will remain open until filled. To ensure fullest consideration, submit application materials before January 20, 2022. All inquiries, nominations and applications will be held in the strictest confidence. MICA recognizes diversity and inclusion as fundamental to its community and central to excellence in graduate art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experiences in professional practice, teaching, research, or service have prepared them to contribute to diversity, equity,  and excellence at MICA. 

Application Instructions: 

*Applications MUST be initiated via the MICA website. During your application on MICA’s website, you will be redirected to Slideroom to upload supporting materials as directed below. After you have uploaded your materials on Slideroom, please complete your application on MICA’s website.

When you are redirected to Slideroom, (https://micahr.slideroom.com/) you will be asked to login or create a login. Once you have logged in, please follow these instructions. Instructions will also be posted in SlideRoom as you are applying.

Submit online: Please provide a multi-page PDF document that includes:

• a cover letter to the application

• comprehensive CV

• an artist’s statement

• up to 20 images or examples of professional work

• a statement describing your teaching philosophy & the students’ experiences in the learning environment you foster

• sample syllabi from 3 classes with sample action/lesson plans congruent with each syllabus 

• 5 to 10 images of student work from each of these 3 classes

• names and contact information for 3 references

Links to live URLs may be submitted as well, but will be considered as a secondary source. Any additional media (MOV, MP3, etc.) should be formatted for Apple computers and have representative still image and description information in PDF portfolio documents. 

Please format PDF documents for screen resolution and viewing.  No physical media are requested nor will be returned. 

About the Community Arts MFA @ MICA

The first MFA of its kind in the U.S., the Community Arts graduate program was founded in 2011, building on the success of the MA in Community Arts, which launched in 2005, also the first of its kind in the nation. Today, the Community Arts MFA program enrolls up to 20 students, preparing them to use their artmaking in and with community to contribute to social justice, community development, activism, and education. The program features two real-world pathways, one with longstanding community partners, and the other for defining new community-based residencies. Facilities include individual student studios, a meeting space, as well as offices and common spaces of The Hurwitz Center. The Hurwitz Center, located in Graduate Studies, advances MICA’s long commitment to art and design education and field-based social practice; cultivates a network of community-based practitioners, educators and scholars empowered to promote innovative pedagogy and research through engagement with art and design; and catalyzes dialogue and inspires action through collaborative partnerships, events, projects, and publications that serve Baltimore, the State of Maryland, the nation and beyond.

About Graduate Studies

Graduate Studies at MICA brings together a vibrant community of nearly 400 graduate students who are pursuing degrees in one of 14 different graduate programs encompassing art, design, education, community, research and scholarship. Part of a dynamic network of specialized programs, each of these graduate programs creates a distinct learning environment for students in order to advance their practices and contribute to the discourse of their respective fields. Graduate Studies provides opportunities for graduate students across these programs to come together through shared coursework, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, events, and activities. Graduate Studies is committed to achieving greater equity and diversity among our faculty, staff, and students and encourages applications from Black, Indigenous or First-Nations people, people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals, including those who identify as gender non-conforming or transgender.