Associate Professor of Design

The Design Program within the Corcoran School of the Arts + Design at the George Washington University invites applications for an Associate Professor of Design. This position is a full-time, nine-month ranked non-tenure position with a renewable three-year commitment beginning in Fall 2022. The position accrues all benefits offered to full-time faculty including eligibility for sabbatical and fellowship leave, University funding competitions, and promotion processes.

We seek a committed and collaborative colleague to play a leadership role in shaping the future of the Design Program. The candidate will have an interest in leading the strategic development and growth of the Design degree programs, and take on the role of Program Head for Design either from point of hire or after a settling in period.

The successful candidate will have a creative practice and/or research trajectory that includes a core focus in at least one of the areas of practice represented within the Design Program (graphic, interaction or spatial design) including a combination of some of the following areas: data visualization, print media, UX, UI, typography, motion graphics, exhibition design, socially-engaged design, interaction design, brand identity, and/or related design practices.

We seek a colleague with a well-established and active record of professional achievement and a strong trajectory of recognized work that may be scholarly or critical, client-driven, and/or self-generated. The successful candidate will have broad based expertise in contemporary issues and practices in graphic design, interaction design, and/or a related design field.

All faculty are expected to be actively involved in their design discipline and to produce creative research and/or work. The Corcoran will sustain the new faculty member’s research with startup funding and support for initiating opportunities for collaboration and grant funding across the University. The new faculty member will teach and mentor students, play a leading role in developing and implementing Design curricula, and contribute to the growth and development of the Design Program, and participate in School, College, and/or University service. As Program Head, the new faculty member will serve as the strategic and administrative leader of the Design Program, working in close collaboration with the leadership of the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. This position is a stipend-bearing academic leadership appointment.

The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design is an interdisciplinary art and design environment within a large, diverse research university. We invite applications from candidates who contribute to the academic and creative community's multiplicity of approach and experience through their teaching, research/creative practice, and/or service. Applications by individuals historically underrepresented in academia are particularly welcomed. The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design strives to foster diversity, equity, and justice in our academic and creative communities. The Design Program seeks to contribute to this mission both in the orientation of our degree programs and in our daily practices. As a central mediator in the relationships between people and the systems around them in contemporary society, culture, commerce, and government, the design fields have the potential to describe and rethink how we live. In daily practice, we center support of faculty and student research and creative practice, the structure of curricula, coordination of public programming, and the cultivation of an inclusive studio culture.

About the Department/University

The Design Program at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design is grounded in human-centered problem-solving in an interdisciplinary design context, educating undergraduate and graduate students in graphic design, exhibition design, and interaction design. Faculty draw on studio resources across the Corcoran School, including the Digital Fabrication Lab and a Printmaking area that focuses on book arts and print media as public practice with capacity in screenprinting, letterpress, etching, lithography, and risograph. Teaching collaborations with the MFA in Social Practice and the Department of Anthropology allow graduate students in Design to take part in conversations around shared methodologies. Across the wider University, the Gelman Library holds extensive collections, including the Art and the Book special collection. Developing collaborations with Computer Science and the Innovation Center in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are sites of growing conversations, curricular connections, and student participation. With this opportunity to hire new faculty, the Design Program seeks to expand on existing strengths and identify new opportunities and collaborative points of connection in order prepare our students to excel in a discipline defined by change.

The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University prepares its graduates to be the next generation of global creative leaders with more than 20 degree programs in the fields of Art History, Studio Arts, Design, Theatre and Dance, Music, Museum Studies, and Interior Architecture. Part of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the school functions as an incubator for artists, designers, and scholars, who learn from internationally renowned faculty at the intersection of creativity and social innovation. We are a community of civically engaged artists and practitioners, aiming to impact the world through creative change. Our students are poised to not just join the field of their choice, but to define it for themselves as they become well versed in both practice and research. As part of the George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, we embody and exemplify the College’s Engaged Liberal Arts credo, which strives to link disparate fields and better prepare our graduates for rich, multidimensional careers in the evolving world we live in. The challenges society faces are diverse, requiring different modes of thought, and we prepare our students by encouraging inquiry and collaboration. 

The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design’s home in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C. means that our students tap into both a vibrant, historied local city and a nerve center of international culture and government. We have a strong track record of students initiating new creative ventures and placing with top-ranked employers after graduation, with students working and studying at some of D.C.’s most prestigious companies, galleries, museums and design firms.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities include: 

• Teaching Design studio and seminar classes at all levels of the Graphic Design BFA and/or Interaction Design BA/MA and the Exhibition Design MA.
• Maintaining a professional design practice and/or scholarly research.
• Leading Design curricula development and innovation;
• Leading program identity development activities;
• Actively recruiting students at the undergraduate and graduate levels;
• Evaluating faculty performance;
• Mentoring students and participating in student retention efforts;
• Maintaining departmental and student records;
• Participating in School and Program level development efforts;
• Participating in departmental and university service and university meetings as they relate to faculty and departmental and college committee service.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must have at the time of application:

• An MFA in a Design field or a terminal degree in a related field from an accredited institution or a minimum of ten years of professional experience;
• Excellence in design practice as evidenced by a well-defined trajectory and record of recognized creative accomplishment and/or scholarship;
• A creative practice and/or research trajectory that includes a core focus in at least one of the areas of practice represented within the Program (graphic, interaction or spatial design) including a combination of some of the following areas: data visualization, print media, UX, UI, typography, motion graphics, exhibition design, socially-engaged design, interaction design, brand identity, and/or related design practices;
• A well-established and active record of professional achievement and a strong trajectory of recognized work that may be scholarly or critical, client-driven, and/or self-generated;
• Broad based expertise in contemporary issues and practices in graphic design, interaction design, and/or related design field;
• Fluency in the tools, technologies, and software of contemporary design production and instruction;
• A minimum of 5 years successful teaching experience in a post-secondary education environment with experience defining current, emerging, and experimental topics in design education;
• Currently hold the rank of Associate Professor or have 5+ years of experience at the Assistant Professor rank and are prepared to enter the promotion process directly upon hire;
• Demonstrated capacity for successful leadership as evidenced by leadership roles in professional or academic contexts, including, but not limited to: Project or Team lead, Area Coordinator, Director of Undergraduate or Graduate Studies, Department Chair, Program Director, or related roles;
• Excellent interpersonal skills as evidenced through student work, teaching evaluations and/or professional recommendations.

Application Procedure

To be considered, please submit an online application at https://www.gwu.jobs/postings/87879 and upload:

1. A letter of interest;
2. CV;
3. Statement of creative and/or research interests;
4. Portfolio of recent work (PDF or website). Links to external sites are accepted. Please clearly include identifying and descriptive information.
5. Names and contact information of at least three references.

Second round candidates will be contacted for supplementary materials, including:

Review of applications will begin on January 10, 2022 and will continue until the position is filled. Only complete applications will be considered. Questions? Contact Associate Professor Siobhan Rigg, Search Committee Chair: srigg@gwu.edu.

The George Washington University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory, diverse work environment. The university does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, genetic information, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law in any of its programs or activities.

Employment offers are contingent on the satisfactory outcome of a standard background screening.