Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture

The College of Architecture (CoA) at Texas Tech University (TTU) in El Paso seeks energetic candidates for the position of Visiting Assistant Professor, to join the faculty and participate in advancing innovative design teaching and creative research. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate expertise or strong promise in one or more of the following areas of interest: history and theory in Latin America, cultural, environmental, and material issues as they relate to architectural and urban design.   

  

The El Paso program is rooted in a particularly exciting, challenging, and important context on the US- Mexico border, which motivates the pedagogy and the research of our faculty. The program’s curriculum engages a binational, bicultural, and bilingual student body, through critical thinking and design research. The CoA El Paso invites candidates interested in furthering this trajectory. The College values teaching excellence and expects the visiting faculty member to be a collaborative and innovative teacher who participates in advancing the College’s architectural pedagogy within a team setting. The ideal candidate will help to expand our vibrant program’s identity on a national level. 

  

The successful candidate will teach two architectural design studios and two lecture courses per year at the undergraduate level, or other courses in the core curriculum as needed in the El Paso Program. The ideal candidate will have a strong research agenda and show substantial promise towards using their time in the College to develop a body of work through a synergistic approach to pedagogy and research, culminating with an exhibition and/or publication, supported by the TTU CoA. The ideal candidate will engage the unique binational urban context of the school and will be able to articulate the relationship of their work to this context, however is not required to be an expert in border issues. Candidates should possess strong design skills that advance the state of the art, using innovative methodologies and/or advanced digital technologies. 

  

College of Architecture – El Paso 

Located within a functioning regional train station, in a historically landmarked building designed by Daniel Burnham, and steps from the US-Mexico border, the CoA El Paso is home to students from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez and to faculty deeply engaged within the context. The accomplished faculty is invested in the success of the program by focusing their research on spatial and environmental justice issues important to the borderlands, while broadcasting these issues to regional, national, and international audiences with related concerns. The CoA El Paso is home to the research center POST, the Project for Operative Spatial Technologies, which develops research and projects addressing the intersections of desertification and urbanization on the border region. POST recently launched the Border Consortium, which is a collaborative platform for actionable spatial research and practice along the US-Mexico border. The CoA El Paso has recently expanded with a graduate M.S. in Historic Preservation degree, which engages with downtown El Paso’s substantial historic buildings designed by Henry Trost—an apprentice of Luis Sullivan. See a short video about the school and the context here: https://youtu.be/oYhS7xSHOD8

  

College of Architecture – Main Campus 

The CoA’s main campus is located in Lubbock, Texas in the high plains of the West Texas and Llano Estacado regions. The Llano Estacado is one of the American West’s most unique landscapes with proximity to Marfa, Texas where the CoA is significantly engaged. The CoA Lubbock campus offers a B.S. in Architecture as well as M.Arch, M.S. and an interdisciplinary PhD in Land-Use Planning, Management, and Design (LPMD). M.S. degrees are offered in Digital Computation + Fabrication, Urban + Community Design, and Health + Wellness Design. Moreover, graduate certificates are also offered in Digital Computation + Fabrication, Health Care Facilities Design, Health and Wellness Design, Historic Preservation and Conservation, Land Arts of the American West, and Urban + Community Design. Finally, the CoA is both regionally and globally engaged, implementing a full semester abroad program in Seville, Spain and study abroad programs and studios in Korea and Singapore, among others. 

  

The CoA celebrates continued rank increases by Design Intelligence in the category of “most hired from schools” (#10 in 2019). Additionally, the CoA is ranked as the #1 Hispanic serving college of architecture in the nation by the Hispanic Outlook on Education in 2019, with a diverse culture of students, with over 44% Hispanic students studying in all programs. The CoA’s work is in line with the University’s new strategic plan and in particular its attainment of Tier-One university status. 

Please visit the College’s website at www.arch.ttu.edu or reach out for more information.  

Texas Tech University 

Texas Tech University (TTU) is a Tier 1 research institution in Lubbock, Texas with over 40,000 students with close to 700 choosing architecture as their major. The main campus is located in the wide-open expanses of the American Southwest and its unique cultural and physical landscape with proximity to the artistic mecca of Marfa, Texas where the College is establishing a growing presence. TTU is part of the Texas Tech University System which consists of four component institutions and operates at multiple campuses and academic sites across the state and the globe and includes a new campus in San Jose, Costa Rica. Texas Tech University is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). 

  

Values 

CoA mission and core values: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/architecture/about/the-coa/mission-values.php

CoA statement on diversity and inclusion: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/architecture/about/the-coa/diversity.php 

Texas Tech University’s statements on diversity and inclusion: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/diversity/ 

 

Required Qualifications 

The successful candidate must have: 

•     Terminal degree in architecture at the time of application: a B. Arch degree plus a terminal degree in architecture or a related field, a professional M. Arch degree.  An equivalent international degree or professional equivalency will also be considered.   

•     Demonstrated effectiveness, or strong promise, as a design studio and lecture course instructor. 

•     Record, or strong promise, of interdisciplinary collaboration. 

  

Preferred Qualifications   

The successful candidate will demonstrate: 

•     Promise of growth in teaching, research and creative activity. 

•     Excellence in architectural or urban design with an ability to engage social and geopolitical issues. 

•     Genuine interest in equity and inclusion, and the ability to conduct secondary courses in the related    subject areas mentioned above. 

•     Strong promise and/or record of publication and/or creative activity which has contributed to the discipline or field of study and to the candidate’s intellectual and artistic development. 

 

Application Procedure  

Please apply through the Texas Tech University System job website at www.texastech.edu/careers (Search for requisition #22331BR or follow the link provided: https://bit.ly/3lDvqtO 

 

Direct any questions about the position to Search Committee Chair, Ersela Kripa, at ersela.kripa@ttu.edu 

The search committee will begin reviewing applications January 20th, 2021 and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in Spring 2021 semester. Appointment will begin in the Fall 2021 semester.  

 

 

Required Attachments: 

Applicants should submit the following materials in digital format (PDF): 

•     Letter of interest (maximum two pages) that summarizes the candidate’s creative activities, research interests or agenda, teaching experience, and service interests. 

•     Curriculum Vitae 

•     Name and contact information of three references 

•     Portfolio of relevant studio teaching, professional, and/or research work (maximum twenty pages) 

 

Optional Attachments: 

•     Research statement describing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in research and teaching. 

•     Recommendations/Referrals 

 

  

EEO Statement   

As an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, Texas Tech University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We actively encourage applications from all those who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community at Texas Tech University. The university does not discriminate on the basis of an applicant’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or status as a protected veteran. Texas Tech welcomes consideration of dual career and professional couple accommodations.