Assistant Professor -Sculpture and Extended Media

Assistant Professor -Sculpture and Extended Media

Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts)
Department of Sculpture and Extended Media

This full-time, 9-month position is at the rank of Assistant Professor, is tenure-eligible, and begins August 16, 2023.

Application Deadline: For best consideration, applications are due Friday, January 6, 2023.

The Opportunity:

The Department of Sculpture + Extended Media (https://arts.vcu.edu/sculpture/) at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) seeks a dynamic faculty member for a full-time, 9-month tenure-eligible position at the rank of Assistant Professor. 

The Department is seeking applications from candidates that maintain active and vibrant artistic practices, of which teaching exists as an essential creative component. Applicants should have an emerging yet strong record of engagement within creative and creative-adjacent fields as indicated either by robust exhibition history; institutional activities and support; and community engagement. In aggregate, the candidate’s research activities should indicate clear promise and excellence within the field.

Applicants should have college-level teaching experience and an MFA or equivalent professional training and experience. The successful candidate will teach all levels of undergraduate and graduate sculpture. An annual teaching load will be determined in consultation with the Chair of the Department. In order to support progress towards promotion and tenure, it is expected that the teaching load for research active, tenure-track faculty will be two courses in the fall semester (totaling 6-8 credits) and two courses in the spring semester (totaling 6-8 credits), while holding a tenure-eligible faculty appointment.

The committee is seeking diverse and enthusiastic applicants with wide-ranging intellectual and creative interests to complement, and build upon our department’s existing strengths. In addition to spatial, material, object and performance-based practices, applicants whose work and/or research interests might engage with feminisms; identity; social, institutional and/or relational practices; ecology; intersectionality; technology; the built environment; and pedagogy itself are all strongly encouraged to apply. Our next colleague will aspire to be recognized for creative and/or scholarly contributions at the national and/or international level and will show the potential to secure external funding, as appropriate, to advance their creative research agenda. The faculty member’s scholarly activities should be related to the program’s curriculum, and be consistent with and support the broader mission and initiatives of the Department, School, and University. Additionally, applicants should have demonstrated experience working to decolonize their classroom, foregrounding anti-racist curricular goals as to build a more diverse, flourishing, and inclusive community of makers and thinkers.

The faculty member will participate equally with core faculty in sharing committee work and curriculum development. Other service activities could include supporting student, department, and school-wide initiatives; supporting recruitment activities; fostering community engagement opportunities; and serving on department/School/University committees. Other responsibilities may be assigned by the Chair or university administration.

For generations, the Department of Sculpture and Extended has attracted students and faculty alike as a place of self-discovery at the margins of materiality and method. Toward this goal, the Department continues to foster an ethic of permeability, permission and possibility to better create the conditions for expanding the limits of art’s practice. Taken together exists a departmental ethic that encourages students to find empowerment and personal agency through deep learning and skill building to better hone their craft as artists, and people.

The Department of Sculpture + Extended Media’s MFA program is ranked 1st in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Our graduate students, undergraduate majors and full-time studio faculty, along with part-time faculty, make for a dynamic community within the School of the Arts. Our faculty are engaged in a wide range of disciplines and media, benefiting from both the richness and intellectual diversity of a major university and an environment where faculty research is valued and supported. 

Occupying over 50,000 sq. ft. of studio and shop space, our state-of-the-art facility contains a well-equipped 22-station computer lab with video editing, a 3D laser scanner and ABS 3D printer stations, a 3-axis CNC router, a 5-axis CNC router, a CNC plasma cutter as well as a wide selection of equipment for the capture and playback of video, still photo and sound. The comprehensive scope of our technical resources allows for a robust interpretation of contemporary sculptural practice stretching from the constructed to the performative and offers students an immersive learning experience, ranging from traditional techniques to the most experimental approaches in contemporary art making.

The Department of Sculpture + Extended Media is committed to enhancing diversity among its faculty, staff, and students.

More information on the department can be found at: arts.vcu.edu/sculpture/

Qualifications:

Required

  • MFA or equivalent professional experience and training that equates to an MFA
  • University-level teaching experience and classroom critique beyond graduate school
  • Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment and a commitment to equity and diversity in teaching, service, leadership and practice
  • Active professional practice and reputation in the field
  • Excellent oral, verbal, and written communication skills
  • Strong collaboration skills, and demonstrate enthusiasm toward teaching and working with faculty, staff and students within the university; and to building and maintaining professional relationships outside of the university on the program’s behalf

Preferred

  • Fluency in interdisciplinary and experimental approaches to contemporary art
  • Ability to recruit graduate students

Application Instructions:

Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to organizational diversity, equity and inclusion – an environment where all can thrive in their pursuit of excellence. VCUarts strongly encourages applications from all racial, ethnic, gender, and social identities.

Applicants are required to submit a Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (typically between 150-300 words) providing your career aspirations and contributions toward promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through this statement, you can share how your lived experiences, and academic and professional activities will impact your contribution to VCU’s mission of promoting equity and inclusion.

Note: Examples include working with others to further the goals of equity and inclusion; leading in any capacity that tangibly promotes an environment where diversity is welcomed, fostered, and celebrated; creative activity, research and scholarship that promotes equity and parity; teaching and mentoring students, and/or engaging with faculty and/or staff from traditionally underrepresented groups to create a positive and successful organizational experience. For additional guidance on writing a Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: https://provost.vcu.edu/faculty/prospective/.

Questions about the VCU Jobs Website can directed to Tasia Robinson, Assistant Director of Human Resources, at thompsontl5@vcu.edu.

The following documents should submitted online via the VCU Jobs Website:

  • A Letter of Interest that conveys relevant academic and professional experience and creative research interests. 
  • Curriculum Vitae or resume
  • A portfolio of work— a link to appropriate selections of documentation of the applicant's work and experience in their area of expertise. This could include traditional and/or non-traditional examples of one's work from a broad cross-section and/or combination of experience.
  • Teaching statement that addresses philosophy of teaching and approach to student mentorship; if applicable, please discuss experience teaching first-generation and underrepresented minority students
  • Diversity Statement
  • List of three professional references including names with titles and contact information (references will not be contacted prior to a candidate’s approval)

Only electronic applications submitted via the VCU Jobs Website will be accepted. For best consideration, completed applications are due by Friday, January 6, 2022.

VCUarts:

Ranked by US News & World Report as a top-five arts and design school, VCUarts (arts.vcu.edu) includes over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students with nationally recognized programs in design, visual and performing arts, and has an annual budget of $38 million and an endowment of more than $13.5 million. Students are taught by over 175 full-time teaching and research faculty members and the school is supported by over 60 staff members that assist in daily processes. The School includes two campuses; one in Richmond and one in Doha, Qatar. The Richmond campus is located on the university’s 75-acre Monroe Park campus situated in the city’s historic Fan District.  Ultimately, the work of the School of the Arts extends globally with partnerships throughout the world and across fields as diverse as the humanities, health care and business. 

Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to providing accessible and equitable living, learning and working environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or disability.