Position Description
The Department of Landscape Architecture in the Division of Architecture and Design invites applications for a full-time faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate, to begin in the Fall 2019.
Rhode Island School of Design recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experience in teaching, scholarship, professional practice, or service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence.
The program seeks candidates who are excellent designers, have a successful teaching record, and have a clear and compelling research agenda related to one or more of the following subjects: historical and global contexts, contemporary and critical theories, material fabrication, or prototyping. Candidates will be expected to teach graduate level design studios, core courses, and seminars in their area of specialization.
Required Qualifications
The department seeks candidates with a master’s degree or higher in landscape architecture. Candidates must demonstrate excellence in teaching undergraduate or graduate-level students. Good interpersonal skills, clarity, generosity, and creativity in both personal work and teaching are essential. They also must be able to support a culturally diverse group of students in the development of their design and leadership skills.
A successful candidate will also have a clear understanding of how their work could strengthen the opportunities that arise from teaching landscape architecture at an art and design school, and be able to articulate possibilities for engaging interdisciplinary work across the school. All candidates are expected to have a clear research agenda or design practice that compliments the mission and focus of the landscape architecture department at RISD. This can be demonstrated through academic publications, organized symposia, curated exhibitions, installations, and/or significant built work.
In addition to the qualifications listed above, applicants for the Associate level position should have 5 or more years experience teaching design studios and seminars. Successful applicants for the Associate level position should also have significant experience developing curriculum, leading outreach and recruitment efforts, managing faculty and students, and engaging in the daily administrative tasks associated with overseeing a department. The department head position rotates every few years, and candidates for the Associate level position should be prepared to step into the headship position within the first few years of being at RISD.
Preferred Qualifications
Reflections on team-teaching or working well with others would be a useful addition to the application and/or letters of support.
Department /RISD Description
Students and faculty in the landscape architecture department at RISD are surrounded by artists and designers that engage a wide range of media and critical art practices, and we believe that these adjacencies allow us to shape a unique pedagogical approach to landscape architecture. Our program bridges intuitive and analytical thinking, encourages hands-on research into material practices, and explores opportunities for cross-disciplinary experimentation. With a deep emphasis on the practices of critical making, our students use and hybridize a range of methods across artistic and design practices, as well as across hand and digital platforms.
At RISD Landscape we explore a wide range of global contexts, but are also deeply rooted in the coastal context of Rhode Island. We have just launched a dual-degree program with the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island, and we see this as an extension of our commitment to bridging art, design, and scientific disciplines as we take on the increasingly urgent hydrological issues today. Across all contexts, we engage scales from the region down to the detail, with an emphasis on teaching our students how to design with physical and phenomenal materials that shape space.
Faculty Responsibilities
In addition to teaching commitments, full-time faculty are expected to maintain a professional practice, serve on college committees, advise students, participate in curriculum development and other departmental activities and projects, and contribute to the vibrancy of the intellectual life of the college. RISD supports faculty professional practice with sabbaticals, pre-critical review leave, conference funding, and professional development grants.
The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.
Special Instructions to Applicants
Please attach the following to the appropriate links and the section labeled “Documents Needed to Apply”:
1. Letter of Intent – Description of qualifications, areas of specialization, and reasons for applying to RISD (attach to tab labeled “Cover Letter”).
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Teaching Philosophy – Discussion of teaching approach and experience, a brief description of courses you would be interested in teaching at RISD, as well as a discussion of how you create a dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative classroom environment.
4. Research Agenda – Summary of research goals, outcomes and future plans (attach to tab labeled “Other 1”).
5. Digital Portfolio with images of professional work (20 pages maximum).
6. Digital Portfolio with images of student work accompanied by brief course descriptions (20 pages maximum).
7. Examples of Course Syllabi (2-3 samples).
If you are selected as a semi-finalist, we will request letters of recommendation from your three references.
Review of applications will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled. Candidates who submit their materials before December 10, 2018 are assured full consideration.
EEO Statement
RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.
