The University of Virginia School of Architecture seeks outstanding designers and educators to join our faculty as an Assistant Professor and the inaugural Morven Research Fellow. This two-year, non-tenure track Assistant Professor position requires both research and teaching. It is renewable up to a third year, upon successful review of teaching effectiveness and research trajectory. We welcome candidates with demonstrated design skills and a particular interest in a land-based research project that includes fieldwork, designed experiments and/or regenerative land management. The Morven Fellow will connect the new pan-university UVA Morven Sustainability Lab (MSL) and the School of Architecture (A-School) through their teaching in the core curriculum of our graduate program as well as involvement in field experiments and creative land management at Morven. The successful applicant will be facile planning and designing across various scales, eager to undertake fieldwork, and have cross-disciplinary interests with other disciplines in the university, e.g. environmental sciences, architecture, architectural history, urban and environmental planning. We seek collaborators with compelling research proposals who share the School and MSL commitment to advancing our missions toward more just, compelling and courageous futures for our institution, practices, and constructed environment.
We seek candidates who will develop a creative research project and associated pedagogy at the University of Virginia. During this appointment, they will benefit from mentorship from the Landscape Architecture Department Chair and MSL Faculty Director; their academic appointment and review process is through the School of Architecture. The position requires a teaching load of three courses/academic year including two in the graduate Landscape Architecture core—a design studio and a required course. The Department of Landscape Architecture has integrated field-based work into our studios and eco-tech courses for several years; this position will benefit from the success of those experiences at the UVA Milton Landlab test plots. A third course will be an elective open to students across the University and centered on Morven, a 2900 acre living landscape laboratory located ten miles from the A-School.
University of Virginia salaries are paid over nine-months affording faculty summer options for external consulting, funded research and elective teaching. An Assistant Professor may supplement their nine-month salary by teaching elective courses in either the January term or Summer term to extend Morven related field-based teaching across the seasons, or co-teaching in the School of Architecture’s Summer Design Institute, a required introductory design studio for incoming MLA and M.Arch. students. In addition to teaching, the Assistant Professor is expected to develop a land-based research project at Morven that is related to the MSL Strategic Action plan goals and initiatives. We are especially interested in research agendas that will further: the creation and implementation of a 1000-acre Experimental Forest located on Morven East; the regenerative silvopasture initiative planned for Morven’s rotational grazing fields and riparian corridors; and the regeneration of 1000 acres of mixed hardwood forest on Carter Mountain.
QUALIFICATIONS We invite submissions of compelling design experience and project proposals. These will be reviewed by a faculty committee and a small short-listed group will be invited to in person interviews. Successful candidates for this position must have a terminal degree in Landscape Architecture.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS To apply to this position, upload the following application materials through Interfolio via this link: https://apply.interfolio.com/179229
1. Cover letter expressing interest and qualifications, including a summary of notable accomplishments in design/research, teaching, and leadership
2. 2-3 page land-based pedagogy and research proposal
3. CV
4. Contact information for (3) references noting your professional relationship to each.
5. A digital portfolio including samples of creative work, teaching, research. (size limit: 100mb).
Application reviews will begin in mid-February and will continue to remain open until the position is filled.
For questions regarding this position, please contact Search Committee Chair Elizabeth K. Meyer, the Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture and Faculty Director of Morven Sustainability Lab at ekm7a@virginia.edu.
For Interfolio-related assistance, please contact UVA HR.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Click here to read more about UVA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.
