Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture (tenure-track)
University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, Department of Landscape Architecture
POSITION
The Department of Landscape Architecture at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas, seeks individuals to join a design-centered entrepreneurial department with an international reach. The Department seeks an assistant professor who can reinforce our excellence in landscape teaching, research, creative practice, and outreach. We seek candidates who will be design advocates and leaders in the future trajectories of the discipline and profession and who will leverage their position to attain excellence and impact through instruction in the design studio sequence and other faculty activities. We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate innovation and leadership in areas of construction and emerging technology, in service to landscape architecture.
The Fay Jones School’s emphasis on collaborative, inter-disciplinary design education is aimed at preparing students to address contemporary challenges and issues of imperative value to the state, nation and world. The school has diverse resources available in its award-winning building and state-of-the-art making and fabrication facilities. The U of A Community Design Center, the U of A Resiliency Center, Garvan Woodland Gardens, and the recently funded Anthony Center for Design and Materials Innovation provide for a range of teaching and scholarship activities. There also are opportunities to take advantage of the School’s external relationships with institutions and programs such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Walton Family Foundation’s Housing NWA initiative.
The school has initiated a Master of Design Studies program with concentrations in Resiliency Design and Retail and Hospitality Design. Additional concentrations are in the approval stage and include Integrated Wood Design, Preservation Design, and Wellness Design. Successful candidates will have demonstrated potential contributions to these post-professional degree concentrations.
Interested candidates are invited to submit their qualifications for this full-time, nine-month, tenure track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor. Individuals with a diverse range of design practices, research/creative interests, and professional experiences are strongly encouraged to apply.
REQUIRED
· Terminal degree in landscape architecture, or have a terminal degree in an allied field with at least one degree in landscape architecture
PREFERRED
· Licensure
· Ph.D.
Note: Uniquely qualified candidates with strength in areas other than those listed as “preferred” will be considered. ABD candidates also will be considered.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, pursuing peer-reviewed scholarly and creative inquiry, and providing service to the department, school, university, and community are foundational expectations. The standard faculty work load is 65% teaching, 25% research, scholarship or creative activity and 10% service. The typical teaching assignment is one studio and one lecture or seminar per semester. This tenure-track Assistant Professor position will lead studio and classroom instruction, create curriculum material, construct syllabi, assess student knowledge and skills, advise students, and provide other scholastic achievement guidance.
SALARY + RANK
Competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Landscape Architecture offers an accredited professional Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree as well as an unaccredited liberal arts degree in landscape studies. The department is evolving with a clear emphasis on design and advocacy. We create innovative and excellent research, teaching and service in design and planning with students and faculty able to effectively communicate the value of the profession to our stakeholders and collaborators.
Design and advocacy are historic strengths of the department; several faculty and alumni of the department have held significant leadership roles in ASLA, CELA and allied organizations. Students’ design works frequently win awards in the Central States region and have impact on communities and regions around our state and beyond.
Collaboration among disciplines is further encouraged through a growing variety of upper level interdisciplinary studios and seminars. A broad range of course offerings equips graduates with the knowledge and critical agility required to meet the challenges of designing for a changing world. In addition to the robust interdisciplinary activity within the School and the jointly led minors in sustainability, history of architecture, planning (Political Science), and planting design (Horticulture), the Department has strong collaborative relationships other university units across our campus and beyond, including the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, the National Park Service, BUNAC, and the Trust for Public Land. Their education provides students with critical frameworks for design thinking that also equip them to assume leadership roles in the profession and in their communities.
FAY JONES SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN AND COMMUNITY
In addition to its LAAB-accredited, undergraduate degree in landscape architecture, the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design includes highly regarded accredited professional programs in architecture and interior design and an award-winning Community Design Center.
International education is required for all students and established programs in Rome, Mexico City, and Scandinavia among other locations. These opportunities introduce students to interior environments, buildings, cities and landscapes very different from their own, enriching their design vocabulary and deepening their understanding of other cultures. A rigorous Honors program within the School engages exceptional students in experiential education that deepens classroom learning. The school’s honors curriculum targets students interested in independent exploration of topics related to the natural and built environment.
Students benefit further from diverse and committed alumni, a vibrant professional network, and the voices of leading design thinkers from around the globe. A robust lecture and growing workshop series bring nationally and internationally known practitioners, artists, authors and educators to the campus to share their projects and philosophies with students and faculty in all disciplines. Recently, Monica Ponce de Leon, Juhani Pallasmaa, Chris Reed, and Margie Ruddick have been among the leading thinkers to engage students in design discourse. Our existing professional and industry relationships and over 3000 alumni provide a robust professional network along with opportunities regionally and internationally.
The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design is located in Vol Walker Hall and the Steven L Anderson Design Center, an award-winning addition and renovation that affords exemplary learning environments for students, and an outstanding teaching and working facility for faculty and staff. Completed in 2013, the building has received numerous accolades including a 2018 AIA Honor Award for the work completed by Marlon Blackwell Architects and Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects. The School’s state-of-the-art resources in computational design and design robotics as well as fabrication labs inform student and faculty making and design processes. The facility includes a Multimedia Center, Design Shop, Maker Lab, Materials Lab, exhibition gallery, and related lecture hall, classrooms and seminar spaces. Additionally, off-campus maker spaces, the U of A Community Design Center, U of A Resiliency Center, and the Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs (https://www.garvangardens.org/) expand teaching and research opportunities for both students and faculty.
The developing Windgate Art and Design District will provide for multiple facilities supporting the School of Architecture and Design and the School of Art. The University of Arkansas’ School of Art offers degrees in art education, art history, ceramics, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture including a Master of Fine Arts.
The School is located in a rich architecture and design community. The work of Fay Jones and Edward Durrell Stone, along with the mid-century legacy found on the University of Arkansas campus and in the nearby region, establishes the historical legacy. The contemporary work of Marlon Blackwell Architects, Modus Studio, Marvel Architects, Wheeler Kearns Architects, Nelson Byrd Woltz, and SILO AR+D contribute to the distinctive regional and national dialogue about contemporary design.
In addition to outstanding architecture and design, there is an abiding commitment to the visual and performing arts. Northwest Arkansas is home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Momentary, 21C Museum Hotel, Scott Family Amazeum, Walton Arts Center, Theater Squared, Arkansas Music Pavilion, and a host of nationally recognized art, music, and food venues enhancing quality of life for students and families. Nicknamed the Natural State, Arkansas boasts diverse outdoor activities in settings that include forest lands, limestone caves, rivers, and lakes protected in nearby state and national parks and wilderness areas.
Business diversity contributes to the economic vitality of the region. There are seven Fortune 500 companies located in Northwest Arkansas with Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, being the most notable. Additionally, more than 300 additional Fortune 500 companies have located satellite offices in the area. Entrepreneurs find equal ground, further diversifying this business environment. DataFox names Fayetteville the third best place to start a business.
This business environment provides a depth of opportunity for career development and NWA was ranked second in Forbes’ “2017 Best Midsize Cities for Jobs.” Affordable living, economic opportunity, and social and cultural richness make Fayetteville an outstanding place to live, work, and study. Sperling’s Best Places Index lists Fayetteville’s cost of living as 91.4, almost 9 percent below the national average and the 2018 Business Insider identified Fayetteville as the fifth Best Place to Live in America. Fayetteville Public Schools are ranked No. 1 in Arkansas.
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
Founded in 1871 as a land grant institution, the University of Arkansas is classified by the Carnegie Foundation among the top two percent of universities in the nation with the highest level of research activity. Ten colleges and schools serve more than 27,100 students with more than 200 academic programs. University of Arkansas students earn nationally competitive awards at an impressive rate and represent 50 states and more than 120 countries.
Located in the stunning Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas campus, known for its spectacular views and ample green spaces. Fayetteville is considered one of the country’s finest college towns, and the surrounding northwest Arkansas region is regularly ranked one of the best places to live in the U.S. Some of the nation’s best outdoor amenities and most spectacular hiking and mountain-biking trails are within a short distance of campus.
As an employer, the University of Arkansas offers a vibrant work environment and a workplace culture that promotes a healthy work-life balance. The benefits package includes university contributions to health, dental, life and disability insurance, tuition waivers for employees and their families, 12 official holidays, immediate leave accrual, and a choice of retirement programs with university contributions ranging from 5 to 10% of employee salary.
APPLICATIONS
Application may be accomplished in a two-step process. Initial submission including CV, letter of interest, and references is requested by December 17, 2018. To receive first consideration, full submission of all materials including portfolio must be submitted by January 4, 2019. Review of all completed applications will commence upon receipt and remain open until the position is filled.
Please include the following:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Letter of Interest (2-page maximum)
The letter should clearly describe the candidate’s vision of landscape architecture education and practice, and his/her approach to teaching, scholarship, and design. It should also describe the candidate’s academic and professional experience as it applies to the required and preferred qualifications listed above.
3. Names, titles, and contact information for three references (include email, telephone, and nature of association)
4. List of previous coursed taught with roles, responsibilities, and work samples (if applicable)
5. Portfolio (30 page maximum, 2.5GB maximum) in PDF format with select images of recent and relevant:
– professional, scholarly, and creative work with associated project descriptions
– student work completed under direction of applicant with associated project descriptions
– abstracts for research papers/manuscripts (if appropriate)
Official transcripts will be required from finalists.
For complete position announcement and additional information regarding how to apply, visit: http://jobs.uark.edu/postings/30938
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Statement
The University of Arkansas is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The university welcomes applications without regard to age, race/color, gender (including pregnancy), national origin, disability, religion, marital or parental status, protected veteran status, military service, genetic information, sexual orientation or gender identity. Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States on the first day of employment. All applicant information is subject to public disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
