The Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD) presents an exciting opportunity for a dynamic leader to reimagine and advance art and design research and education at Michigan State University. The new Chair will be forward-looking, catalyzing creativity and innovation within the department, and across the college, university, and wider community, to raise the profile of AAHD. The ideal candidate will demonstrate evidence of collaborative engagement and a commitment to excellence in disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies, along with the management, interpersonal, and communication skills required to administer the department’s diverse programs and to advocate effectively for its students, faculty, and staff across all fields. The new Chair will be committed to shared governance, will foster an environment that promotes diversity, inclusivity, collegiality, and transparency, and will have a record of success with strategic planning, budget management, recruitment, and guiding faculty through tenure and promotion processes.
Department of Art, Art History, and Design
AAHD (http://art.msu.edu) is home to more than fifty faculty and staff members, including thirty tenure-system faculty. Many faculty participate in interdisciplinary initiatives in and beyond the College of Arts and Letters, such as the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities, Experience Architecture, Digital Humanities, Arts and Cultural Management, Museum Studies, Film Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, American Indian and Indigenous Studies, as well as Asian, African, African and African American, and Global Studies. Additional opportunities for programming and partnerships include the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, the MSU Museum, MATRIX, the Abrams Planetarium, the MSU Main Library, the MSU Archives, and several departments and colleges across this extensive Research 1 university.
Serving over 500 majors, AAHD offers a wide range of degree programs: BA and BFA in Studio Art (ceramics, electronic arts and intermedia, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture); BFA in Graphic Design; BA and BFA in Apparel and Textile Design; BA in History of Art and Visual Culture; BFA in Art Education; and MFA in Studio Art (ceramics, electronic arts and intermedia, graphic design, painting, printmaking, and sculpture). An active visiting artist and scholar lecture series brings a group of internationally renowned artists, designers, critics, and scholars to campus each year, accompanied by the Bridge program (http://bridge.art.msu.edu) and the new Critical Race Studies Artist in Residence.
MSU leads the nation in study abroad and study away participation among public universities and AAHD faculty lead programs in Austria, China, France, Greece, Italy, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, as well as in New York and Chicago.
Michigan State University
The nation’s pioneer land-grant university, and a member of the Association of American Universities, MSU is a research-intensive institution with seventeen degree granting colleges. Hosting a student population of more than 50,000, including nearly 11,300 graduate and professional students from all 50 states and from more than 130 countries, the MSU community is multicultural and multinational. The campus is located in East Lansing, a cosmopolitan university town adjacent to Lansing (the state capital), and is 80 miles from Detroit and 210 miles from Chicago.
Appointment & Qualifications
This is a 12-month position with an initial 5-year appointment commencing August 1, 2018. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Candidates must be external to MSU and have credentials appropriate for a tenured appointment at the rank of full professor. Candidates must also have a terminal degree in an appropriate field of art, art history, or design, and significant administrative experience — preferably, as Chairperson, Director, Associate Dean, Dean, or equivalent.
Application Procedures
Review of applications will begin January 29, 2018 and continue until the position fills. All applications for this position must be submitted electronically at the Michigan State University Human Resources website: http://careers.msu.edu (posting #483112). Qualified applicants should submit:
- A letter expressing interest in the position and describing qualifications and experience;
- A current curriculum vitae;
- Evidence of creative and/or scholarly work;
- A document summarizing experience with diversity in the classroom and/or past research and administrative endeavors, any experience mentoring diverse students or community outreach initiatives, and an explanation of how you will advance our goals of inclusive excellence (http://inclusion.msu.edu);
- Email addresses of 4 potential referees.
For more information, contact the Chair of the Search Committee, Dr. Candace M. Keller, at kellercm@msu.edu.
Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation.
MSU is an affirmative action, equal-opportunity employer. MSU is committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential. The University actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, veterans, and persons with disabilities.
The College of Arts & Letters at MSU recognizes that only an academic and organizational culture that actively seeks out and strengthens diverse voices and perspectives among its members results in true excellence. We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer The College of Arts & Letters is particularly interested in candidates of all backgrounds who are committed to the principle that intellectual leadership is achieved through open access and pro-active inclusion.
