Professor - Liberal Arts jobs in San Diego, CA

The Design Lab (http://designlab.ucsd.edu) and the Department of Visual Arts (https://visarts.ucsd.edu/) at UC San Diego seek candidates for an Assistant Teaching Professor faculty position to begin July 1, 2024. The teaching professor series offers a track to security of employment (analogous to tenure) and focuses on specialized technical education, with a primary emphasis on teaching and pedagogical development. While this position is not a research faculty position, members of the series are expected to maintain professional achievement and activity which might include research, art/design practice, professional service, or publishing.

The Design Lab at the University of California is an interdisciplinary, multi-departmental unit, working with all departments and divisions of the University, including (but not restricted to) the School of Arts and Humanities, Jacobs School of Engineering, School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, Rady School of Management, School of Medicine, School of Social Sciences, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The Design Lab fosters research and practice that centers people and communities in designing interdisciplinary solutions to complex, socio-technical problems. This position requires teaching of university students and the successful candidate will be expected to originate and teach courses to expand the Design Lab's and Department of Visual Arts's undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Particular emphasis is placed upon product, service, and experience design taught in a hands-on studio and maker space environment that employs rigorous human-centered design processes and an iterative prototyping and testing approach.

While not an exhaustive list, candidates may come from the fields of, or prepare students for careers in:
UX/UI Design
Service Design
Product or Industrial Design
Architecture and related practices
Exhibition and Immersive Experience Design
Environmental Design and related applications
VR and AR environment design
AI-supported Design
Design Education

Applicants should have fluency with multiple 3D design and modeling software and digital workflows. They should demonstrate both pedagogical and practical ability to translate compelling creative concepts from ideation to realization.

Course work is expected to employ a wide range of prototyping approaches, from basic through advanced methods (manual, CNC, additive, subtractive, forming, electronics and microcontrollers, etc.), embodying a wide range of materials (examples may include: soft goods, foam, wood, metal, plastic, electronic, digital, light, sound, structures, space, etc.) as a pedagogical tool to foster a deeper understanding of and engagement with design methods, along with the acquisition of hands-on skills and the appreciation of the value of design artifacts.

The ability to connect design practices and outcomes within larger organizational, systemic, and community needs, such as sustainability, value creation, cradle-to-grave manufacturing, competition and strategy, is especially desired.

The normal teaching load for this position is six courses per academic year, shared between the Design Lab and Visual Arts. The successful candidate will be expected to shape their own teaching portfolio in consultation with departmental leadership, and is encouraged to originate new courses based upon their own interests and departmental needs.

Initial teaching assignments for this position will likely include, for Visual Arts: (a) the multi-course series Electronic Technologies for Art, in which students develop artworks and installations that utilize digital electronics, exploring techniques in digital electronic construction and computer interfacing for interactive control of sound, lighting, electromechanics, and programmable microcontroller systems, to construct devices that responsively adapt artworks to conditions involving viewer participation, space activation, and machine intelligence, along with (b) the supervision of undergraduate Senior Projects in Computer Arts.

For the Design Lab, initial teaching assignments will likely include: (a) the undergraduate introductory Prototyping course, which explores cognitive principles of thinking through making, and introduces methods and tools for prototyping user experiences, along with (b) the graduate Design Studio Methods course, which expands and deepens students' prototyping skills, rounding out their knowledge of basic tools and techniques as they learn to employ a broad range of advanced equipment and methods in a wide range of materials, in order to turn concepts, sketches, and storyboards into effective prototypes of products, services, and experiences, and to develop an ability to plan prototyping efforts to match the goals they serve within the design process.

Fuller descriptions of both departments' offerings may be found at: (https://catalog.ucsd.edu/courses/VIS.html) and (https://catalog.ucsd.edu/courses/DSGN.html).

Candidates whose work is at the intersection of multiple research or teaching interests are encouraged to apply.
The successful applicant will be expected to establish a vigorous, high-quality program of design teaching, contributions to pedagogy, and professional activity or research.
We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a substantial impact on academic productivity; our academic hiring processes accommodate consideration of achievement relative to opportunity. We encourage you to reflect on constraints on opportunity in your field that were caused by the events of the pandemic and where applicable, to discuss your achievements in this light.

The position will remain open until filled.

Candidates must have a terminal Master's degree (MDes, MFA, MArch, MA, MS, MBA, etc), or PhD, or advancement to candidacy (or equivalent) in the fields of Visual Arts, Design, or another Design-related field at the time of application.

Preferred candidates will demonstrate teaching excellence as they supervise and teach graduate and undergraduate students in design-related courses; demonstrate the highest standards of scholarship and professional activity; and contribute to an institution that is deeply committed to justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity. Inter- or transdisciplinary perspectives, experience with multiple or mixed methodologies, and community-driven design are highly valued.

• 3-5 letters of reference required

The University of California, San Diego is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, covered veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California prohibits smoking and tobacco use at all University controlled properties.

The UC San Diego Annual Security & Fire Safety Report is available online at: https://www.police.ucsd.edu/docs/annualclery.pdf. This report provides crime and fire statistics, as well as institutional policy statement & procedures. Contact the UC San Diego Police Department at (858) 534-4361 if you want to obtain paper copies of this report.