San José State University - San José, California
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
Subject to Budgetary Approval

Specialization: Animation / Illustration (Foundations Generalist)
Job Opening ID (JOID): 25121
Rank: Assistant Professor (Tenure-track)

Qualifications:
A terminal degree (MFA) in Animation/Illustration is required by the start date. Strong analog foundational art skills are required across a variety of areas, including drawing, painting, design & composition principles, visual storytelling, animation, rendering, and perspective. Candidates must demonstrate a strong and successful record of teaching a broad range of foundational classes and topics and demonstrate potential for teaching excellence. Three years of experience teaching, industry practice, and research is preferred. Additional knowledge, training and/or experience in animation, literature, comic arts, and graphic novel narrative strategies is desirable. Secondary areas of interest/expertise may include but are not limited to 3D animation and modeling. Fluency with digital tools for drawing, painting, and storyboarding is also desirable.

We are looking for candidates who augment and extend the current strengths of the Animation/Illustration program. The preferred candidate will be an individual who is highly motivated, engaged and creative, with a well-articulated agenda for creative engagement, teaching expertise, and potential for leadership in the field. In particular, the Department is interested in candidates who can contribute to an interdisciplinary “Deep Humanities & Arts” initiative that is motivated by the recognition that the arts and humanities have a critical role to play in the formative moment of the design of technology.

Applicants should demonstrate awareness of and sensitivity to education goals of a diverse population as might have been gained in cross-cultural study, training, teaching and other comparable experience. We are committed to substantially increasing the proportion of our faculty from historically underrepresented groups, and we highly encourage candidates from historically underrepresented groups to apply.

Responsibilities:
The SJSU Department of Design is seeking an Assistant Professor of Animation/Illustration to help expand the prominence of a nationally recognized and highly visible Animation/Illustration program. Teaching responsibilities will include animation/illustration instruction at the lower and upper division courses. Administrative and service responsibilities include recruitment, advisement and contributing to the Animation/Illustration program in areas reflective of the candidate’s strengths. Participation in the growth, development, and administration of the program and department, and engagement in faculty meetings, committees, and other services will also be required. Candidates must address the needs of a student population of great diversity—in age, cultural background, ethnicity, primary language and academic preparation—through inclusive course materials, teaching strategies and advisement. In the application, candidates should demonstrate the potential for successful university teaching, vocal performance ability, and collegial participation in service activities appropriate to the assigned teaching load and the expectations of the Department of Design.

Salary Range: Commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Eligibility: Employment is contingent upon proof of eligibility to work in the United States.
Starting Date: August 13, 2020

Application Procedure:
For full consideration please send the following materials to: https://apply.interfolio.com/67935 by 12 p.m. on January 21, 2020. Questions about the position can be addressed to Animation/Illustration Search Committee at design@sjsu.edu. Please include Job Opening ID (JOID) on all correspondence.

• Letter of Application (PDF)
• Portfolio (PDF/link to website)
• Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
• Official Transcripts (PDF)
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Research Intent (PDF)
• Three Current Original Letters of Recommendation (PDF)
• Examples of Student Work. (PDF/link to website)

General Information:
The Department of Design (www.sjsu.edu/design), with four program fields in the areas of Animation/Illustration, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, and Interior Design has over 1300 undergraduate majors. Currently the Department has 14 full-time faculty and over 50 part-time faculty actively teaching. The faculty share values and goals in areas of collaboration, sustainability, interdisciplinarity, technological engagement, new research methods, new approaches to design and to imaginative and provocative work. These are supported by the Department of Design administrative and technical staff. SJSU is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

San José State University enrolls over 33,000 students, a significant percentage of whom are members of minority groups. As such, this position is for scholars interested in a career at a national leader in graduating URM students. SJSU is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPISI) Serving Institution; 40% of our students are first-generation, and 38% are Pell-qualified. The university is currently ranked fifth nationally in increasing student upward mobility. The University is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty so our disciplines, students, and the community can benefit from multiple ethnic and gender perspectives.

San José State University is California’s oldest institution of public higher learning. Located in downtown San José (Pop. 1,000,000) in the heart of Silicon Valley, SJSU is part of one of the most innovative regions in the world. As Silicon Valley’s public university, SJSU combines dynamic teaching, research, and university-industry experiences to prepare students to address the biggest problems facing society. SJSU is a member of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system.

San José State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or disability. This policy applies to all San José State University students, faculty, and staff as well as University programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations are made for applicants with disabilities who self-disclose. Note that all San José State University employees are considered mandated reporters under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and are required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

The latest San José State University Safety 101 Uniform Campus Crime and Security Report is available. You may request a copy of San José State University’s annual safety report by contacting the University Police Department at (408) 924-2222 or by visiting the University Police Department website at (http://www.sjsu.edu/police.)