Texas Tech University

J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts

School of Art

Position Announcement

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ART HISTORY

Position Number: 25830BR

Appointment: Assistant Professor, Tenure track, beginning Fall 2022

Application Deadline: Review of applicants will begin November 30, 2021

Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience

The Texas Tech University J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts, in collaboration with the School of Art, is accepting applications for a tenure-track faculty position as Assistant Professor in Art History. The successful candidate will begin service in this full-time position at the beginning of the 2022 fall semester.

Diversity and Equity in education are broad concepts that encompass all the unique characteristics that students, staff, and faculty can bring to an institution.  At the School of Art, we are committed to inclusive excellence. This is evidenced by opportunities for students, staff, and faculty that include start-up funding for new faculty; opportunities to advance equity and inclusivity through research, pedagogy, and reshaping the curriculum; participation in the TTU Institute for Inclusive Excellence; and by highlighting issues of Race & Social Justice in the Arts Speaker Series/Landmark Arts. Within your letter of application, we highly encourage applicants to explain how your previous and potential contributions will enhance a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion through teaching, research, creative activity and/or service. 

Required Qualifications:

Academic degree as defined by the academic unit and as appropriate for the position held. Demonstrated record of effectiveness as a teacher, a record of peer reviewed publication and/or peer-reviewed creative activity which has contributed to the discipline or field of study, to the candidate’s intellectual and artistic development, and to the quality of the academic enterprise; a record of professional service appropriate to the discipline; promise of growth in teaching and research or artistic and creative activity

Preferred Qualifications:

Ph.D. in Art History or related disciplines with specialization in the pre-modern era (pre-1600) that engages the artistic, visual, and material cultures of Europe in its intersectional encounters with the circum-Mediterranean, circum-Atlantic, or circum-Pacific. Degree must be conferred by August 2022. Successful candidates must demonstrate potential for sustained research and publication, and commitment to continual growth as an educator and researcher within a state university system. Candidates must be committed to quality education, serving diverse student populations, collaboration, and collegiality. The ideal candidate will exhibit familiarity with current trends in Art History, will have a record of effectiveness as an Instructor of Record, and will practice inclusive and equitable pedagogical strategies. The successful candidate will teach advanced undergraduate and graduate courses within their area(s) of specialization as well as the core curriculum pre-1400 art history survey course.

The ideal candidate will work in a cross-cultural area of specialization that complements the faculty in our program and other campus-wide interdisciplinary initiatives at TTU, such as the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center, the Hispanic World Working Group, and our local chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America. We are interested in candidates who possess demonstrable interest in art-historical methodology and historiography, and who can incorporate digital humanities or cross-cultural pedagogies. Candidates who have very strong records of scholarship supported by extramural funding and who have the proven capacity or clear potential to bring externally sponsored research to Texas Tech University are encouraged to apply.  

Position Description:

Contributes to the university’s mission through teaching, research and service, some variation by academic unit.

Major/Essential Functions:

The successful candidate will:

• Teach a 3-2 teaching load (candidates typically receive an annual course release for the first two years of employment), including the freshman survey (pre-1400).
• Demonstrate ability to develop and teach courses for, and mentor students within, the BA in Art History, the MA in Art History, and the Fine Arts Doctoral Program (Art track).
• Advise undergraduate senior theses and MA/PhD theses and dissertations.
• Demonstrate commitment to inclusive and innovative pedagogies working with diverse and first-generation student populations.
• Publish in refereed academic journals and engage with the field through nationally and internationally recognized organizations.
• Build partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations within and beyond the School of Art.
• Participate in service to school, college, and university, including committee work, academic support, recruitment activities, and advancing the goals of the Art History area.

The School of Art is NASAD accredited and offers the BA in Art History, MA in Art History, BA in Art, the BFA in Studio Art, Graphic Design, and Visual Studies (teacher certification), the MAE, the MFA in Studio Art, and the Ph.D. in Fine Arts with a major in Art termed “Critical Studies and Artistic Practice.” A faculty of 31 full-time professors serves approximately 250 undergraduate students and 60 students involved in graduate study. Technical and administrative support includes a total of 13 staff positions. The School’s Visual Resource Center maintains art reference books, current art periodicals, instructional media, and digital classrooms, as well as an expanding collection of digital images for teaching and research. Additional images are available through ARTStor and online at the University Library and the Architecture Library. The program also supports the Landmark Arts Galleries and the Standing Room Only Photography Gallery (SRO). For more information, visit www.art.ttu.edu.

The J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts comprises the School of Art, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre & Dance, accredited by NASAD, NASM, NAST, and NASD, respectively. TTU is the only public university in the state accredited in all four arts areas, and boasts many acclaimed alumni, including Susan Graham, Terry Cook, Ann Sanders, G.W. Bailey, Barry Corbin, Jennifer Smith, Scott Dadich, Susanne Klotz and D.J. Stout. With more than 120 faculty members and approximately 1,100 students, the College offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including the terminal M.F.A., D.M.A., and Ph.D. degrees.  Our unique Ph.D. program in Fine Arts provides interdisciplinary education in the visual & performing arts combined with philosophical aesthetics. For more information, visit www.vpa.ttu.edu.

Texas Tech University, established in 1923, is a Carnegie Highest Research Activity university and the largest comprehensive institution of higher education in the western two-thirds of the state (a region larger than 46 of the nation’s 50 states). Texas Tech University is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The university’s 1,839-acre Spanish Renaissance style campus, which serves approximately 36,000 students, is the only one in Texas that is home to a major university, law school and medical school. Lubbock, the hub of the South Plains, has a multicultural area population of almost 300,000 and offers a quality living experience with a semi-arid climate and housing costs below the national average. The city supports a symphony orchestra; several museums; the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts; an NPR station; numerous galleries; and a variety of music, dance, and theatre performances. Lubbock’s airport offers direct flights to Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Denver, and Las Vegas.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy:

As an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, Texas Tech University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We actively encourage applications from all those who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community at Texas Tech University. The university welcomes applications from minoritized candidates, women, protected veterans, persons with disabilities, and dual-career couples.

Apply online at http://www.texastech.edu/careers/  

Please provide the following with your application:

1. Letter of Application (cover letter). Please briefly address all qualifications related to research, teaching, and service for the position as well as your previous and potential contributions to enhance a diverse community in these areas. Please explain what a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion means to you specifically, and how you would contribute to our diverse community through your creative research, teaching, and service.
2. One-page Research Statement & One-page Teaching Philosophy
3. Curriculum Vitae
4. College Transcripts
5. Letters from three references with contact information (send to; TTU Human Resources via email at hrs.recruiting@ttu.edu, include job Position Number: 25830BR

Contact: Associate Professor Janis Elliott, Chair of the Art History search committee for more information:

janis.elliott@ttu.edu