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Assistant Professor - Ceramics/Sculpture

Employer
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Location
Lincoln, NE
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Job Details

Working Title:

Assistant Professor - Ceramics/Sculpture

Department:

School of Art, Art History & Design-1030

Requisition Number:

F_240176

Posting Open Date:

10/30/2024

Application Review Date: (To ensure consideration, please submit all application materials before review date):

01/02/2025

Open Until Filled:

Yes

Description of Work:

The School of Art, Art History & Design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position in Ceramics and Sculpture at the Assistant Professor level beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. The successful candidate will teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students in B.A., B.F.A., and M.F.A programs. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

We are seeking a passionate educator with an active studio practice. Candidates shall be able to mentor graduate and undergraduate students through critical dialog and aid in their conceptual development. Evidence of significant professional experience in the fields of Sculpture and Ceramics is preferred in the form of gallery and/or museum exhibitions, successful grant writing, and other creative projects. Strong written communication and organizational skills are required, as well as an ability to complement existing faculty strengths and studio practices.

The successful candidate will teach two classes per semester, including classes in Ceramics, Sculpture, and Drawing, advise and mentor graduate students in both Ceramics and Sculpture, serve on graduate thesis committees, mentor BFA and honors students, participate in both School and College service, contribute to the maintenance of the sculpture and ceramics facilities, and assist with recruiting students to our graduate program by being a visible advocate for excellence in Sculpture and Ceramics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

We seek a colleague who will enhance our community in meaningful ways, maintain our program’s high position in national rankings, and continue the tradition of excellence among our graduate and undergraduate students. UNL Ceramics has a strong tradition of supporting functional pottery and the vessel. The successful candidate will have the knowledge and ability to speak to the aesthetic concerns surrounding this mode of making. We seek someone whose expertise will complement the knowledge and teaching skills of existing faculty, which might include expertise in one or both of these areas:

  • Conceptual and interdisciplinary approaches to ceramics and sculpture.
  • 3-D digital modeling, printing, and mold-making as it applies to ceramics and sculpture.

About the School
The School of Art, Art History & Design is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) with highly regarded and nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate fine arts programs. Being part of a leading land-grant research university offers our students learning opportunities across the humanities and sciences. The diversity of our educational programs, with their international activities, provides extraordinary historical and cultural engagement. Our students work closely with nationally and internationally recognized faculty to advance knowledge and culture. The School of Art, Art History & Design is part of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts that, through its endowment, funds a visiting artists and scholars lecture series, scholarships, student and faculty travel, and research/creative activity.

Lincoln, Nebraska is more than a quintessential college community. The University is situated in a dynamic downtown area that includes the state capital and a growing tech industry as well as restaurants, coffee houses, movie theaters, clubs, bike trails, and urban residences. Lincoln has notably excellent public schools and a low cost of living, and it has been nationally recognized for its high quality of life. It is a friendly, creative, intellectual, and vibrant community that loves the arts and is home to the Lied Center for Performing Arts, the Sheldon Museum of Art, the International Quilt Museum, the Nebraska State Museum with collections including anthropology, botany, and zoology, and the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, an art house cinema that is part of the College, as well as numerous alternative spaces and venues for visual art and music.

As an EO/AA employer, the University of Nebraska considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation. See https://equity.unl.edu/notice-nondiscrimination/.

Minimum Required Qualifications:

  • MFA or equivalent terminal degree in Sculpture or Ceramics.
  • Teaching experience beyond a graduate assistantship.
  • An active exhibition record at a national level and an understanding of contemporary art practice and theory.
  • Strong organizational and writing skills.
  • Success working in a community with other artists and scholars.
  • Strong knowledge of the history of ceramics and contemporary ceramic art.
  • Strong knowledge of the history of sculpture and contemporary interdisciplinary art practice.
  • Demonstrated knowledge in conceptual and/or interdisciplinary approaches to ceramics and sculpture, OR knowledge and experience in 3-D digital modeling, printing, and mold-making as it applies to ceramics and sculpture.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Two years of teaching experience beyond graduate school.
  • Experience teaching and mentoring graduate students.
  • Experience in leadership roles.
  • Experience with academic committees and departmental service.
  • Demonstrated evidence of sustained professional creative activity of high merit and recognition at the international level.
  • Experience teaching Drawing.
  • Ability to maintain and repair ceramics equipment, including pottery wheels and gas and electric kilns.
  • Ability to maintain and repair sculpture equipment in metal, wood, and digital fabrication.

Work Location (City, State):

Lincoln, NE

How to Apply:

Click “Apply for this Job.” Complete the faculty information form and attach the following required documents:

  1. Cover letter addressing your qualifications.
  2. Curriculum vitae.
  3. Names and contact information for three (3) professional references.
  4. Both a research statement and a teaching statement that are each 1-2 pages in length. Combine into a single document and attach as “Other Document.”
  5. A link to an online portfolio containing both of the following: (1) up to 20 examples of recent work and (2) up to 20 examples of recent student work.

For questions or accommodations related to this position contact:

Shelby Foged
shelby.foged@unl.edu

Job Category (old):

Faculty Tenure/Tenure Leading

Job Type:

Full-Time

Position funded by grant or other form of temporary funding?:

No

Planned Hire Date:

08/18/2025

Organizational Location:

Default Location

Organization

Working at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

For 150 Years, A Leader in Higher Education 
Always a place of high ambition, University of Nebraska was one of the first institutions west of the Mississippi River to award doctoral degrees - the first was granted in 1896. The University of Nebraska established the world's first undergraduate psychology laboratory. The discipline of ecology was born here, and the campuses reflect that tradition, being recognized as botanical gardens and arboreta. An early institutional interest in literature and the arts provided the foundations for today's Prairie Schooner literary magazine, for the University of Nebraska Press, and for the Sheldon Museum of Art, which houses one of the world's most significant collections of 20th century American art.

Today, Nebraska is one of the nation's leading teaching institutions, and a research leader with a wide array of grant-funded projects aimed at broadening knowledge in the sciences and humanities. Nebraska is also a land-grant university and a member of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Benefits
The University of Nebraska offers an extensive benefits package that includes health, life, disability and long term care insurance; retirement accounts; tuition reimbursement for employees and their spouses and dependent children; and reimbursement accounts for health care and dependent day care. Leave policies are designed to help employees deal with personal or family events or crises.

Diversity and Inclusion
In the spirit of the phrase "Every Interaction Matters", UNL has an enacted commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence for our faculty, staff, and students. On our campus, diversity and inclusion are important priorities. Examples include: Husker Dialogues, which is an event that helps first-year students focus on diversity and inclusion and practice handling difficult conversations around difference; three Chancellor's Diversity Commissions that are charged with informing and advising the Chancellor and addressing issues of constituent campus communities; and the establishment of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion whose leader operates at the Vice Chancellor level. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, we strive for excellence in all that we do. True excellence requires that each individual be able to work and learn in an atmosphere of respect, dignity, and belonging. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion requires each of us to continuously ensure our interactions are respectful, protect free speech, and inspire academic freedom.

About Lincoln
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is located in an up-and-coming and safe city of 300,000 people that has many of the cultural and entertainment benefits of a much larger city, with the feel of a friendly Midwestern community. The Pinnacle Bank Arena, opened in 2013, routinely hosts major touring acts. A buzzing entertainment district, the Railyard, connects the arena area to the Historic Haymarket. Cuisines from all continents provide the entree to dynamic urban nightlife and a wide variety of ways to enjoy time with friends. Nebraska's City Campus is one with Lincoln's city center, as it has been since the university was founded.Lincoln has more parkland per capita than Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and all but a handful of U.S. cities. The well-manicured Pioneers Park, the native woods of Wilderness Park and the open grassland of Nine-Mile Prairie are each within a 10-minute trip from campus. Connecting many of these parks is an extensive trails network.

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