Career Center

Job Description:

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY (SCU): The Department of Art and Art History at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit, Catholic university, invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor and with expertise in the art and visual culture of the Global South. Applications from scholars working in all historical periods are welcome, as are applications from affiliated disciplines, such as visual or material culture, and museum studies. We are particularly interested in applicants whose research and teaching engages with current issues in the discipline of art history (e.g., the decolonization of the arts, the structural hierarchies of museum and exhibition practices, etc.). The ability to situate these interests within a global context is highly desirable. We seek applicants whose professional goals, teaching portfolio, and life experience support our departmental and institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. their scholarly and creative work.

The College of Arts & Sciences is currently conducting its third cluster hire in the area of Inequality & Social Justice. It is possible that the person hired for this position will be included in the Fall 2024 cohort if their research/teaching is a strong fit. Cluster hire participants will receive mentorship and regular group meetings providing peer support and interdisciplinary intellectual community to support. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop upper-division specialty coursework in their field, lower-division survey courses encompassing broader geographic and chronological parameters, as well as introductory courses in support of Santa Clara University's core curriculum. This teaching scholar will develop and present their scholarship at the national and international level while maintaining a supportive and engaged learning environment for undergraduate students. Candidates will be expected to foster connections between the Art History Program and the Studio Arts Program, as well as the broader campus community, including our nationally-accredited museum, and multiple interdisciplinary centers on campus.

Position begins September 1, 2024. Duties will include but are not limited to: developing and teaching courses in the area of specialization, the Department, and University Core Curriculum, conducting appropriate research and scholarly publishing, advising and mentoring undergraduate students, and performing departmental and university service as appropriate to rank and seniority. Tenure track faculty generally teach 6 courses/year (2-2-2), automatically reduced from 7 per year for research activity. SCU offers one additional course reduction in the first quarter of the first year, and a junior faculty development leave (fourth year) upon successful completion of the mid-probationary review.

Santa Clara University is a Catholic, Jesuit educational institution that values ethics, social justice, and global engagement. Base salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Additional benefits include apartment rental subsidy, employer contributions to a retirement plan, health and wellness care for the employee, family members, and registered domestic partners, as well as a tuition remission program. A housing purchase assistance program is also available. Research support includes a first-year course release, one quarter paid research leave prior to tenure, department research funding, and start-up funds.

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and just 45 minutes south of San Francisco, the university is at the center of a vibrant arts scene that includes events and exhibitions at our own Dowd Art and Art History Gallery and de Saisset Museum. We are close to the San Jose Museum of Art, Triton Museum of Art, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford, New Museum Los Gatos, and Montalvo Arts Center, which presents opportunities for our faculty and students. San Jose and the greater Bay Area is home to emerging and established artists and attracts blockbuster as well as alternative exhibitions and underground movements.

Responsibilities:

Tenure track faculty at SCU are teaching scholars who balance teaching, research and service. This is an in-person position. More specifically, duties include but are not limited to:

TEACHING

1. Teach lower- and upper-division courses in the major and university core curriculum, as assigned by the chair, including a two-quarter Culture and Ideas 1 & 2 sequence, possibly one course for Culture and Ideas 3, an introductory course, and upper division courses in the candidate’s area of specialty. SCU is on the quarter system and a typical load is two courses per quarter. Teaching responsibilities include:
   1. Conducting and appearing at all assigned class meetings in a timely and prepared manner that demonstrates a command of the discipline and skill in presenting it effectively.
   2. Assigning and evaluating written work, projects, and exams that align with course or core learning objectives and providing timely feedback to students.
   3. Holding weekly office hours at times reasonably convenient to students.
   4. Assigning and submitting student grades that are appropriate, accurate, and fair measures of student performance to the Office of the Registrar by the designated deadline.
   5. Administering numerical and narrative evaluations in each section for all courses.
   6. Use of digital learning management system (e.g., Canvas)
2. Teaching a diverse set of students and practicing equity and inclusion in the classroom. Develop and teach courses that contribute to curriculum development in the relevant degree program and/or the university core.  Faculty teaching university core courses should follow an approved syllabus or work with the chair to design an appropriate syllabus for submission for approval from the relevant Faculty Core Curriculum Committee.
3. Participate in assessment of student learning for courses in the department.
4. Provide informed advice and mentoring to undergraduate students.
5. Fulfill other instructional or academic duties as may be assigned by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences or by the Chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

RESEARCH:

1. Develop a research program at SCU that will result in the publication of peer-reviewed publications, monographs, or creative work per the department scholarship standards.
2. Preference will be given to candidates with a research program that can accommodate participation of undergraduates.

SERVICE:

1. Provide effective service to the Department, the College, the University and profession through contributions other than teaching and scholarship such as service on committees, participation in professional organizations, activities, and leadership as appropriate to rank and experience. Community service performed by virtue of professional expertise or association with the university is appreciated but not required.

Application Deadline: October, 15, 2023

Application Process:

Interested applicants should submit a letter of application via online at https://www.scu.edu/hr/careers/ and upload all of the following documents by the application deadline of October 15, 2023.

(1) curriculum vitae

(2) graduate transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable for the initial review)

(3) contact information for three references (letters of recommendation will be required for semi-finalists)

(4) sample syllabi for one lower-division survey course and one upper-division course in the candidate’s research specialty

(5) teaching evaluations; preferably scans or copies of original reports

(6) personal statement(s) covering

1. a) teaching philosophy
2. b) research plan
3. c) evidence of experience using inclusive teaching practices
4. d) evidence of the way your work engages issues of equity
5. e) a statement of how the candidate’s research plans might foster intradepartmental and interdepartmental connections

(7) at least one example of representative scholarship, e.g., published article, book chapter, or dissertation chapter

(8) cover letter (letter of application).

Please apply online via https://www.scu.edu/hr/careers/. (All applications must go through this portal.) The department timeline includes preliminary interviews to be conducted via Zoom or telephone between late October and mid-November with campus visits tentatively scheduled to take place in January 2024.

For questions related to the position, contact Takeshi Moro at tmoro@scu.edu.

Hiring Range:

The salary range is $80,549 - $89,526 and offers within that range will be based on years of university teaching experience. The position provides generous benefits. https://www.scu.edu/hr/benefits. Recognizing the high cost of housing in the local area, the University has established two housing assistance programs for qualified faculty: [1] a rental assistance program and [2] a purchase assistance program. For details, please refer to: https://www.scu.edu/provost/policies-and-procedures/support-for-faculty/housing-assistance/

Required Qualifications:

Ph.D. (or international equivalent) in Art History or related field by time of appointment.

Minimum Qualifications:

PhD in Art History or complementary area of study and experience teaching art history at the college level are required at time of appointment (September 1, 2024). Candidates must have a record of, or demonstrate outstanding potential for, superior teaching, scholarship, and professional achievements. The ability to teach and work effectively in an undergraduate liberal arts institution and in a joint Art and Art History department that serves many non-art history majors is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills and demonstrated ability or potential to provide valuable service to the department and greater institution required, as commensurate with position. In addition to the ability to perform the above duties, the new hire must demonstrate a commitment to contributing to or promoting an inclusive learning environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

1) Experience with inclusive pedagogical practices that advance SCU goals of diversity and equity.

(2) Experience teaching and mentoring a diverse population of undergraduate.