University & College Designers Association (UCDA)

Assistant Professor (Career Track), Illustration, Design, Animation. As of February 27th, this position has been approved by the Office of the Provost to support the UA Illustration, Design, and Animation program.. The Illustration, Design, & Animation Program (IDA), housed within the School of Art, University of Arizona (UA), invites candidates for a full-time, career-track Professor of Practice. Picture books, graphic novels, comics, branding, and typography/hand lettering experience are also highly valued.. MFA in Illustration, Design, Writing, or related area or BFA with three years of professional experience.

assistant professor

UCDA : connecting, inspiring, and supporting a creative community in education
Assistant Professor (Career Track), Illustration, Design, Animation Job Information Overview: Unfrozen and Approved for Hire!
As of February 27th, this position has been approved by the Office of the Provost to support the UA Illustration, Design, and Animation program.
The Illustration, Design, & Animation Program (IDA), housed within the School of Art, University of Arizona (UA), invites candidates for a full-time, career-track Professor of Practice* position beginning in August 2024. IDA fosters cross-disciplinary collaborations beyond the classroom and encourages the development of diverse methodologies as part of the student experience. We seek candidates with strengths and an active professional practice with an emphasis on illustration and design.
The new faculty member will contribute to the evolution of our IDA curriculum that positions storytelling and visual communication as an integral focus for the future of illustrators, designers, animators, and their collaborative partners. The successful candidate will teach undergraduate and graduate courses that include traditional and digital media. Applicants with expertise in illustration, design, and motion/animation work will be highly considered. Picture books, graphic novels, comics, branding, and typography/hand lettering experience are also highly valued.
Inclusive excellence in teaching is expected. The successful candidate will mentor and educate students who represent a diverse demographic. An ability to foster a pluralistic learning environment and a sense of dignity, belonging, and empowerment for students from minoritized, underrepresented, and/or marginalized populations is essential. Learn more about inclusive excellence at arts.arizona.edu/equity
The School of Art is part of the Arizona Arts division, which serves as a gateway to visual and performing arts experiences on the UA campus.
This career-track appointment is not eligible for tenure.
Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!
The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here .
Duties and responsibilities
Teach three 3-credit courses per semester.
Contribute to the curriculum to address professional developments in the field.
Mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
Collaborate effectively with colleagues of various backgrounds and disciplines.
Contribute to faculty governance and service at the program, school, college, university, and professional levels.
Participate in outreach, student advising, recruitment, and other activities that enhance student engagement, increase diversity, and expand collaborations with community partners.
Minimum Qualifications
MFA in Illustration, Design, Writing, or related area or BFA with three years of professional experience.
Preferred Qualifications
Evidence of ongoing professional illustration/design practice.
Diversity Statement
At the University of Arizona, we value our inclusive climate because we know that diversity in experiences and perspectives is vital to advancing innovation, critical thinking, solving complex problems, and creating an inclusive academic community. As a Hispanic-serving institution, we translate these values into action by seeking individuals who have experience and expertise working with diverse students, colleagues, and constituencies. Because we seek a workforce with a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we provide equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information. As an Employer of National Service, we also welcome alumni of AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other national service programs and others who will help us advance our Inclusive Excellence initiative aimed at creating a university that values student, staff and faculty engagement in addressing issues of diversity and inclusiveness. Ability to teach and mentor students in a variety of narrative or sequential formats, including but not limited to:
o Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Comics, Artists’ Books
o Animation, Motion Graphics
o Ability to meaningfully integrate text and image in practice and teaching
o Typography, Hand Lettering, Letterpress, Poster Design
Knowledge of canonical and non-canonical histories and philosophies in illustration and design.
Ability to foster a pluralistic learning environment and a sense of dignity, belonging, and empowerment for students from minoritized, underrepresented, and/or marginalized populations.
Demonstrated ability to develop and teach curricula in a ma
Company Information University of Arizona
1031 N Olive Rd
Tucson Arizona 85721
United States of America If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit the following documents with your application:
• Letter of Application describing why you are interested in the position, how you meet some or all the qualifications for the position; and any prior experience you believe is relevant to the program context, mission, and values.
• Curriculum Vitae showing how your experience, expertise, and vision relate to the position description and program context.
• Statement of Teaching describing your goals as an educator; relevant pedagogical training; and overall approach to mentoring and educating students with varying cultural backgrounds, interests, abilities, and prior experiences (e.g., inclusive curriculum frameworks, teaching methods and assessment strategies).
• At a later date, three (3) reference letters will be requested of candidates who are selected for an on-campus interview.
In addition to the above documents, you will need to separately provide (via the instructions below) Personal and Student Work Samples. You can submit a single PDF file, a single PowerPoint file, or a document that contains a link to a “curated” online gallery.
Your portfolio should only contain:
• 20 images (max) of personal artwork labeled with the title, date, media, and dimensions.
• 20 images (max) of student artwork labeled with the title of the project, the class it was created for, date, media, and dimensions (Note: Evidence of foundations-level work is important. Additionally, evidence of representational and non-objective student work is very helpful).
If any are time-based, you may include a link to a Vimeo or YouTube video within the PDF or PowerPoint. Do not embed videos in PowerPoint or PDF files. Keep video samples at a reasonable duration—the committee will sample a maximum of three minutes.
Your portfolio file should be named following the conventions listed below and emailed as an attachment to:
ARTIDASearch@mail.cfa.arizona.edu
Important Note: this e-mail is digitally processed and nothing in the body of the email will be received. In order to be processed correctly and received by the committee, the attached files must be named using the following convention:
LastName_FirstName_DocumentTitle.file-extension.
For example: Smith_Jane_Portfolio.pdf #J-18808-Ljbffr

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