Assistant or Associate Professor, Furniture Design Rhode Island School of Design

The Depart­ment of Furni­ture Design in the Divi­sion of Archi­tec­ture and Design invites appli­ca­tions for a full-time faculty appoint­ment, at the rank of Assis­tant or Asso­ciate Profes­sor to commence fall 2022.

RISD recog­nizes diver­sity and inclu­siv­ity as funda­men­tal to its learn­ing commu­nity and inte­gral to an art and design educa­tion. We welcome candi­dates whose expe­ri­ence in teach­ing, schol­ar­ship, profes­sional prac­tice, or service has prepared them to contribute to our commit­ment to diver­sity and excellence.

The Depart­ment of Furni­ture Design seeks candi­dates who exem­plify excel­lence in the field of furni­ture and object design. Appli­cants should be capable of guiding students through idea gener­a­tion, design devel­op­ment, and object-making with a variety of fabri­ca­tion tech­nolo­gies and processes, applied to a wide range of mate­ri­als. Faculty in the Depart­ment of Furni­ture Design are expected to teach across the curricu­lum, includ­ing intro­duc­tory courses, special topics studios, and senior degree project/​graduate thesis. The department’s peda­gogy and curricu­lum seeks to unify think­ing and making, and faculty engage­ment with students requires fluid­ity between prag­matic, concep­tual, tech­ni­cal, and aesthetic concerns. With studio facil­i­ties for wood, metal, plas­tics, uphol­stery, digital fabri­ca­tion, design, and drawing, faculty work closely with students in devel­op­ing their work from initial concept to highly resolved object.

We are inter­ested in appli­cants with back­grounds and expe­ri­ences that would contribute to faculty diver­sity, support profes­sional and curric­u­lar engage­ment with non-western tradi­tions, and/​or offer global perspec­tives. As is the case in many indus­tries and acad­e­mic disci­plines, furni­ture design is in the midst of a crit­i­cal reassess­ment of its power struc­tures, its history, and its impact on nature and culture. Within this context, ideal appli­cants would be adept at contribut­ing to discourse, research, and prac­tice neces­sary to evolve our depart­ment and advance the disci­pline. Candi­dates whose creative prac­tice and/​or teach­ing engages with works and bodies of knowl­edge from histor­i­cally under­rep­re­sented commu­ni­ties are of particular interest.

Required Qual­i­fi­ca­tions

Master’s degree in design or a related field, although profes­sional equiv­a­len­cies may be considered.

Evidence of a high level of creative prac­tice demon­strated by all or some of the follow­ing: a record of exhi­bi­tions; commer­cial work with indus­try; receipt of grants, fellow­ships, prizes or resi­den­cies; service as a juror or visit­ing critic; cover­age in rele­vant media; lectures and other presen­ta­tions; cred­i­ble research activity.

2+ years of expe­ri­ence teach­ing at the college or univer­sity level with respon­si­bil­ity for syllabus design and course development.

Excel­lence with design processes includ­ing research, drawing, model-making, proto­typ­ing, and digital design methods. Knowl­edge and expe­ri­ence with a variety of production techniques.

Knowl­edge of contem­po­rary prac­tices in design and the evolv­ing state of professional practice.

Confi­dent lead­er­ship and commu­ni­ca­tion skills, with proven ability to work collab­o­ra­tively as part of a team.

Preferred Qual­i­fi­ca­tions

5+ years of teach­ing expe­ri­ence at a college or univer­sity level in design or a related field.

Exper­tise with CAD and digital fabrication

Accom­plish­ments in writing and/​or schol­arly work related to design crit­i­cism, design history, mate­r­ial culture, etc

Evidence of involve­ment in inno­v­a­tive program or curricu­lum devel­op­ment includ­ing part­nered and spon­sored studios; exper­i­men­tal and/​or collab­o­ra­tive teach­ing; organizing exhibitions.

A port­fo­lio of projects that demon­strate mastery in a realm of craft and/​or production

Expe­ri­ence in grant writing and/​or grant-funded programming.

Depart­ment /RISD Description

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is an under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate college of art and design in Prov­i­dence, Rhode Island with approx­i­mately 2,400 grad­u­ate and under­grad­u­ate students. RISD supports faculty profes­sional prac­tice with sabbat­i­cals, pre-crit­i­cal review leave, confer­ence funds, and profes­sional devel­op­ment grants. RISD has a crit­i­cal review process, which is very similar to the tenure process. For more infor­ma­tion about RISD, please visit www​.risd​.edu.

RISD’s Depart­ment of Furni­ture Design was created in 1995 to elevate prac­tice and schol­ar­ship and to promote research in the field of furni­ture design. With an inno­v­a­tive curricu­lum and exten­sive studio facil­i­ties, students create work in a dynamic envi­ron­ment support­ive of exper­i­men­ta­tion and personal growth. The depart­ment culti­vates an iden­tity that is broad-based, incor­po­rat­ing the most rele­vant aspects of art, design and craft through a curricu­lum that promotes crit­i­cal think­ing and ​“crit­i­cal making”. Our curricu­lum is designed to explore contex­tual issues, inves­ti­gate new chal­lenges of human inter­face in contem­po­rary envi­ron­ments, inte­grate new tech­nolo­gies and address the complex­i­ties of our times. The depart­ment addresses the whole of furni­ture design through a range of mate­ri­als, contexts and approaches. All share the common denom­i­na­tor of creat­ing quality objects that enhance the expe­ri­ences of people who use them, simul­ta­ne­ously express­ing the highly indi­vid­ual perspec­tives of our talented students. With approx­i­mately 90 students (80% under­grad­u­ate, 20% grad­u­ate), 24 faculty members (4 full time, 21 adjunct), and 4 support staff (3 tech­ni­cians, 1 acad­e­mic coor­di­na­tor) the depart­ment features a close-knit commu­nity of indi­vid­u­als who share a passion for learn­ing, art and design, and the expres­sive poten­tial of objects.

Faculty Respon­si­bil­i­ties

The full-time faculty teach­ing load is six courses a year. In addi­tion to teach­ing, full-time faculty are expected to main­tain a dynamic profes­sional prac­tice, serve on college commit­tees, advise students, partic­i­pate in curricu­lum devel­op­ment and other depart­men­tal activ­i­ties and projects, and contribute to the vibrancy of the intel­lec­tual life of the college.

Union Yes

Pre-employ­ment Requirement

The success­ful candi­date will be required to meet our pre-employ­ment back­ground screening requirements.

Special Instruc­tions to Applicants

Please submit the follow­ing application materials:

Letter of intent

Curricu­lum vitae

A state­ment of teach­ing philos­o­phy (please comment on how you attend to diver­sity and inclu­siv­ity as funda­men­tal to a learning community.)

Evidence of teach­ing excel­lence (includ­ing syllabi) (attach to the section labeled ​“Sample Syllabi”)

Port­fo­lio of recent profes­sional work (20 images maximum, prefer­ably in one PDFwith titles and brief descriptions)

Exam­ples of student work (20 images maximum, prefer­ably in one PDF with names, titles and brief descriptions)

Names and contact infor­ma­tion for three refer­ences are requested as part of the appli­ca­tion process. Requests for refer­ence letters are sent directly to the refer­ence providers when candi­dates become finalists.

Deter­mi­na­tion of rank will be depen­dent on profes­sional status and teaching experience.

Review of appli­ca­tions begins imme­di­ately and contin­ues until the posi­tion is filled. Candi­dates who submit their mate­ri­als by January 15, 2022 are assured full consideration.

EEO State­ment

RISD is an Equal Oppor­tu­nity Employer. Employ­ment deci­sions are made without regard to race, color, reli­gion, sex, age, national origin, disabil­ity, veteran status, sexual orien­ta­tion, gender iden­tity or expres­sion, genet­ics, or any other protected char­ac­ter­is­tic as estab­lished by law.