The School of the Arts Departments of Dance and Choreography and Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, invites applications for a tenure-eligible faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor that integrates dance and new digital media technologies. This hybrid interdisciplinary position bridges the shared languages between departments, combining kinesthetic knowledge and emerging technologies. This faculty position is a unique opportunity to pioneer new movement arts forms, forge new pedagogical approaches and to collaborate creatively across the arts and with allied disciplines in engineering, science, and medicine.

The VCUarts Department of Dance and Choreography offers a professionally oriented program that culminates in a BFA in Dance and Choreography. The emphasis is on modern dance with a strong creative track and numerous opportunities for students to perform and present choreography. VCU Dance seeks to create an invigorating educational environment designed to prepare students for the demands and challenges for professional careers as informed and engaged artists in the field of dance.

The VCUarts Department of Kinetic Imaging offers BFA and MFA degrees to students pursuing video, animation, sound, emerging media and the many hybrids and extensions of those areas. The curriculum allows flexibility, enabling students to create a cross-disciplinary art practice. Focus is on the innovative uses of media, with an understanding of the human use of computers and the histories of the various media. Digital as well as analog media are engaged. Students are prepared to engage in contemporary media art practice that is creative and meaningful, to be able to critically analyze and evaluate media arts, and are professionally prepared for existing and emerging fields in contemporary media arts.

(Chief purpose of this position in support of above mission or goal)
This is a 9-month tenure-eligible faculty position in the Departments of Dance & Choreography and Kinetic Imaging at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor that integrates dance and new digital media technologies. This hybrid interdisciplinary position bridges the shared languages between departments, combining kinesthetic knowledge and emerging technologies. This faculty position is a unique opportunity to pioneer new movement arts forms, forge new pedagogical approaches and to collaborate creatively across the arts and with allied disciplines in engineering, science, and medicine.

(Position Responsibilities)
In Research:

The successful candidate will demonstrate a dynamic, active, and pioneering artistic practice that integrates and innovates across the hybridized arena of the moving body and emerging digital media technologies. The faculty member’s research agenda must reflect a highly collaborative research process, clearly demonstrate the capacity for external funding, as well as the potential for pioneering new collaborative research horizons that will complement and expand the existing arts and media expertise in the departments. If hired at the Associate Professor level, the faculty member’s research agenda must be well-developed with evidence of multi-disciplinary applications and external funding.

In Teaching:

The faculty member will be a passionate hybrid practitioner who demonstrates the ability to teach digital technologies to students across creative fields as they relate to choreographic performance, dance, and body movement, including animation, video, interactive environment, and sound. This position will expand curriculum that addresses contemporary, creative practices in the field of dance and new media. The faculty member will model curiosity, rigor, and generous engagement with students and fellow colleagues; and will demonstrate interest and commitment to progressive and inclusive pedagogies and research methods.

This position encompasses teaching and creative work that supports the curriculum and mission for both programs of study; the faculty member will teach 2-3 undergraduate and possibly graduate classes per semester, and advise student academic and creative work.

Potential areas of teaching include, but are not limited to: screendance; staged or site-specific performance that incorporates digital technology; sonic explorations; real time performance and installation; human-computer interaction; virtual and interactive environments; data visualization and computer graphics, motion and performance capture, and wearable technologies. Additional expertise could include one or more of the following areas: dance technique (may include African diasporic traditions, Western traditions such as modern/contemporary and ballet, and global/indigenous dance practices); improvisation, composition, and choreography; somatic practices; video; animation; computer graphics; sound design; emerging and interactive digital media technologies. Courses taught will change as demand and opportunity require, under the guidance of the area Chairs.

In Service:

Service to the university, school and department will be required and could include serving on committees as designated by the Chairs; serving in a professional capacity in their field; mentoring students at all levels; coordinating student activities; and supporting curriculum development. The successful candidate will be committed to working in and fostering an inclusive faculty, staff, and student environment as a collegial faculty member at VCU.

(Required Qualifications)
• MFA or equivalent terminal degree in dance and/or arts and emerging media technology with focus on movement and embodied movement preferred
• Demonstrated ability to develop and sustain research-based collaborative artistic work in a university environment
• Demonstrated capacity or potential for excellence in teaching on a university level
• Demonstrated expertise in movement arts and digital media technologies
• Demonstrated skill in collaborating across disciplines in an in a research university environment
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an inclusive faculty, staff, and student environment and commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.

Application Deadline Date: 03/23/2018
Proposed Hire Date: 08/16/2018
Type of Search: National
Application Process/Additional Information
Salary Range: Competitive salary – commensurate with credentials and experience

Applicants should submit:
• A Letter of Interest that conveys relevant academic and professional experience
• Current CV
• A list of three current references including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses (references will not be contacted prior to applicant’s approval), and
• Work samples — visual documentation conceptualizing research and teaching (can be links to online documentation)

Application Instructions:
Submit materials to the attention of Dr. Ryan Patton, Associate Professor in the Department of Art Education and search committee chair, via VCU eJobs at vcujobs.com. Instructions are provided on the ‘Home’ page of VCU eJobs for new and returning users on how to search for open positions, create/access an account, and review the status of positions. To guarantee full consideration, application materials must be received by Friday, March 23. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Only electronic applications submitted via VCU eJobs will be accepted.

To read the full position announcement and to learn more about VCUarts, visit: http://arts.vcu.edu/opportunities/jobs-at-vcuarts/

Virginia Commonwealth University is committed to providing accessible and equitable living, learning and working environments free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or disability.

For more information:
https://www.vcujobs.com/postings/76401