Assistant Professor of Ceramics in the Expanded Field

Position: Full-time, nine-month, tenure-accruing faculty position

Date of Expected Hire: August 15, 2024

Salary: $70,000; with a comprehensive and highly competitive leave and benefits package

The School of Art + Art History in the College of the Arts seeks an Assistant Professor of Studio Art with expertise in ceramics in the expanded field to join our vibrant, interdisciplinary program with a new forward-looking curriculum at a top-ranked public university. The ideal candidate will be a conceptually-informed maker with an active studio practice who engages the complex materiality, cultures, and social histories of clay and craft, as well as emergent ceramic technologies and methods. We seek an innovative artist-educator who is passionate about ceramic futures with strong intellectual, collaborative, communication, and leadership skills who has experience working with students at all levels—undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate. 

The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. As artists and scholars, we embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our students and faculty to shape that experience fearlessly through critical study, creative practice, and provocation. We seek a colleague who identifies as a change-maker. We seek a colleague who will prepare students to access and unsettle centers of power in a radically changing world. We seek a colleague who will position emerging artists and researchers as catalysts for equity on local and global levels.

The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution dedicated to building a broadly diverse and inclusive faculty, seeking faculty of all races, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. 

Responsibilities: 

• Teach a 2-2 load of undergraduate courses and graduate-level seminars in ceramics that incorporate analog and digital practices within the context of an interdisciplinary studio art curriculum. Course assignments may also include studio art foundation courses, interdisciplinary studio art capstone courses, and/or courses in the University’s general education curriculum.
• Mentor and advise graduate students and supervise graduate committee and independent studies
• Conduct a program of creative research that significantly contributes to a body of knowledge within an expanded definition of the discipline of craft, contemporary art and ceramics
• Lead the development of ceramics curricula in the context of an interdisciplinary studio art program
• Contribute to studio art program development, student recruitment, and outreach
• Actively participate in our learning community, connecting the diverse traditions, histories, discourses, and practice of ceramics and craft to the broader field of contemporary art in other disciplines
• Collaborate with facilities staff in shared supervision of, organizing, running, and enhancing ceramics facilities
• Participate in service to the university and the profession 

  SCHOOL OF ART + ART HISTORY: Organized within the College of the Arts, the School of Art + Art History nurtures a culture of critical inquiry in our scholarly and creative work. Our educational mission is to empower each student with knowledge, skills, and insight to engage thoughtfully with our changing world. The SA+AH believes that art, design, and scholarship are critical to our local, university, regional, national, and international communities. We pursue positive transformation and impact through socially engaged, local and global education, research, and creative works. Our community asks challenging questions, takes risks, and strives for excellence through an interdisciplinary, inclusive, and often collaborative practice. School of Art + Art History faculty publish, curate, and exhibit widely and internationally. They bring their scholarship and production into their teaching, offering innovative, engaged learning experiences to their students. We foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community through mutual respect and acceptance, assuming the best in others to enable a culture where everyone can flourish. Degree programs include the BA, BFA, MA, MFA, and PhD. Areas of study include art education, art history, design, museum studies, and studio art. The school has 400 undergraduate students enrolled in our majors and 190 graduate students in our residential programs and online art education MA. Also a part of the School of Art + Art History are the 4Most Gallery and the University Galleries—University Gallery, the Gary R. Libby Gallery, and Grinter Gallery — which provide exhibition space for contemporary art, including student work. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The art education program is accredited by NCATE. For more information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/art.

  THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond.  We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation.  The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 130 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

  The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top five best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.

$70,000; with a comprehensive and highly competitive leave and benefits package

• MFA or PhD in Studio Art Practice with an emphasis in Ceramics

• Expertise in ceramics which may include sculpture, craft and objects, 3-D digital fabrication/rapid prototyping, vessel making, installation, performance, sustainable approaches for working with ceramic media, interdisciplinary practices, social and community-based practices
  
  
• Proficiency in teaching ceramic practices including wheel-based ceramic techniques, hand-building/sculpture/figurative techniques, ceramic glazing and surface finishing/decorating techniques, and firing theory and methodology 
   
• Critical approach to the legacies, histories, and theories of art and craft 
  
  
• Active studio practice with evidence of emerging or established recognition in the field 
   
• Evidence of success in promoting an environment that advances inclusivity, criticality, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in the context of cultural and ideological difference
  
  
• Evidence of capacity to collaborate with faculty, students, and staff

• Full-time college and/or graduate-level teaching experience beyond graduate assistantship 
  
  
• Evidence of success in teaching at the undergraduate level, including foundations courses 
  
  
• Evidence of success in providing pre-professional development for students and mentoring graduate students
   
• Record of excellence in creative research 
  
  
• Broad understanding of ceramic materials and processes, including emergent technologies such as digital fabrication and 3-D printing, as well as gas, electric, and atmospheric firing methods
• Creative practice or other research that addresses one or more of the following areas: 
  • • Craft models of sustainability 
    • History of craft and its relationship to contemporary art 
    • Craft as activism and/or community building 
    • Craft as critique of traditional models of art 
    • Intersection of ceramics with emergent technologies
    • Interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to traditional materials, practices, and methods of making 
    • Ceramics and __________ ; tell us what you bring to the table
      
      
• Awareness and knowledge of contemporary art and approaches in other media
• Capacity to advance interdisciplinary collaborations in teaching and research 
  
  
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills 

Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until an applicant pool is established. To ensure full consideration, all application documents must be submitted by January 19, 2024.  Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the committee and/or hiring authority. 

Application Process: Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida’s online application system.  Online applications must include the following:

1. a detailed letter of application that explains how you match the qualifications of this position and how your work and perspective will contribute to and enhance our transformative community;
2. curriculum vitae;
3. links to 15–20 creative and research works
4. links to 15–20 examples of student works
5. statement of teaching philosophy
6. sample syllabus and assignments
7. a pdf file that includes: (Note that the UF application system only allows for one 5 MB maximum file size PDF document)
8. names and contact information for three professional references
9. name and contact information for a fourth reference. If possible, this should be an administrative or technical staff member. They will not need to write a letter, but we may contact them for a phone conversation.  Note: The UF system will give you the option to upload letters of reference. We are not requiring letters of reference with initial application materials. Please ignore that option.

The search committee will notify the applicant before contacting references. The search committee may request additional materials including letters of recommendation at a later time. 

Inquiries may be sent to:
Katerie Gladdys
Chair, Assistant Professor of Ceramics in the Expanded Field Search
Email: kgladdys@ufl.edu

The selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call +1 (352) 392- 2477or the Florida Relay System at +1 (800) 955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.