Adjunct Faculty in Architecture
Work type: Teaching
Senior management: Architecture & Urban Studies
Department: School of Architecture + Design
Location: Blacksburg Area
The Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design within the College of Architecture and Urban Studies invites applications for an adjunct faculty position in the undergraduate and graduate program. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to design that is ecologically sustainable, socially and politically open and aesthetically beautiful. Successful applicants will teach a research-based vertical upper-year undergraduate/graduate architecture lab and contribute a discursive perspective to ongoing conversations about contemporary issues in architectural education and practice.
The candidate will teach in the fourth-year in the School's undergraduate architecture program, which typically includes focused research-based design labs that address the faculty's expertise and contemporary issues. In previous years these lab offerings have included advanced building envelopes, innovative materials, fabrication, housing, and design-build.
The upper-year undergraduate and graduate curricula focus on core disciplinary competencies in architecture, including studies in urban design, history, theory, and practice. Candidates will be expected to contribute to the student’s development in these areas while simultaneously helping to foster their independence of mind and professional competencies. The school especially welcomes candidates whose pedagogy emphasizes experimentation, hands-on making, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The candidate should expect that during the Spring of 2021, all classes at Virginia Tech will be conducted either fully online or in a hybrid modality of online and in-person, due to health and safety protocols around COVID-19. Advanced design labs are taught five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 1:25 to 5:15 as well as Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:45). Although candidates are encouraged to reside locally near the Blacksburg campus, residency is not required in order to hold the position. Applicants for the position should therefore propose a focused research-based design lab that can be led remotely as part of their application.
In addition to the core teaching responsibility of a fourth-year design lab, which will constitute 70% of the candidates duties, candidates will serve as administrative support for 30% of their role, including program assessment and organizing activities such as exhibitions, reviews and other events. Candidates will be expected to participate in the school's life by attending lectures, participating in special events, reviewing student work, and attending faculty meetings.
A criminal conviction check is required.
Required Qualifications
- A terminal degree in the field of Architecture or Urban Design by the appointment start date.
- Established teaching experience in Architecture or Urban Design.
- A proven ability and achievements to communicate ideas central to design through both representation and words.
Preferred Qualifications
- A record of publication or exhibition in the field.
- Establishment and documentation of cross-disciplinary work.
- Leadership and/or involvement in community activities.
- Work experience in the design field.
- Architecture license.
Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status, or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees or applicants, or on any other basis protected by law.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire accommodation, please contact Roslyn Garrison at roslyng@vt.edu.
Application Materials
Complete applications will include the following: 1) Curriculum Vitae, 2) a 250-word proposal for an online research-based design lab including the candidate's approach to teaching, 3) a diversity statement addressing how the candidate's research, teaching, and/or service has prepared the candidate to contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion in higher education 4) a cover letter and 5) the names and contact information for three current references as attachments to the online application.
Review of applications will begin immediately. The position is open until filled, with an anticipated hire date before the end of 2020, to begin teaching in Spring 2021. It is possible that the position be extended or a second position open to teach a vertical design studio in the Summer 2021.