Position: FULL-TIME FACULTY IN DESIGNED OBJECTS at SAIC. The School of Art Institute of Chicago announces a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty position in Designed Objects, starting Fall 2010 in its Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects (AIADO). Rank and salary are commensurate with experience, teaching, and current professional status.
The Designed Objects program focuses on the critical and creative
re-thinking of the tools, furnishings, networks, and products that
constitute everyday life. Borrowing from industrial design and
disciplines such as systems design, furniture design, experience
design and interaction design, Designed Objects envisions and seeks to
produce designers as social citizens and cultural agents who choose
"the contextualized object" as their primary means of reflecting and
affecting our world. While concerned with professional competency
within the realm of product design, the program also maintains a more
critical and expansive understanding of the production and consumption
of objects and products.
Qualifications: The School seeks a visionary practitioner with a
minimum of 5 years experience within the field of product and/or
interaction design. The program is particularly interested in
designers with a strong background in one or more of the following
emerging practice areas: systems design; social ecologies; experience
design; advanced materials and technologies applications.
The successful applicant’s research interests might include: human
habitation, future wellbeing, critical design, biosciences, socio-
cultural use-contexts, human computer interface, instantiated design
thinking, material science, emerging technologies, and design
activism/advocacy. Candidates should have the ability to integrate
theoretical, material, practical, and social issues into design studio
pedagogy. Previous teaching, lecturing or workshop experience is
especially advantageous.
Responsibilities include teaching graduate- and undergraduate-level
studio courses where design ideas are realized as tangible 3D
outcomes. As such, we invite applicants with a working familiarity
with a wide range of current materials and technology. Other teaching
may include graduate design seminars and studios /seminars / labs in
the candidate's field of expertise alongside the opportunity to take a
leading role in the Design Objects curriculum. In addition to
teaching, all faculty members at the School must perform research
related to professional practice, service for the department and the
School, and other duties as designated by the department Chair.
The Designed Objects program is within the department of AIADO, which
is one of twenty studio departments at the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago. The department is directed by a full-time faculty member
with three full-time faculty who serve as directors, one of whom
directs the Designed Objects program. Designed Objects offers 80
courses each year, with 60 undergraduate courses and 20 graduate
courses for the Master of Design students. The department has 20-25
graduate students as well as MFA students from across the school that
work independently with faculty through Graduate Projects —individual
tutorial sessions—including DesOb faculty. There are currently 3 to 4
full-time faculty, in addition to 3 full-time art historians who
provide historical overview of design and designart, and 20-25
part-time faculty.
Application Procedure: By Monday, January 11, 2010 send résumé,
statement of design experience and research interests, a teaching/
educational philosophy, portfolio documenting professional practice,
contact information for three references, and a self-addressed,
stamped postcard to confirm receipt of materials to:
Designed Objects Search/phd
SAIC Deans Office
37 South Wabash Avenue
Chicago IL 60603
If you would like your application materials to be returned, please
include an appropriately sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope at
the time of application. Materials will be returned at the conclusion
of the selection process in Spring 2010.
Questions regarding the School and its open positions, application
procedures, or the search process may be directed to Shanna Linn,
Director of Academic Administration in the Office of Deans, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, or (312) 899-7472. Consult www.said.edu for
information on the School and its programs, or
www.saic.edu/about/jobs/faculty for postings of open positions and application procedures.
About SAIC: A leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars
since 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers
undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs to 3,000
students from across the globe. Located in the heart of Chicago, the
School is one of the largest private schools of art and design in the
country with programs reflecting current practices in art.
SAIC's educational philosophy is built upon a transdisciplinary
approach to art and design that provides unparalleled opportunities
for students to develop their creative and critical abilities.
Renowned faculty are leading practitioners in their fields. SAIC's
resources include the Art Institute of Chicago and its new Modern
Wing. Numerous special collections and programming venues provide
students with exceptional exhibitions, screenings, lectures, and
performances.
The School currently enrolls 3,000 students in 15 studio departments
and 8 academic departments. There are150 full-time tenured or tenure-
track faculty and visiting artists, and 500 adjunct and part-time
faculty suppported by 300 staff.
Degree tracks include the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio; BFA with
Emphasis in Art Education, Art History, or Writing; BA and MA in
Visual and Critical Studies; BIA (Interior Architecture); Master of
Architecture; Master of Design in Designed Objects or Fashion, Body
and Garment; Master of Fine Arts in Studio or Writing; Master of Art
degrees in Arts Administration; Art Education; Art History, Theory,
and Criticism; Art Therapy; New Arts Journalism; Teaching; and a
Master of Science in Historic Preservation.
EOE: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is committed to
creating a diverse community of faculty and students, and is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered on the basis of their
qualifications for the position without regard to race, religion,
national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual
orientation, or veteran status.
