OREGON COLLEGE OF ART AND CRAFT / PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
POSITION VACANCY
Date: September 4, 2014
POSITION: Chair of MFA in Applied Craft and Design
Fulltime
APPLICATION
DEADLINE: Applications received by January 15th, 2015 will receive priority; however applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
SALARY: Competitive
ACADEMIC
RANK: Commensurate with experience
START DATE: August 1, 2015
REPORTS TO: Academic Deans of OCAC and PNCA
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) and the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) seek a highly qualified individual to lead a jointly offered MFA in Applied Craft and Design that combines hands on making and design methodology in a program that focuses on sustainability and entrepreneurship.
The successful candidate will bring a compelling vision of how craft, design and art processes can blend to inform, challenge and expand current dialogues and practices. The candidate will have strong connections to local, national and international creative communities, practices and resources, and the desire to create an internationally competitive program.
The Chair will work closely with the administrations of both institutions, lead the program faculty and create opportunities for student learning and professional development. The Chair will take an active, ongoing role in recruitment for the program and look to expand program visibility.
PRIMARY JOB FUNCTIONS:
· Work collaboratively with both PNCA and OCAC to expand and improve recruitment strategies to increase applicant quality
· Maintain collegial program relationships with both internal and external constituencies
· Work with faculty and Deans to assess and improve curricula, learning outcomes, and opportunities
· Lead recruitment and enrollment to meet designated annual targets
· Organize and teach at least one ACD course per semester
· Research, cultivate and schedule an outstanding roster of visiting artists/designers, scholars, curators, and theorists
· Coordinate the assignment of faculty and professional mentors
· Work with financial aid and student services offices to communicate with and support MFA students
· Help create and maintain a highly positive community of program faculty, students and other stakeholders
· Establish internships, and other professional opportunities for graduates and working with appropriate offices and others
· Supervise safe and healthy studio resource in MFA in ACD facility
· Develop, propose and manage the MFA budget on an annual basis
· Participate on faculty committees
· Maintain relevant and effective processes to evaluate student outcomes, curriculum, faculty and mentors to determine and implement productive improvement initiatives
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
· MFA degree or higher in fine art, design, architecture, applied arts or related degree
· Thorough understanding of contemporary and historical issues in craft and design
· Understanding of core contemporary and historical models of ecological, sustainable art and design practice
· Knowledge of, and experience in, both studio and business practice of design, craft or art
· Hands-on experience with the processes of making and building
· Ability to implement and undertake evaluative measures to assess student outcomes and program success
· Ability to engage productively in institutional long-range planning
· Demonstrable success at teaching and student advising at the college level, or equivalent
· Excellent writing and communication skills
· Strong professional network and commitment to connecting students to professional opportunities
· Knowledge of current technology and its integration into creative practice and production
· Personal desire and drive to lead an innovative, high quality program
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
· Versed in cultural theory
· Substantial cross and intercultural experience
· Experience in running or working in a successful creative business
· Demonstrated practical design experience informed by a craft (hand-based) framework
· Experience with institutional evaluation and assessment
· Understanding of entrepreneurial strategies and dynamics facing aspiring makers in the 21st century
RELATED INFORMATION:
With over 200 years of combined expertise in the areas of craft and fine arts education, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) have collaborated to develop a joint MFA program steeped in design theory, hands-on making, and tangible aptitude. Celebrating process, grounded in working with materials , and emphasizing entrepreneurship, this fusion of tradition, innovation, and practice is a creative paradigm, embracing a global focus. The MFA in Applied Craft & Design is a one-of-a-kind graduate degree program, exploring the exchange of knowledge and the pursuit of creativity through intellectual advancement informed by the wisdom of the hand.
Drawing upon a design/build model and stressing rigorous investigation, students engage in a self-directed curriculum that challenges them to seek the full strength of their ideas and imagination. Students will develop the tools to be truly innovative, engaging and exploring hands-on making while actively pursuing solutions for contemporary issues. Conceptual investigations are the core of innovation, while hands-on making and exploration empowers ideas with the capacity to reach fruition. Only through an honest investigation of the known is one armed with the tools to truly explore the unknown.
Through the innovative partnership, students will benefit from the combined resources of the most established schools of art, design and craft education in the Northwest.
OCAC has embodied Oregon’s legacy of individuality and independence since 1907. Dedicated to craft – making with materials -- in a sophisticated conceptual framework --it offers an intense, mentor-based, studio experience focused on developing the skill sets of entrepreneurship, self-reliance, global awareness, critical and innovative making.
As the only private art college west of the Mississippi to offer accredited BFA and MFA degrees in Craft, OCAC is a superb laboratory at the nexus of art and design bringing together degree program students, faculty, a rich array of visiting artists, designers and makers, including the Ford Family Foundation-funded Golden Spot residents, and designers in the Nike Design Atelier to enhance the learning environment.
Founded in 1909 and located in an award-winning campus in the heart of Portland, Oregon, PNCA is one of a handful of West Coast institutions accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. A PNCA education is centered on the core values of professional practice, integrated knowledge, critical thinking, effective communication, and social responsibility. PNCA strives in all ways to prepare students for sustained creative achievement in the fine and design arts and throughout their lives to strengthen their ability to interpret the conditions and events shaping the world, and to prepare them to engage that world and its cultures with understanding, enthusiasm and integrity. Additional information at http://www.pnca.edu
PNCA recently established the Ford Institute for Visual Education (FIVE). FIVE’s purpose is to establish within PNCA innovative advanced programs, exhibitions, symposia, outreach activities, and top-notch artists in residence. Through FIVE, PNCA is seeking collaborative relationships between students, international artists, and the region’s art, design and business communities, and to extend the institution’s intellectual resource platform.
TO APPLY:
Send letter of interest including: resume/CV with email contact information, 15 examples of work in digital form, a selection of student work with project descriptions, URLs and/or portfolio, statement of teaching philosophy, 3 letters of recommendation to:
Chair of MFA in Applied Craft and Design Search
C/O Oregon College of Art and Craft
8245 SW Barnes Road
Portland, OR 97225