ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – GAMES AND PLAYABLE MEDIA

The Art Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) invites candidates working in Games and Playable Media to apply for a tenure-track faculty position recruited at the level of assistant professor. The new BA program in Art and Design: Games and Playable Media is a highly interdisciplinary program. Students from the Games BA and BS form a shared cohort throughout their undergraduate years and collaborate on the creation of digital and nondigital games during that time. Faculty in this position will be teaching students from computer science and art backgrounds who have an interest in gaming. We seek an accomplished games practitioner with evidence of a developed research trajectory and demonstrated recognition of their work. We have a preference for candidates with a multidisciplinary orientation, who are experienced with game design as both a technological and artistic practice and can work with undergraduate and graduate students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. In addition, the ideal candidate sees games as an expressive practice, demonstrating a broad understanding of the scholarly fields of games studies and experimental game design, critical histories of games, and visual art practices. Possible related areas of research and teaching might include interactive audio design, interface design, interactive narrative, and intermedia art. We are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and service. The campus currently operates on a schedule of three 11-week quarters per academic year. The successful candidate will be expected to teach 5 five-unit courses per year, or their equivalent, in accordance with the department's workload policy; advise and mentor students; actively engage in research activity; and actively participate in administrative responsibilities for the department, affiliated college, and the campus. The ability to contribute significantly to graduate education and the mentoring of graduate students is highly desirable. The successful candidate must be able to work with students, faculty, and staff from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds. The Arts Division supports cross disciplinary research, funded through a generous grant program. Our program is particularly rich in its variety of possible specialties and themes available to the student, including collaborations within the Arts, Computational Media, Computer Science, and the Digital Arts and New Media program. The Arts Division supports faculty research through the Art Research Institute http://artsresearch.ucsc.edu/ari/ and the Arts Dean's Fund for Excellence; the campus supports research and teaching with grants awarded by the Committee on Research, the Committee on Teaching, and other groups. The UC Santa Cruz faculty make significant contributions to the body of research that has earned the University of California the ranking as one of the foremost public higher education institutions in the world. The Art Department engages with this tradition by exploring the potential impact of interdisciplinary art practices on society and the environment. The campus is located among redwood forests and meadows overlooking Monterey Bay, along California’s Central Coast, in close proximity to Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. RANK: Assistant Professor (tenure-track) SALARY: Commensurate with qualifications and experience; academic year (9-month) basis BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must have terminal degree in an area of expertise related to Game Design (or equivalent foreign degree), or they must have a demonstrated record of accomplishment and creative work in the field as evidenced by any of the following: released games; exhibition and performance of games at conferences, festivals, museums and galleries; recognition in the form of press and/or nomination for awards; or publication and critical discussion in the press, journals, and other means of presentation. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: University teaching experience. POSITION AVAILABLE: July 1, 2016, with academic year beginning September 2016. TO APPLY: Applications are accepted via the UCSC Academic Recruit online system and must include: 1) letter of application outlining scholarly and creative background as well as current and future research plans; 2) curriculum vitae; 3) portfolio of published/completed games with descriptions of each work; 4) three writing samples; 5) ten images of student work (optional); and 6) three confidential letters of recommendation*. Applicants are invited to submit a statement addressing their contributions to diversity through research, teaching, and/or service. Documents/materials must be submitted as PDF files. Apply at https://recruit.ucsc.edu/apply/JPF00324 Refer to Position #JPF00324-16 in all correspondence.