Assistant or Associate Professor of Painting

Summary: The Department of Visual and Media Arts at Grand Valley State University invites applications for Assistant or Associate Professor of Painting to begin Fall 2025. Applicants are expected to have an M.F.A. with an emphasis in Painting. The successful candidate will hold the Duisterhof Professorship in Visual and Media Arts.  

Required Qualifications and Education:

• M.F.A. with an emphasis in Painting.
• A strong background in historical and contemporary approaches to the discipline.
• The ability to balance traditional and innovative approaches to technical skills alongside conceptual development and critical understanding of the field.
• Potential for successful college-level teaching, unit and university service, and an active creative/research practice.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, such as the ability to interact with others with respect and cultural humility.
• Evidence of one’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. This could be demonstrated by an applicant using inclusive teaching practices; conducting research relating to minoritized populations or social inequality; engaging in community-based outreach to minoritized and underserved communities; or engaging in other kinds of DEI-infused teaching, scholarship, and/or service.

Preferred Qualifications and Education:

Preferred candidates will have two years demonstrated excellence in teaching historical and contemporary approaches to the discipline, and a commitment to undergraduate teaching and mentoring in a liberal arts context. Interdisciplinary creative/research efforts with the other emphases areas and majors in the department are encouraged.

Responsibilities:

Tenure-line faculty in the College of Liberal Art and Science are typically hired on nine-month contracts, with a nine-credit hour teaching load per semester. They are also expected to engage in scholarly/creative activity, service, and a significant focus, which is equivalent to three credit hours of additional responsibility in teaching, scholarly/creative activity, and/or service depending on the successful candidate’s interests and the department’s needs.

The teaching load will include courses in Painting, Foundations, and Drawing.

Service activities will involve coordination with and assessment of the general education accredited course program leadership.

Minimum Starting Salary: Assistant Professor – $59,400; commensurate with experience. Associate Professor – $77,825; commensurate with experience.

Benefits: The university offers an excellent comprehensive benefits package that includes medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, sick leave/disability, tuition waiver, flexible spending accounts, adoption resources, wellness coaching, and free access to campus fitness facilities effective on date of hire. Family and childcare options on and off-campus are also available. For a more detailed description of benefits, please visit Human Resources – Tenure Track Faculty Benefits.

Department: The Department of Visual and Media Arts seeks to uphold the values of a liberal education while providing intensive engagement in the production and examination of the visual and media arts. There are numerous collaborative opportunities for faculty and students across various partners within the department, across campus, and in the community. The department is located on the Allendale campus and has 36 full-time faculty (26 tenure-stream and 10 non-tenure-stream) and 690 majors. The students’ demographics show:

• 73% reported as white and 27% of the students reported being from an underrecognized group (African American or Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Hispanic or Latinx, Two or more races, International, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander).
• 61% of the students identify as female, 38% as male, and 1% did not report. 
• 37% report as first-generation college students. 
• 47% ever qualified for a Pell Grant at GVSU, regardless of their current-year qualification.

The Department offers NASAD-accredited undergraduate degrees in Art History (BA), Art Education (BA/BS), Film and Video Production (BA/BS), Photography (BA/BS), and Studio Art (BA/BS/BFA). The BFA in Studio Art degree has emphases in Ceramics, Graphic Design, Illustration, Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Visual Studies. The department also offers minors in Art History, Film and Video, Photography, and Studio Art. Several courses offered by the unit serve the institution through its General Education program or are courses for non-majors.