Assistant Professor - Landscape Architecture

Description

The Department of Landscape Architecture (UWLA) in the College of Built Environments (CBE) at the University of Washington (UW) invites applications for one Assistant Professor (tenure track). The department  includes professionally accredited undergraduate (BLA) and graduate (MLA) degrees, and actively contributes to the two interdisciplinary PhD programs in CBE.  UWLA has a dynamic culture of design exploration, research, making, and activism through a lens of urban ecological design. Our community engages and invests in research and teaching that address issues of climate and social justice and advance the integrated and reciprocal relationships of healthy communities and thriving ecosystems from local to global scales. Grounded in and informed by historical and contemporary forms of community-based knowledge, we focus on the implications and potential of design thinking and practice to inform and speculate upon sustainable and just futures of our built environments.

The successful candidate for this position is expected to engage in impact-driven, creative research and scholarship. In addition, they are expected to develop a cogent trajectory for their research and scholarship within the relatively broad scope of design for climate and social justice. The successful candidate will teach across the curriculum at both introductory and advanced levels including design studios, lecture-based, seminar, and professionally-oriented technical courses. They are expected to engage in research and teaching that expands our capacity to provide high level, rigorous design-based education grounded in historical and contemporary contexts.

Department Values:

Justice and equity are essential to the development of a more inclusive foundation for the allied design and planning fields. By advancing our efforts to support an environment that is welcoming to people of all cultures, races, sexes, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and/or expressions, ages, religions, and economic statuses, we are actively striving to make UWLA and CBE representative of the communities and industries we serve. We also seek to create and support opportunities where creativity, critical thinking and self-expression can not only exist, but thrive. This is reflected in UWLA’s Mission and Program Pillars and the CBE’s Strategic Framework built on a foundation of collaboration and impact, bold thought leadership, and equitable and just practices. In addition, we are continuing to re-envision our community through equity and inclusion actions, including ongoing diversification of our curricula, faculty expertise, and CBE-wide programming. Successful candidates will be expected to advance these values.

Context
The UW is located in the heart of the rapidly growing, diverse, and vibrant Seattle metropolitan region. As a R1 University, the UW provides opportunities to conduct research across units and with an array of communities.  UWLA is a small, but highly active department in the UW, enrolling approximately 120 students in LAAB-accredited MLA and BLA degree programs, while also supporting the two Ph.D. programs in CBE and foundational educational opportunities to 100s of undergraduates across the UW each year.

Responsibilities & Terms

Faculty are expected to be on campus during the academic year to engage in research and scholarly activities, teach courses, mentor students, and provide academic service for our community. The selected candidate will conduct research and participate in scholarly activities that advance the UWLA’s focus in climate and social justice and urban ecological design. The candidate will be assigned courses that may include studio, lecture, and seminar courses and include both required and elective courses. Service may include advising students, assisting with student organizations, and serving on UWLA, CBE, and UW administrative and/or project-based committees. 

This is a full time 9-month (Sept 16th - June 15th), multi-year appointment with an anticipated start date of September 1, 2025 to allow for orientation in the first year with an expectation that 40% of time is dedicated to research, creative, and scholarly activities, 40% to teaching and 20% to UWLA, CBE, and/or UW service. The teaching expectation for this position is for 4 classes each academic year which are negotiated annual