Assistant Professor in Lighting Design & Production

Assistant Professor in Lighting Design & Production

School of Theatre and Dance

Faculty Position Announcement

Assistant Professor in Lighting Design & Production

Position: Full-time, 9 month, tenure accruing faculty position

Date of Expected Hire: August 15, 2024

Salary: $67,000-$70,000 Negotiable based on qualifications and experience. Competitive leave and comprehensive benefits package eligible.

The School of Theatre and Dance in the College of the Arts seeks a collaborative, motivated 9-month Assistant Professor in Lighting for a tenure accruing faculty position. The successful candidate will lead the graduate lighting program, grow a robust BFA lighting production program, and actively participate in our learning community while finding innovative ways to engage in critical discourse across the arts and other disciplines. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of storytelling and contemporary practice as evidenced by an active professional practice in the entertainment industry and adjacent fields.  Understanding that a life in the arts requires an entrepreneurial sense, we welcome a skills-based approach interwoven with critical discourse and intentionality about creating careers in the arts. We seek a collaborator to envision and shape the future of the design and production programs in collaboration with other design faculty. Candidates must have college level teaching experience in developing and creating syllabi and curricula that intentionally broadens the approaches to design and technology courses through an awareness of, and sensitivity to a multiplicity of voices that reflect diverse perspectives and experiences.

The University of Florida College of the Arts intends to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. As artists and scholars, we embrace the complexity of our evolving human experience and seek to empower our students and faculty to shape that experience fearlessly through critical study, creative practice, and provocation. We seek a colleague who identifies as a change-maker. 

The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution dedicated to building a broadly diverse and inclusive faculty, seeking faculty of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. 

The School is invested in responding to industry developments regarding person-centered production practices that advance curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversities, and supports the health and well-being of student dance and theatre artists. The School seeks a collaborator to help us create sustainable production practices and identify areas where we can respond effectively to these developments in the field.

More information about the school and our mission can be found here:

SoTD Mission and Vison Statements: https://arts.ufl.edu/academics/theatre-and-dance/about/mission/

COTA Meta Strategy: https://arts.ufl.edu/sites/strategic-plan/goals/

UF Arts Faculty: https://arts.ufl.edu/directory/

This position is covered by the United Faculty of Florida Contract.  You can view this employment union contract here https://hr.ufl.edu/manager-resources/employee-relations/union-contracts/united-faculty-of-florida-contract/ .  

Responsibilities:  

• Teach undergraduate and graduate curricula in design and production. Courses may include but are not limited to the following subject areas: lighting design, drafting, programming, emerging technologies, collaboration, and portfolio preparation.
• Actively mentor design students through realized production processes.
• Advise BFA Senior Projects and MFA Thesis.
• Revise and renew courses and curriculum as needed.
• Maintain active national and international creative research profile in areas of specialization consistent with expectation of tenure and promotion.
• Active participation in our learning community, finding innovative ways to connect the arts to critical discourse in other disciplines.
• Participate in the organizational and administrative activities of the Design and Production area, including student recruitment.
• Participate in shared governance through service to the School, College, and University.

SCHOOL OF THEATRE + DANCE: The light-filled Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion is home to the School of Theatre + Dance (SoTD). The School’s international full-time faculty of 35 recognized artists and researchers, complemented by adjunct and guest faculty and staff, including full- and part-time professionals. The School offers MFA curricula in acting and in design, which includes scene design, lighting design and costume design; BFA programs in acting, musical theatre, and theatrical production with concentrations in costume, digital media, lighting, scenic, and sound; and a BA with concentrations in general theatre, stage management, and theatre management. The School features two degree programs in dance designed to develop the individual voice of the dance artist, a BFA and a BA. Approximately 200 students major in the artistically diverse curricula of the School of Theatre + Dance. Through its production program, outreach and innovative programming, the School of Theatre + Dance provides multiple cultural opportunities annually to thousands of members of the University and the greater community. The University of Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance and the National Association of Schools of Theatre. For more information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance .  

THE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS: The mission of the College of the Arts is to be a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond.  We achieve the university’s mission by training professionals and educating students as artists and scholars, while developing their capacities for critical study, creative practice, and provocation.  The College offers baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Approximately 1,700 students are pursuing majors in degrees offered by the College of the Arts under the direction of 130 faculty members in its three accredited schools— the School of Art + Art History, the School of Music, and the School of Theatre + Dance, and in the Center for Arts in Medicine, the Digital Worlds Institute, and the Center for Arts, Migration, and Entrepreneurship. In addition, the college comprises the University Galleries, and the University level of the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

The University of Florida: The University of Florida is a comprehensive learning institution built on a land grant foundation, ranked one of the top five best public universities in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. We are The Gator Nation, a diverse community dedicated to excellence in education and research and shaping a better future for Florida, the nation and the world. Our mission is to enable our students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit. UF is a graduate research institution with more than 50,000 students and membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Gainesville, which is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most livable cities, is located midway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the University and the community comprise the educational, medical and cultural center of North Central Florida, with outstanding resources such as the University of Florida Performing Arts (Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Squitieri Studio Theatre, the Baughman Center, University Auditorium), the Harn Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Natural History and in the community, the Hippodrome State Theatre and Dance Alive National Ballet.

$67,000-$70,000 Negotiable based on qualifications and experience. Competitive leave and comprehensive benefits package eligible.

• Terminal degree (MFA or PhD) in Lighting Design or distinguished record of professional experience in Lighting Design or related field.
• College-level teaching experience beyond graduate assistantship
• Proficiency in Autocad/VectorWorks, Lightwright, EOS, and/or other programming software.
• Evidence of skill in designing and facilitating academic work that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversities.

• Terminal degree (MFA or PhD) in Lighting Design or related field.
• Demonstrated success teaching lighting design and production.
• Record of achievement in the field at a national or international level, in alignment with the unit’s tenure and promotion criteria.
• Three years teaching experience beyond graduate assistantship at the university level with evidence of commitment to collaboration and excellence in the arts and higher education.
• Proficiency in digital visualization software (i.e. Capture, Light Converse, and Augmented)
• Engagement in the field consistent with the expectations of a research-focused institution in which creative endeavors such as performance and production work are valued as research.
• Evidence of a commitment to innovation and cross-disciplinary work.
• Experience in developing and creating syllabi and curricula that intentionally broadens the approaches to design and technology courses through an awareness of, and sensitivity to a multiplicity of voices that reflect diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Demonstrated aptitude for working toward structural and strategic change, particularly in relationship to promoting an environment that advances curiosity, inclusion, open intellectual discourse, and the well-being of all in an environment of complex diversities.
• Demonstrated capacity for effective engagement in student recruitment.

Application Deadline: Review of applications will begin March 8, 2024, and continue until an applicant pool is established. To ensure full consideration, all application documents must be submitted by March 8, 2024. Applications received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the committee and/or hiring authority. 

Application Process: Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida’s online application system. Online applications must include the following: (1) a detailed letter of application that explains how you match the particular qualifications of this position and how your work and perspective will contribute to and enhance our transformative community; (2) a curriculum vitae; (3) one-page teaching and mentoring statement; (4) link to professional portfolio; (Note that the UF application system only allows for one 5 MB maximum file size PDF document) (5) names and contact information of three professional references. The UF system will give you the option to upload letters of reference. We are not requiring letters of reference with initial application materials. Please ignore that option. The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time. 

Inquiries may be sent to:
Jen Dasher
Chair, Assistant Professor in Lighting Search
Email: [email protected]

The selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an educational institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).

If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call +1 (352) 392- 2477or the Florida Relay System at +1 (800) 955-8771 (TDD). Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. Searches are conducted in accordance with Florida's Sunshine Law.