Full-Time Faculty Position in Interior Design
The Interior Design Department seeks a full-time, tenure-track faculty member with Design Technology and Visual Representation course expertise. The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced, innovative design professional who is currently, or has been actively, engaged in all phases of the interior/architectural design practice. The candidate will teach in the Design Technology and Visual Representation course sequences and should demonstrate evidence of excellence in teaching, scholarly work, and professional practice.
The new faculty member will effectively communicate with students and guide them to achieve their educational goals. The successful candidate will contribute to the department, school, and college beyond the classroom with curriculum development and committee service.
Candidate must demonstrate a compelling track record of professional accomplishments related to interior design including but not limited to published peer-reviewed research and/or exhibited creative scholarship in juried exhibitions, publications, and/or competitions.
The successful candidate is expected to pursue continuing education and professional development to maintain and expand their existing personal body of academic research and/or professional artistic explorations.
Specific competencies sought as related to the position:
Globalism
- Demonstrate an understanding and the impact of the global nature of today's interior design education, industry, and profession.
- Demonstrate an awareness of professional, ethical, and social responsibility.
- Develop students' awareness that different cultures have different customs, references, and preferences and that one solution is rarely appropriate for all people.
- Demonstrate understanding of broader cultural, economic, scientific, and technological forces impacting the interior design industry.
- Situate interior design processes within global cross-disciplinary discourse.
Instructional Design
- Implement an academically rigorous experience by incorporating professional and business practices in classroom learning.
- Demonstrate experience teaching various aspects of interior design, including the design process, lighting, acoustics, building systems, building codes and regulations, selection of equipment, drafting, hand rendering, and proficiency in 2D and 3D visualization using different computer applications.
- Demonstrate implementation of lectures and practical applications that enrich students' learning experience through innovative pedagogies, research, and/or creative scholarship.
- Demonstrate design classroom and other learning experiences that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, information literacy, and creativity.
- Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively on interdisciplinary projects with colleagues at the College and with external partners to develop shared projects and initiatives.
- Demonstrate experience in developing or teaching a curriculum that addresses diversity in design by incorporating instructional variety to service students of different learning styles, abilities, demographics, and diversity.
- Demonstrate execution of socially responsible and sustainable design principles that inspire a diverse student population.
- Develop a variety of assessment methods for student work to capture various learning styles in the classroom.
- Maintain strong connections within the industry to provide currency and to introduce and integrate new methodologies into the curriculum.
Learning Enrichment
- Enrich their pedagogy and keep up with the continuously evolving professional world.
- Demonstrate the ability to teach college-level design courses in both AAS and BFA levels incorporating multiple project types.
- Demonstrate the ability to inspire interest, curiosity, creativity, and love of learning in students.
- Utilize a variety of instructional delivery methods to foster critical thinking, design thinking, and creative problem-solving and team-building skills.
- Demonstrate currency in the industry, and/or practices, including new technology, and the ability to incorporate those changes into a progressive curriculum.
- Embrace the role of faculty as facilitators, mentors, and integrators of information and knowledge.
- Embrace new forms of pedagogy including online teaching, blended classes, workshops, flipped classrooms and experiential learning.
- Demonstrate the ability to support different student learning styles and abilities.
Professionalism
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the interior design industry, current practices, professional licensure such as RA, NCIDQ, and Certified Interior Designer registration, and operations of a design practice ranging from small residential to large contract design firms.
- Assist the department in conceptualizing its direction for the future and shaping and driving those changes by taking a leading role in developing the program and department's infrastructure.
- Demonstrate a continued engagement in creative and/or scholarly work aligned to the interior design discipline and actively engage in professional, scholarly, and academic activities.
- Demonstrate research ability, including a scholarly publication record and/or design achievements record (i.e., built work, competitions, exhibitions, and/or design awards).
- Maintain active participation and engagement in industry-related activities that inform and enhance the discipline.
- Maintain and foster a cultivated network of alumni and industry experts who will serve as a resource to connect students to interior design internships and continued leadership roles in professional associations such as ASID, IIDA, AIA, DLFNY, IDEC, etc.
- Understand and convey established and emerging interior design practices and their importance to FIT graduates.
- Model professional behavior that prepares students for entry into related fields.
- Demonstrate the ability to organize and lead departmental initiatives.
Technology
- Utilize course management systems and demonstrate capability and currency in utilizing technology in the classroom and emerging technology for the interior design industry.
- Possess industry-specific technology skills and demonstrate effective utilization of technology in the interior design industry to deliver course material and convey practical learning experiences to students.
- Demonstrate interest and commitment in areas of current and emerging technologies in the interior design industry.
The preceding description is not designed to be a complete list of all duties and responsibilities required of the position; other duties may be assigned consistent with the classification of the position.
Requirements:
Minimum Qualifications:
- A bachelor's degree with three (3) years teaching experience in interior/architectural design in higher education.
- Minimum six (6) years of senior-level full-time, current professional experience and engagement in the profession of interior design or related disciplines.
- Candidates must demonstrate currency in their competencies by maintaining active industry licensure and certifications as recognized in their field or profession.
- Candidates must be affiliated with professional organizations and/or networks in their respective field or specialty.
Preferred Qualifications:
- An MFA/MA/MS/BARC/MARC degree, interior design education, and NCIDQ certification.
This is a full-time, tenure-track position beginning in Fall 2025. Review of applications will commence immediately and continue until the position is filled, or until March 2025. First consideration will be given to completed applications received by October 1, 2024.
In order to considered for this position, please submit the following documents online:
- Letter of interest clearly indicating your qualifications for the position
- Curriculum Vitae
- Teaching Philosophy Statement
- Sample of professional qualifying design work (5-page maximum submitted as a PDF file less than 10 MB).
- Unofficial Transcript*
- A minimum of three professional references, including names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail contact information.
*Official transcripts are required within the first 30 days of hire. Applicants with foreign degrees must submit a completed credential evaluation comparing their foreign academic accomplishments to standards in the U.S.
Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York
Employer: