Following last week’s look at an opening for Dean of Architecture at the Cooper Union, we are continuing an academic theme within our Job Highlights series this week to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for Architecture Department Head at Penn State.
According to the listing, the role would support the department’s mission of providing “an educational environment that encourages the cross-fertilization of knowledge from all of the arts and sciences, where students and teachers are motivated to participate in the most urgent contemporary social, cultural, and environmental issues.”
To qualify for the role, candidates must possess a range of teaching experience as well as “experience and knowledge of issues relevant to higher education, and collaborative multi-disciplinary experience.” PhD holders are “strongly encouraged” to apply for the role, which requires a minimum degree in architecture or a related discipline.
Why the role interests us
Similar to last week’s spotlight on the Cooper Union’s search for a Dean of Architecture, the Penn State role offers an insight into how the institution sees its culture and principles evolving in the coming years.
In the case of Penn State, the job listing on Archinect Jobs sets out a vision for a department which “embraces individual identities, fosters a culture of inclusion, and promotes equity through curricula, values, standards, ideals, policies and practices.” In 2021, this same emphasis on equity and inclusion saw Penn State appoint Folayemi “Fo” Wilson as the architecture school’s first associate dean for access and equity.
The job listing also articulates a mission of building an academic program that equips students to address environmental challenges; echoing previous Penn State developments on our editorial. Earlier this year, a multidisciplinary team led by the university’s architecture school announced that it was to undertake research on embodied carbon in cities, while in 2021, an architectural engineering professor in the school was recognized by the United Nations for their work in sustainable buildings.
A commitment to addressing environmental challenges has also filtered through to Penn State’s student body, with the AIA awarding a 2022 Upjohn Research Initiative grant to PhD students at the school for their investigation into how biodegradable structures could be built from local fungi species. Biodegradable fungi was also the subject of Penn State's participation in an expo of biomaterial structures on the University of Virginia campus in April of this year.
Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of the Upjohn grant saw a Penn State PhD team included for their research into climate-adaptive building envelopes.
Further reading for interested candidates
Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.
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