Ohio Wesleyan University welcomes applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship in Art History. The position will begin in August 2021. OWU is committed to providing our students with a variety of perspectives, mentors, and role models by seeking and supporting an academically and culturally diverse faculty.

We are seeking a dynamic teacher/mentor/scholar with a focus in modern and contemporary art and specialization in an area that can contribute to the college’s ongoing efforts to diversify its curriculum (e.g. African and/or African Diasporic, Latinx and/or Latin American, and/or Native American history of art, and/or interest in socially engaged and community-based practices). The successful applicant will teach three courses per semester, including introductory survey courses, upper level courses in Modern and Contemporary art, and other courses in the candidate’s area of specialization. We seek candidates who can foster meaningful mentoring relationships with students; create experiential learning opportunities as part of Ohio Wesleyan’s signature program, The OWU Connection; and maintain a productive research agenda. We encourage BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or first-generation candidates to apply, as well as individuals who have experience working with diverse student populations, first-generation students, and/or students from low-income backgrounds.

The Department of Fine Arts at Ohio Wesleyan University distinguishes itself from many small liberal arts colleges by offering BFA degrees in Studio Art and Art Education. Our faculty believe that a robust art history curriculum is critical to student development as artists. The department also has a strong relationship with the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, which is deeply engaged in the local community and houses a collection of over 2,500 photographs and prints. Candidates with an interest in interdisciplinary collaboration with the museum and other academic programs, such as Social Justice and Africana, Gender, and Identity Studies are particularly welcome.

This job is part of a cluster of positions with which Ohio Wesleyan seeks to further diversify its curriculum and faculty. This faculty cohort will join an educational community that values equity and interdisciplinarity and fosters close working relationships with students through our signature program in experiential learning, The OWU Connection. Incoming faculty will be provided with mentoring, professional development funds, and opportunities to connect with faculty across the Ohio 5 and GLCA consortia. For more information about the cluster, please visit owu.edu/joinOWUfaculty. For more information about Academic Affairs and its commitment to antiracism, please visit owu.edu/AcademicAffairsDEI.

The University

Located in the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area, Ohio Wesleyan is a selective residential liberal arts college enrolling approximately 1,500 students from across the nation and around the world.  The college’s signature program, The OWU Connection, is designed to integrate student knowledge across disciplines, consider diverse and global perspectives, and teach students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book Colleges That Change Lives and was recently listed as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Ohio for social mobility by U.S. News & World Report. OWU is located in Delaware, Ohio, a lively college town just 30 minutes from Columbus, the 14th most populous city in the United States and part of the fastest-growing, most economically vibrant areas of the Midwest.  Columbus was named by LinkedIn as one of the top 10 U.S. cities in which to launch your career.

To achieve our mission, we continually strive to foster a diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist campus community, which celebrates the value of all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, color, gender identity and or expression, sexual orientation, family configuration, disability, socioeconomic status, religion, national origin, age, or military status. OWU is an equal opportunity institution and seeks applications from individuals who will help us honor and strengthen our commitments to diversity, inclusion, and antiracism.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Art History with a primary focus in one of the specified teaching fields
• College-level teaching experience including comparable courses 
• Evidence of professional activity including publications and an active research program

Completed Applications Will Include

1. Cover letter speaking to the areas mentioned above
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Three confidential reference letters of which two must include commentary on teaching effectiveness and potential. Letters of reference should be submitted directly by your referees to the application address.
4. Transcripts of graduate work (unofficial acceptable)
5. Statement on your teaching philosophy and experience 
6. A statement that addresses your experience/approach to teaching, advising, and mentoring first-generation, low-income, LGBTQ, students of color, and those with disabilities, along with pedagogies and strategies for promoting classroom inclusivity.

To apply, please send materials to facultyjobs@owu.edu and put the search number (#2021-0026) in the subject line.

Review of applications will begin on January 8, 2021. Initial interviews with selected candidates will be conducted via Zoom.

Questions concerning this position can be addressed to Jeff Nilan, Professor of Fine Arts.