"Assistant Professor of Art"

Assistant Professor of Art

Company: Pierce College District

Job Location: Puyallup

Category: Art

Type: Full-Time

Join our Racial Equity-Centered College! Pierce College District is student-centered and mission-driven to ensure that all our students thrive and reach their fullest potential. As an institution committed to antiracism, we are action-oriented and intentional in dismantling every systemic barrier that prevents Black and Brown student excellence and liberation. As Pierce College deepens its commitment to racial equity, it is of the highest priority that we focus our tenure-track and permanent status faculty hiring process to seek faculty with the expertise to lead our institution in serving Black and Brown students. This cluster hire is an opportunity for the college community to continue to act upon our values but more importantly for the empowering of our students' self-efficacy, for cultivating sense of belonging, and for the diversity of our entire student body, especially Black and Brown students, being reflected in a position of power in the classroom. Learn more about Pierce's faculty cluster hire here: https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/hr-faculty-cluster-hire. We are excited to invite you to bring your lived experiences and authentic selves to contribute to discourse and action in supporting Black and Brown students.

About the Program

The successful candidate will join a district Art department focused on equity and inclusion in the arts. Pierce has seen demonstrated growth in studio arts over the past decade as a demonstration of the importance art plays in developing meaningful cultural connections and in responding to social challenges and unrest. At Pierce, we believe that artistic expression is essential to the human experience. The Arts and Humanities division collaborates across disciplines, and a successful candidate will work easily with colleagues in many fields. Art faculty actively advise students in transfer pathways and in the Digital Design and New Media professional pathways. Art faculty teach curriculum throughout Art and DDSGN departments.

About Pierce College

Pierce College is an innovative community college striving to re-envision our institution through an antiracist framework to advance equity in student engagement and learning. We value student learning experiences that foster inclusion and intercultural engagement in the classroom and that expand into our local and global communities. Faculty, staff, and administrators work collaboratively to lead initiatives that advance equitable student success: from closing areas of inequity to building guided career pathways. The college serves over 15,000 students in basic skills, transfer, and professional technical programs. Through continuous efforts, we have improved retention rates by 17% and graduation rates by 89%. This year, Pierce was again named a top community college by several national organizations. Pierce College employees and students live and work in various communities that offer the diverse cultural and environmental benefits of rural, suburban, and urban lifestyles in the Pacific Northwest. As part of the community and technical college system in Washington State, the District includes Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, Pierce College Puyallup, Pierce College at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, as well as other extended learning sites.

Essential Functions:

Responsibilities of the successful candidate include:

• Designing and delivering a spectrum of art and design courses in both studio and lecture formats, on campus and online, in a manner that promotes Black and Brown excellence.
• Maintaining program vitality through community outreach and recruiting.
• Creating race-conscious course assessments and evaluations, assessing data, and engaging in continuous improvement of courses based on that analysis in order to advance student achievement of outcomes, success in subsequent courses, and impact on retention, graduation, and successful transition to employment or further education.
• Continuously innovating inclusive pedagogy and active learning experiences (campus, online, hybrid) in response to assessment and evidence/data analysis.
• Demonstrating cultural humility and intercultural engagement, including an awareness and understanding of historically marginalized populations, and the creation of an educational environment that affirms the identities and communications of students of color.
• Incorporating appropriate and engaging technology across modalities.
• Creatively designing learning experiences that extend beyond delivering content and assist students in achieving course, program, and degree outcomes, including the college's five core abilities of Intercultural Engagement; Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking; Information Competency; Global Citizenship; and Effective Communication.
• Contributing to a collaborative and innovative department, division, and institution.
• Leading efforts to increase student success in digital design, including closing areas of inequity, particularly with regard to race and ethnicity.
• Teaching, advising, and mentoring students holistically from recruitment to completion and transition to employment or further education.
• Recruiting diverse industry partners for internships, and/or advisory board service.
• Engaging in shared governance including district-wide efforts to build an antiracist institution focused on action to advance access, retention, and success for our most marginalized and vulnerable students and employees.
• Actively engaging with cohort peers as part of the First-Year Faculty Cohort in the first year of the tenure process, which will provide opportunities to engage with practices that enable Black and Brown student excellence.

Qualifications:

MA, MFA, or Doctorate in studio arts or related field such as design.

Terms of Employment

This position, which is contingent upon funding, is a full-time, tenure-track assignment of 174 contracted days per year with the tenure process starting in September 2026. Assignment may include district discipline/program coordination, as well as evening, hybrid, and/or online teaching. This is a District position with a "home" campus assignment. Initial placement of this position will be at the Puyallup campus. Candidates will be working for a District Dean and will be required to attend district meetings as well as collaborate with colleagues across the district and across departments. This position requires regular and consistent attendance.

Salary & Benefits

Initial salary placement is based on the current full-time faculty salary schedule and is dependent upon education and experience. Salary placement for newly hired full-time faculty will be at one of five levels based upon qualifications including teaching experience and credentials. The five levels range from $75,068 to $81,035 per 174-day academic year. Opportunities for summer employment and other assignments are in addition to the base salary. While not guaranteed, full-time faculty may have the opportunity for additional income during the academic year and summer through additional teaching. These opportunities are based on a variety of considerations including: student needs, balanced schedules, faculty preference and other appropriate factors. Full-time faculty may receive an annual COLA equal to that allocated by the state. Newly tenured faculty members will receive a $2,000 salary increase starting in the first year of their tenure. For more information and other promotional opportunities, please see Section 10.3 Faculty Salary Advancement in the PCFT Agreement located here: https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/hr-bargaining-agreements. Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation, worth an additional value equivalent to approximately 35% of your salary. A comprehensive health care benefits package for you and your dependents includes medical, dental and vision insurance. Life and long-term disability insurance plans; vacation, sick and personal leave; reduced tuition; and retirement benefits are also provided.

Reasonable Accommodation

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance with the application and employment process will be accommodated to the extent reasonably possible. Requests should be made to the District Human Resources Office by calling 253-964-7342. Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing may dial 711 to place a call through Washington Relay, the state's free telecommunication access service.

Conditions of Employment

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington State Law RCW28B.112. An offer of employment will not carry with it any responsibility or obligation on the part of the District to sponsor an H-1B visa. In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, proof of authorization to work in the United States will be required at the time of hire. Pierce College has adopted a Drug Free Workplace policy. As a condition of employment, employees must agree to abide by the requirements established in that policy.