"DePreist Visiting Assistant Professorship in Graphic Design"

Position Summary

The College of the Arts and the School of Art + Art History + Design at Portland State University invite applications for the James DePreist Visiting Professorship in Graphic Design, beginning Fall 2026. This is a full-time, fixed-term, non-renewable, three-year position (1.0 FTE, 9-month). The DePreist Professorship honors the legacy of James DePreist, a visionary conductor and educator committed to access, equity, and excellence in the arts. This position reflects his values by supporting inclusive design education and broadening representation in the field of Graphic Design.

Created as a position to provide new educators with teaching experience and interactions with other university professionals, this position is intended to provide a well-rounded view of academic life through instruction, research, service, and outreach.

We are seeking a practicing designer and educator whose teaching and creative work show a commitment to supporting first-year students as they build foundational skills, confidence and a strong creative voice in Graphic Design. Candidates should have a forward-thinking design practice grounded in experimentation and inclusive design, with a broad perspective that spans analog, digital, and technological approaches.

We welcome applicants with a wide range of design interests and experiences—including, but not limited to, areas such as creative coding, UX/UI, extended reality (XR), motion, experiential design or speculative design.

This position also requires an engaged, community-minded educator looking to contribute to the development of a contemporary, equity-focused design curriculum, while mentoring students from diverse backgrounds in a highly collaborative environment.

This is a 1.0 FTE, three-year position, non-renewable. The position begins September 16, 2026.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Typically, a Full-time Fixed Term position teaches 36 credits during the three-quarter academic year. However, this position involves an instructional workload reduction of 8 credits for funded DEI community-engagement and outreach.
• The successful candidate will have an active scholarly research agenda, a commitment to teaching lower division courses in the area of his/her/their expertise, and an interest in the possibility of engaging local underserved communities and the Multnomah public school system.
• This position also requires an engaged, community-minded educator looking to contribute to the development of a contemporary, equity-focused design curriculum, while mentoring students from diverse backgrounds in a highly collaborative environment.
• Create an environment that acknowledges, encourages, and celebrates differences.
• Function and communicate effectively and respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities, and cultural backgrounds.
• Seek opportunities to gain experience working and collaborating in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings with a willingness to change for continual improvement.
• Adhere to all of PSU’s policies including the policies on Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment and the Professional Standards of Conduct.

Required / Minimum Qualifications

• MFA or equivalent terminal degree in Graphic Design, Digital Media, or related field.
• An active creative practice with evidence of professional accomplishments in Graphic Design and/or emerging technologies.
• Teaching experience at the college or university level.
• Demonstrated interest in inclusive and interdisciplinary education.
• Proficiency in design software and technologies relevant to contemporary design practice.
• Strong foundation in design fundamentals: typography, layout, concept development, and critical thinking.
• Experience teaching first-year or foundational design courses.
• Experience with community-engaged design or collaborative projects.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing curriculum for first-year or foundational design courses.
• Background in one or more of the following: typography, publication design, motion design, creative coding, interaction/UX design, physical computing, XR/AR/VR, speculative design.
• Demonstrated commitment to inclusive and equitable pedagogy.
• Familiarity with curriculum development and interdisciplinary initiatives.

Compensation

Salary is dependent on several factors, and new employees will typically start around the first quartile to allow for later growth within the salary band. PSU has a structured process for determining starting compensation, taking into account years of related experience, applicable skills, knowledge and abilities, market parity, and internal equity. The starting annual salary for this position will be between $74,016 and $74,727, but may be negotiated above this range, dependent upon the factors above, the budget of the hiring department, and approval from HR. An excellent benefits package includes 95% premium paid healthcare; a generous retirement and vacation package; and reduced tuition rates for employee, spouse or dependent at any of the Oregon University System schools Please visit our total compensation calculator to see the full value of our benefits package.

To Apply

submit the following:

• Letter of interest (upload under “Cover Letter”).
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy.
• Statement of Research Interest.
• Artist/designer statement (upload under “Statement of Interest”).
• 15 images of professional work (upload under “Work Sample”).
• 10 images of student work (upload under “Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness”).
• Full contact information for three references. (References will be contacted only if you are selected as a finalist).

Visual samples should be combined into a single, multipage PDF and include a URL to a single website.

This is a fixed-term instructional position that runs for three academic years, 9/16/26-6/15/29. Review of applications begin on 11/17/2026 and will continue until finalist are identified. We anticipate closing/removing the posting around 01/16/2026. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

For a complete description and to apply please visit the PSU online portal at https://jobs.hrc.pdx.edu/postings/48422

For questions, contact the Search Chair, Professor Kate Bingaman-Burt at kateb@pdx.edu.

Portland State University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Institution and welcomes applications from diverse candidates and candidates who support diversity.