The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell has been bringing art and people together since 1973, with free admission for all. The Museum welcomes visitors to experience original works of art across an array of global traditions, time periods, and media for education, inspiration, and delight, and connects to the vibrant intellectual and cultural life of Cornell University and a public audience through exhibitions, programs, teaching, and research. It is a nationally recognized university art museum, with a collection of over 40,000 objects and a pre-K-12 teaching focus based on its Asian, Pre-Columbian, African, and contemporary art collections as well as special exhibitions. The education department of the Johnson Museum serves around 9,000 pre-K-12 students per year within a 50-mile radius of rural Ithaca. The Museum is also a part of Kids Discover the Trail, a citywide sequential program that reaches every child in the Ithaca City School District through a consortium of eight educational organizations, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Cornell Botanical Gardens, and The Tompkins County Public Library.

Join our education department as the Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in PreK-12 Museum Education at The Johnson Museum of Art! This position is an eleven-month appointment to the Museum’s education department for the academic year 2026-27, with a start date mid-August, 2026. The Fellow reports to the Manager of School and Family Programs and the Director of Education and will join an education team of seven professional staff and approximately 30 student interns. The Fellow will work with all museum departments, including collections management, curatorial, editorial, development, administration, and visitor services, as well as with Cornell faculty and graduate students as needed.

The Opportunity

As a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow in PreK-12 Museum Education, you will:

Have an opportunity to immerse yourself in experimental new approaches to pre-K-12 teaching collaborations in Ithaca and across the Southern Tier; family and afterschool program engagement; and object-based curriculum development for elementary, middle, and high school students, both in-person and via digital and web-based resources.
Respond sensitively to the curricular needs of educators in rural and urban school districts.
Be a key partner as museum staff collaborate with select faculty and students to update and reimagine our pre-K-12 units dedicated to global arts and cultures in the Museum’s collections.
Design materials that build connections with the New York State Common Core Learning Standards and may incorporate elements of studio practice.
Contribute to the Museum’s PreK-12 education web portal to house virtual materials and engage younger audiences, teachers, and parents in new ways.
Have opportunity to contribute to grant application narratives and acquire qualitative research skills; a single- or co-authored conference paper on an aspect of museum education is a desired output.

Position Responsibilities

Curriculum development (30%)
Teacher program development (10%)
Teaching and family programs (40%)
Research and reflection (10%)
Other position-related responsibilities (10%)

Core hours for this position are Monday through Friday, 9:00AM-5:00PM, with hours flexed for occasional weekend and evening events.

What We Need

To be successful in the role, you should have:

A cover letter and resume outlining your interest and how your experience and goals align with the potential for mutual success in the role are required for consideration.
Completed a Bachelor's degree with up to two years of experience.
Open to all areas of study, but a deep interest in the humanities and global arts is vital.
Experience with, or eagerness to acquire experience with, working with school-age children in formal or informal settings, for example as a camp counselor, teacher’s aide, or museum educator, etc.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, as this position involves regular communication with several internal and external parties to the University.
Superb organization skills, including the ability to follow protocols, multi-task, and prioritize responsibilities.
Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.
Passionate about working in an organization that values and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and wellbeing.

If you have all those things, great! We have a few more things that we would prefer you to have, but it’s ok if you don’t.

Studio skills
Facility with, or eagerness to acquire facility with, Word Press and Adobe Creative Suite, including video creation/editing programs and Photoshop.
Driver’s license.

Rewards and Benefits

Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: Understand Your Benefits | Working at Cornell.
Our leave provisions include health and personal leave, three weeks of vacation and 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1. To offer greater flexibility for observing faiths and traditions we also offer two additional floating holidays. Learn more about our generous leave provisions: Holiday and Accrued Time Off | Working at Cornell
Cornell's impressive educational benefits include tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, tuition aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program. Learn more about our extensive educational benefits: Education Benefits | Working at Cornell
Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell:Total Rewards | Working at Cornell.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

University Job Title:

Program/Extension Aide IV

Job Family:

Academic Support

Level:

Pay Rate Type:

Hourly

Pay Range:

$26.00 - $30.05

Remote Option Availability:

Onsite

Company:

Endowed

Post-Baccalaureate Fellow in PreK-12 Museum Education (11-month Term Appointment)

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Ithaca, New York