Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position In Sculpture

Chicago, IL 60603

Jan 04, 2027

The Department of Sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor specializing in Foundry. The position begins August 2027, subject to final budgetary approval. Salary is competitive with peer institutions and commensurate with quality of practice, scholarship, academic research, extent of teaching experience, and current professional standing of the candidate.

Compensation: $81,284 - $88,974 per year.

PROGRAM PROFILE
SAIC’s Department of Sculpture is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs of its kind in the country. The department is situated at the defining edge of contemporary practice and discourse with an integration of four curricular themes: objects, bodies, sites, and systems. Within these themes, the curriculum addresses sociopolitical and ecological imperatives of the times. Faculty in the department practice sculpture in the broadest sense, and that range is reflected in both the curriculum and facilities they offer.

Students are encouraged to engage with a range of time-tested and experimental processes including but not limited to: casting bronze, organizing public spectacles, embodied practice, site-based projects, sustainable material recovery, and acting responsibly with whole earth systems. They are committed to studying sculpture within a culturally diverse context, both locally and internationally.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Full-time faculty in Foundry within the Department of Sculpture teach and advise undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds within SAIC’s interdisciplinary art and design school environment. Faculty will teach Foundry courses at the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels across the undergraduate and graduate curricula. Faculty develop courses that draw on their research interests and areas of expertise, including conceptual approaches to sculpture, foundry techniques, advances in sculptural fabrication, and practices at the intersection of art and design.

• Representing contemporary art practice in Foundry and contributing to the ongoing development of the department’s curricula, ensuring coursework builds and sustains student’s technical proficiency.
• Supporting the Foundry through school wide and external communications, interdisciplinary collaborations with adjacent studio departments, and connections with other areas of the School such as admissions, alumni relations, academic advising, and Career and Professional Experience (CAPX).
• Supervising and supporting other faculty working in and with the Foundry.
• Collaborating with the Foundry staff on training sessions, safety protocols, foundry processes, and production timelines.
• Reviewing and managing the Foundry budget in collaboration with the chair of the Department of Sculpture, Foundry staff, members of the Instructional Resources and Facilities Management team, and administration.
• Providing oversight of Foundry events and initiatives, such as iron pours and student awards juries and ceremonies.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to undertake administrative responsibilities and take on department leadership which is shared over time and in the SAIC school-wide community through ongoing participation in shared governance, service, and assessment of student learning.

ABOUT SAIC
A leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars since 1866, SAIC offers undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs to students from across the globe. Located in the heart of Chicago, the School is one of the largest and oldest private schools of art…