The Department of Art and Performance Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana invites applicants for a tenure track position in Performance Studies at the assistant professor level beginning August 2023. The ideal candidate will have an MFA in Performance or Theatre, or a PhD in a related area. The preferred candidate will have a national reputation as a professional working artist in theatre and performance or demonstrate a strong potential for such a reputation. The preferred candidate will also have hands-on experience with stage and performance technologies.
The department seeks candidates whose area of concentration is Black performance theory and methods with an emphasis on social justice or human rights. Their second area of expertise should be in technical performance and/or technical theatre, including but not limited to lighting design, sound, and/or stage management. We are particularly interested in teacher-scholars who can contribute to recruitment efforts and our existing strengths in community-based artistic partnerships, mentoring of undergraduate creative scholarship, and social justice. The department is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and is particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with students from diverse backgrounds, minimizing barriers, and increasing equity and completion rates between members of different demographic groups.
Duties
The new faculty member will be expected to:
Teach (12) credit hours per semester in Performance studies, including introductory performance studies courses, Performance Technologies, and/or develop a general education course in their area of expertise. Mode of instruction may include in-person, hybrid, remote, and/or any combination thereof;
Supervise and mentor undergraduate research students leading to exhibits, publications, and professional presentations;
Engage in social justice service to the university and local community;
Produce creative work in the field of Performance; and
Participate in service activities for the Department, the University, their discipline, and the community;
Minimum Qualifications:
MFA in Performance or Theatre, or a PhD in a related area with practical experience will be considered.
At least one year of teaching experience.
Demonstrate a strong potential for excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students.
Ability to develop and teach face-to-face as well as online classes.
Commitment to developing an active research program within the area of performance theory and methods with an emphasis on social justice or human rights.
Preferred Qualifications:
Demonstrate experience in Black performance theory and methods with an emphasis on social justice or human rights.
A national reputation as a professional working artist in theatre and performance (or demonstrate a strong potential for such a reputation).
Demonstrate experience with stage and performance technologies.
Awareness of pedagogical best practices and ongoing commitment to developing and maintaining knowledge in this area.
Successful experience teaching undergraduate courses to a diverse student body.
Xavier University of Louisiana, founded by St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1925, is Catholic and historically Black. The ultimate purpose of the University is to contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society. The only historically Black, Catholic university in the United States, XULA is a private, liberal-arts based, co-educational institution offering 40 undergraduate majors, 5 master’s degree programs and a doctor of pharmacy program. More than one-half of its 3,100 students are from Louisiana, but it draws students from nearly all fifty states and 35 countries. Xavier is recognized as a national leader in the sciences and the liberal arts: • #1 in the nation in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school (AAMC data 2019). • Among the nation’s top four colleges of pharmacy in graduating African Americans with Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) degrees. (2018) • #1 in the nation in awarding bachelor's degrees to African American students in the biological and biomedical sciences, the physical sciences, and physics. ...(2018) • #3 in the nation in the number of African American graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in science and engineering disciplines. (2018) • The Department of Physics is #1 in the nation for awarding African Americans baccalaureate degrees in physics and the physical sciences, according to the American Institute of Physics. (2018) Xavier is consistently ranked by the American Chemical Society as one of the top 25 universities in the nation. • The 2020 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges named Xavier among its 300 “best and most interesting” four-year colleges and universities. • Xavier was also singled out as one of the nation’s 385 best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review in the 2020 edition of its annual “The Best 385 Colleges”. • College Consensus, a unique college ratings website that aggregates publisher rankings and student reviews, ranks Xavier as the nation’s #3 Historically Black Colleges and Universities) (2019). It also ranks Xavier as #3 among all Louisiana colleges. • College Factual ranks both Xavier’s biology and chemistry programs as program as No. 1 in Louisiana. (2019) • Your 2018 Guide to College Transfer lists Xavier as one of only 90 colleges and universities nationwide profiled as “transfer friendly” in this guide to the college transfer process by the Kaplan Educational Foundation. • The Student Loan Report ranks #Xavier 12 out of 800 Private schools who left graduates with the least amount of private student loan debt, a form of financial aid known for higher interest rates and less forgiving repayment programs. (2018) • Zippia.com named Xavier's Psychology Program as #1 in Louisiana. (2018) • Learn.org ranks Xavier Among the Top 50 STEM schools in the U.S. (2019) • The Edvocate ranks Xavier as the nation’s No. 3 Catholic University. (2019) • Zippia.com rates Xavier #1 in Louisiana in its 2019 report, “Best College in Each State for Getting a Job”.