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 2025. The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in Performance Studies by time of appointment and possess a strong record of performance-based research including publications, staged creative scholarship, and teaching experience supported by strong evaluations.
While the area of research is open, as a historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, candidates with cultural competency to meaningfully engage our student population, whose work clearly aligns with the institutional mission and indicates an understanding of the integral place the city holds within the African Diaspora are of particular interest.
Successful candidates will be expected to teach at all levels of the curriculum including current courses and to develop course offerings based upon their expertise that contribute to expanding critical areas of inquiry. The ideal candidate will be instrumental in educating students in the praxis of researching and developing staged creative scholarship. They will be expected to work with colleagues in selecting and mentoring students for participation in regional Performance Studies convenings. The department values diversity, equity, and inclusion and is particularly interested in candidates who can effectively teach in a diverse university environment and demonstrate a commitment to supporting the success of students from varied backgrounds.
Duties
Primary duties for this position include teaching all areas and course levels in the Performance Studies curriculum including introductory and advanced courses, special topics, and seminar.
Develop new courses that contribute to expansion of Performance Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Produce staged creative scholarship.
Serve as faculty mentor to students' staged creative scholarship.
Serve as academic advisor to both majors and minors in the Program.
Participate in on-campus department, division, college, and university meetings and assemblies, as well as university convocations and graduation.
About the Department
The Program in Performance Studies has the distinction of being the first H.B.C.U to offer an undergraduate degree-granting program in the discipline, given that most institutions have emphasized theatre until recently. It also is the only full undergraduate major in Performance Studies in Louisiana (other institutions offer majors in other areas with concentrations in Performance Studies). The faculty work closely with colleagues in both Visual Art and other departments across the campus, and are actively engaged in both campus and community-centered activities developed through interdisciplinary lens.
Minimum Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Performance Studies (or a related field that encompasses Performance Studies scholarship and techniques).
Record of Performance-based scholarship (conference presentations, performance composition, publications).
Strong commitment to a 4/4 teaching load per academic year.
Strong commitment to teaching a full load of 24 credit hours per academic year.
Write and Speak English proficiently.
Commitment to academic advising and mentoring of HBCU students leading to readiness for graduate school and the workforce.
Demonstrated experience working with a diverse student population.
Commitment to the mission of Xavier University of Louisiana.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with teaching, as well as a strong publication record that includes considerations of the African Diaspora area.
Demonstrated commitment to successfully working with a diverse student population.
Experience in performance technology.
Successful experience teaching to a diverse student body and knowledge of effective strategies (e.g. culturally responsive or inclusive pedagogy, awareness of issues that may affect the success of minoritized students) supporting underrepresented groups.
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”.