Description
TEACHING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, FAY JONES SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
POSITION
The Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design at the University of Arkansas invites applications from highly motivated candidates for full-time nine-month faculty appointment at the rank of Teaching Assistant Professor. We invite accomplished designer-practitioners and emerging professionals with research and design experience across scales and typologies to teach in Design Studio with a related area of topical focus. Candidates should demonstrate ability to contribute to a curricular framework through one of the following focus areas: 1) foundation design, 2) material technologies, 3) environmental technologies, 4) critical practice, 5) housing, 6) purpose-driven design-build, or 7) a self-defined area of specialization. Candidates must demonstrate strong design sensibilities, critical thinking skills, collaborative ability and capacity to teach and develop coursework within a five-year Undergraduate Professional Bachelor of Architecture curriculum. Specific demonstrated potential for success in innovative scholarship, professional practice, or other creative activity is also required. Professional licensure is preferred. The position start date is August 2026.
FAY JONES SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design includes accredited Departments of Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design, Landscape Architecture, Bachelor of Science programs in Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and an award-winning University of Arkansas Community Design Center. A broad range of course offerings at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design equips graduates with the knowledge and critical agility required to meet the challenges of designing for a changing world; and provides students with critical frameworks for design thinking that also help them assume leadership roles in the profession and in their communities.
Established programs at the University of Arkansas Rome Center, along with other study abroad options, and a rigorous Honors program within the School complement all departments. Housed in the center of the main campus, in Vol Walker Hall / the Stephen L Anderson Design Center, an AIA Honor Award winning building designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects, the three departments promote and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration and shared resources including state-of-the-art fabrication workshops and materials lab. Collaboration among disciplines is further encouraged through a growing variety of upper-level interdisciplinary studios and seminars. As part of the growth of this interdisciplinary culture, the school currently is overseeing the design and construction of the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Material Innovation, a new 45,000SF building, designed by 2020 Pritzker Prize Winners Grafton Architects, which will include a 12,000 SF high-bay fabrication laboratory, a lecture hall, conference rooms and open-plan studios. Scheduled for completion in May, 2025, the new building will be a center of excellence for innovation in wood design and product development intended to expand the use of wood in architectural design, construction techniques, and product design. Additionally, the school is currently designing and building the Whipple Family Forest Education Center at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
In August, 2024, the State Department selected the Fay Jones School as the primary commissioner for the US Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.
For more information visit fayjones.uark.edu.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
The Department of Architecture offers an accredited professional five-year Bachelor of Architecture degree and a four-year Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies degree, enrolling more than 550 students. The Department of Architecture has been recognized as a top 20 program in rankings, as high as eighth among programs in public universities, and is dedicated to continued and heightened achievement. Informed by geographical setting, the department embraces its obligation to cultivate conceptual agility, critical design thinking, and discursive processes in preparing students to assume leadership roles in multidisciplinary, collaborative and integrated practices.
Website: http://fayjones.uark.edu/academics/architecture/index.php
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.
FAYETTEVILLE + NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
The University’s historic hilltop campus overlooks one of the nation's top college towns and fastest-growing regions. The second largest city in Arkansas with a population of more than half a million regionally, Fayetteville has all the resources and advantages of a large city, yet its unique quality of life sets it apart. Hosting a myriad of events, from off-Broadway plays at the Walton Arts Center, to expansive award-winning farmer’s markets, Fayetteville continues to be ranked within the top ten of U.S. small cities by the Milken Institute for livability. Recently, Fayetteville and its neighboring towns were ranked eighth out of ten of the best economically performing cities in the nation.
Quickly gaining recognition as a nationwide for its creative economy, Northwest Arkansas is home to the world-class Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, designed by Moshe Safdie, whose grounds include the reconstructed Bachman-Wilson House by Frank Lloyd Wright. Crystal Bridges provides the Fay Jones School students and faculty excellent opportunities for teaching and research collaboration. The school’s namesake, internationally renowned architect and AIA Gold Medal recipient Fay Jones, designed multiple homes and sacred spaces in Arkansas including Thorncrown Chapel in nearby Eureka Springs, ranked the fourth best building by an American architect in the 20th century.
Situated in a landscape of natural beauty, the region promotes sustainable, local living through its abundance of lakes, national rivers, spectacular bluffs, waterfalls, and more than 36 miles of bike and walking trails. Three Fortune 500 companies: Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hunt Transport make the area their home creating an active business climate, providing investment in cultural programs, and support for the University community. A short drive from Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas airport has daily non-stop flights to many major US cities.
Please visit www.accessfayetteville.org for additional information.
SALARY
Salary will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.
APPLICATIONS
To apply for this position please visit: http://jobs.uark.edu/postings R0079631. The deadline for priority consideration of applications is January 5, 2026. Applications may be considered until the position is filled.
Please include the following:
1) Letter of interest including teaching and research statement (2 page maximum)
2) Names, titles, and contact information for three references (include email, telephone, and nature of association)
3) Curriculum Vitae
4) Digital Visual Portfolio in PDF format (25MB Maximum Size). The Visual Portfolio may include, but is not limited to, the following:
*Professional and personal creative work with associated project descriptions;
* Student work completed under direction of the applicant with associated project descriptions
*Abstracts for research papers and manuscripts (if appropriate).
References, official graduate transcripts and background checks will be required from finalists.
Requirements
REQUIRED
Successful candidates must:
be able to teach and/or coordinate design studio in the Undergraduate Professional BArch Program.
have a terminal degree in architecture (MArch or PhD)
have a developing body of creative work, excellent communication skills, active or developing scholarship, and professional/creative practice.
PREFERRED
Preference will be given to candidates who:
are able and willing to aid in the implementation of their area of emphasis, incrementally across the curriculum.
have a post-professional education in architecture or an allied discipline.
demonstrate evidence of successful teaching in studios, lectures and seminars.
Are experienced teaching undergraduate courses across a departmental curriculum.
Have worked collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
are experienced in professional architecture practice or in an allied discipline of practice.
are licensed or pursuing professional licensure.
