Assistant/Associate Professor of Creative Technologies and Game Design

Title: Assistant/Associate Professor of Creative Technologies and Game Design

Employee Classification: TTF

Division Name: Academic Affairs

College/Unit: Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts

Department: Wonsook Kim School of Art

Campus Location: Normal, IL

General Summary

About the College & School:
The Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University seeks to hire a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor to join its team of interdisciplinary digital arts faculty beginning August 16, 2022. The successful candidate will teach Creative Technologies courses within the Game Design sequence. The salary for this nine-month position is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Other schools in the college include the Wonsook Kim School of Art, School of Music, and School of Theatre and Dance—all of which have a rich and varied curriculum including drawing, animation, video, music composition, music business, voice acting, fight choreography, dance and movement, performance, production and lighting design, and text/script analysis.

The Wonsook Kim School of Art is committed to increasing the representation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and those embodying any and all expressions of gender identity and sexuality. Applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, women, veterans, individuals that are gender-fluid, or from other marginalized communities are encouraged.

About the Program:
The interdisciplinary Creative Technologies Program emphasizes design and practice in the integration of digital technologies and the fine arts. In addition to foundational study across the fine arts disciplines, the major provides training and experiences across a range of creative/technical fields including video, sound, electronic music, music production, gaming, motion graphics, interactivity, AR/VR, UI/UX, mobile, web, and computer programming concepts. Creative Technologies majors can currently choose from two distinctive paths:

1. Sequence in Interdisciplinary Technologies - blending multimedia, technology, and fine arts training aimed at creative professional environments and the entertainment industry, along with developing the aesthetics, artistry, and technical skills of individuals looking for a broad range of career options.
2. Sequence in Game Design - building creative and technical capabilities with a focus on game design and production for students seeking careers in the game industry.

The Creative Technologies Program recently launched the Game Design Sequence and two more sequences (Sequence in VR/AR and Sequence in Audio Music Production) are being prepared for the following years.

About the Position:
The Wonsook Kim School of Art and Creative Technologies Program seeks a collegially minded digital creative with an emphasis in game design and development, along with a strong research agenda and creative scholarship plans. Applicants are expected to have a strong understanding of the basic concepts and core elements of game design, mechanics, rules, storytelling, player behaviors, and game production pipelines from concept to marketing. Additional research and interest areas could include games for activism, art, learning, and social impact; programming; animation and motion graphics; 3D modelling; AR/VR; building virtual environments; interactive design; and mobile game design and development.

As educators, applicants should be prepared to teach a variety of courses, including introductory level courses in game design (analog games, digital prototyping tools) and development (Unity with C#, Unreal Engine with Blueprints, etc.). Applicants with a body of innovative work that challenges traditional academic and cultural delineations of artistic production and gaming are desirable. The successful candidate will join the interdisciplinary Creative Technologies Program faculty and have a locus of tenure in the Wonsook Kim School of Art.

Candidates for this position must teach all levels of cross-disciplinary courses for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Responsibilities of this position include teaching three courses per semester, continued scholarly/creative production in the appropriate field, and university service including, but not limited to, committee work, departmental activities, recruitment, and curriculum development.

Additional Information

ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
Illinois State University, founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois. Illinois State is a co-educational, residential university that emphasizes undergraduate study with more than 20,000 students. Our six colleges offer 174 undergraduate majors, 76 minors, 97 master’s programs, 17 doctoral degrees, and 40 certificate options. We have repeatedly been named a “Great Place to Work” by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL COMMUNITY
Illinois State University is located in the growing twin cities of Bloomington and Normal, with a population of approximately 132,000 and conveniently located approximately two hours from both Chicago and St. Louis. The community is home to GROWMARK, the Illinois Farm Bureau, State Farm Insurance’s International Headquarters, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lincoln College, and Heartland Community College. The community has distinguished itself for its outstanding school systems, its citizens’ level of educational attainment, its parks and recreation, health care, job growth, economic opportunity, and low crime rate. Forbes magazine, in a review of the best places for business, ranked Bloomington-Normal the 15th best place for business out of 168 small metros listed. Bloomington was also recently placed on CNNMoney's list of the 100 Best Places to Live. Expansion Management Magazine rated Bloomington-Normal as one of two metro areas with a five-star quality of life, giving the community high rankings in such areas as standard of living, quality of schools, traffic, and commute time. Please visit the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention & Visitors Bureau website at https://www.visitbn.org/  for more information.

Required Qualifications

1. Appropriate terminal degree or ABD in the candidate's field of study
2. Strong background in digital creativity and production
3. Evidence of innovative professional activity and research
4. State law mandates demonstrable oral proficiency in the English language as a requirement for this position.

Proposed Starting Date

8/16/2022

Salary Rate / Pay Rate

Commensurate with experience and qualifications

Required Applicant Documents

Attach a single PDF file that contains the following:
1.Letter of application
2.Curriculum Vitae
3.A list of three references with contact information
4.Links to your work and, if available, examples of your student's work
5.A research and/or creative statement

PLEASE NOTE:  These documents are required to be submitted online in order to complete the application process. Please have these documents ready prior to clicking on "Apply"

Special Instructions for Applicants

Initial review of applications begins November 15, 2021 and continues until the position is filled. To ensure full consideration, please complete an online faculty application for posting number 512155 at https://jobs.illinoisstate.edu/ and attach a single PDF file that contains the following:
1.Letter of application
2.Curriculum Vitae
3.A list of three references with contact information
4.Links to your work and, if available, examples of your student's work
5.A research and/or creative statement

Contact Information for Applicants

Creative Technologies:
Sercan Sengun
ssengun@ilstu.edu   

Human Resources:
Clayton Gruenwald
cmgruen1@ilstu.edu

Important Information for Applicants

This position is subject to a criminal background investigation based on University Policy 3.1.30 and any offer of employment is contingent upon you passing a satisfactory criminal background investigation. You may not begin work until the criminal background investigation results have been received and cleared by Human Resources.

Illinois State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other state or federal law you may request an accommodation by contacting the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (309) 438-3383. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access will hold any confidential information you provide in confidence.

If you are having difficulty accessing the system, please call Human Resources at (309) 438-8311.