Assistant/Associate Professor, Department of Theatre - Lighting (9 Mo, TT)
Samford UniversitySchool of the ArtsDepartment of Theatre & Dance
Assistant/Associate Professor of Theatre – Lighting Design
(9-month, Tenure-Track)
November 2, 2024
Samford University’s School of the Arts Department of Theatre and Dance invites individuals interested in serving in a Christian university environment to apply for the position of Assistant/Associate Professor of Theatre – Lighting Design beginning August 2025. This tenure-track full-time faculty position is a 9-month appointment.
The School of the Arts is a community of artists that value interdisciplinary, harmonious working relationships within the areas of music, theatre and dance, graphic design, gaming and animation, architecture, and interior design. The Department of Theatre and Dance, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, offers the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts in theatre (with a concentration in acting & directing), Bachelor of Arts in theatre (with a concentration in production design & technology), Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre, Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre for youth and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance.
For more information, see the Department’s web page: https://www.samford.edu/arts/theatre-and-dance/
Qualifications
Qualified candidates are required to have completed a Master of Fine Arts in Technical Theatre or hold a bachelor’s degree in lighting design from an institutionally accredited university (or equivalent). For bachelor degree applicants, significant professional experience within national theatre companies may be considered. Candidates should possess expertise in conventional lighting, moving lights, networking, and projection experience. Candidates should have a track record of professional lighting design experience in various styles, a commitment to applying this knowledge in the classroom, evidence of successful teaching or mentoring, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and a commitment to the university’s Christian mission. The theatre and dance department prioritizes faculty-mentored development of design and technical skills and desires to recruit faculty who are invested in and demonstrate a history of mentoring students from diverse backgrounds.
Academic rank and salary are dependent upon academic qualifications, professional experience, and previous academic teaching experiences. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States, as Samford will not sponsor any employment visas for this position. The successful candidate must pass a background check.
Description
The successful candidate will teach studio and academic courses; create and execute lighting designs for the department’s main stage productions which may consist of youth, opera, classical, dance, and musical theatre; supervise and mentor student designers; collaborate with guest designers; manage and maintain the theatre lighting and sound inventories; and proactively provide recommendations for the newest lighting technology to enhance productions. In addition, the candidate will coordinate the sound production area and schedule guest designers and engineers.
Application
Review of applications will begin November 15, 2024, and continue to be received until January 17, 2025. To apply, please submit one PDF file comprised of a letter of interest, a complete curriculum vitae, a teaching philosophy statement, links to professional work, examples of teaching, an application for a faculty position, and a faculty applicant Christian mission statement. Teaching examples could include course syllabi and/or evidence of student designs.
Additionally, please have three letters of recommendation submitted directly from the recommender to: mtaylor3@samford.edu with the subject line denoting: “LAST NAME, FIRST NAME – Lighting Search” as PDF documents.
“Application for Faculty Position” can be found at: (https://www.samford.edu/departments/files/Human_Resources/application-for-faculty-employment.pdf)
“ Faculty Applicant Christian Mission Statement” can be found at: (https://www.samford.edu/departments/files/academic-affairs/Faculty-Applicant-Christian-Mission-Statement.docx).
Please submit all materials in PDF format (except recommendation letters that are sent separately by recommenders as indicated above) to:
Subject: Lighting Search
For questions about the position contact:
Mary Taylor Gurney, Lighting Search Committee Chair
mtaylor3@samford.edu
205-910-6740
About Samford University and Birmingham, Alabama
Samford University (samford.edu) is a leading nationally ranked Christian University. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th oldest institution in the U.S. and the largest privately supported and fully accredited institution for higher learning in Alabama. Located in the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Homewood, with 425 full-time faculty and more than 6,100 students representing 49 states and 16 countries, Samford is ranked #2 in the nation for student character development and #8 in the nation for the quality of career preparation provided to students as listed in The Wall Street Journal (2025). The University is dedicated to the promotion of rigorous academic inquiry in a Christian setting. The University seeks and prefers employee applicants of the Christian faith and offers competitive salaries with a generous benefits package. Samford University and the School of the Arts embrace diversity in their faculty, students, and staff and encourage applications from those who would add to the diversity of our academic community.
