Careers at Virginia Tech

The Interior Design program at Virginia Tech has consistently been recognized as a top interior design program since the early 2000s. We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor effective August 2025. Our program is part of the School of Design, one of the four schools in the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD). The School of Design includes undergraduate and graduate programs in industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture and includes over 20 full-time faculty and staff. The Program of Interior Design currently has 9 full- and part-time faculty and approximately 160 undergraduate interior design students.

We are seeking enthusiastic and creative applicants to contribute to our thriving, inclusive learning community and advance our core values:

• Wellness – we practice responsibly and will always strive to better human, social, and environmental well-being;
• Diverse thought and experiences – we celebrate our differences and we realize that harnessing our collective experiences empowers lives and presents new solutions to complex problems;
• Professionalism – we prepare our students with the necessary abilities to effectively interact with all stakeholders and we instill our students with qualities to be effective leaders in the profession;
• Ut Prosim – we actively engage with those in need and offer experiences that positively impact the surrounding community;
• Breadth – we provide learning experiences across the program to support these goals and offer interdisciplinary opportunities for students to work with allied design disciplines.

Our mission as a faculty, with engaged support from our advisory board, industry partners, and school and college leadership, is to ensure that every graduate from our program enters design practice with full understanding of how impactful their design decisions can be; that our students graduate with a commitment to approach their practice with profound empathy and care; and that each student graduates with both the mindset and abilities to practice with intention and agency in order to effectively address the human and environmental challenges we face today and will face tomorrow.

Our program, School of Design, and the AAD college are committed to actively supporting the professional development of new faculty, their teaching, research and scholarship, and engagement initiatives.

Position Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of this faculty position is to balance teaching in our undergraduate and graduate Interior Design programs each semester with a clear research and scholarship agenda. Our new assistant professor is expected to teach one studio and one lecture each semester. Along with the teaching responsibility, our new colleague is expected to develop a robust research and scholarship agenda suitable for the tenure-track position.

The program provides extensive opportunities for faculty collaboration within the school, college, and across the university. Applicants should demonstrate a willingness to work collaboratively and across disciplines. New faculty members will contribute to key strategic initiatives aligned with the University's Beyond Boundaries vision and new School of Design and AAD initiatives. They are expected to provide service supporting the program, school, and college, and are encouraged to engage with and advance the profession.

The College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech affirms our collective responsibility to encourage, build, and embrace the polyculturalism of our world. We do this by acknowledging and addressing our past, recognizing our current responsibility, and acting in the interests of building and sustaining communities that are truly safe, supportive, and inclusive for all. Our commitment is to continually and proactively engage in these processes for the benefit of our students, staff, and faculty across the college, and the communities around the world we aim to serve.

• A terminal degree in Interior Design or a related design field (PhD, MFA, or MArch) by appointment start date.
• Evidence toward developing a robust design scholarship agenda.
• Demonstrated passion and ability for teaching design studios and other courses across the curriculum.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
• Position requires occasional travel to attend conferences and meetings as well as student field trips.

• NCIDQ certification, or ability to obtain within two years of hire.
• Experience integrating design studio learning with program initiatives (e.g., wellness, user-centered design, interdisciplinary projects, research-based design, 3D modeling/digital fabrication)
• Professional certifications or involvement in professional organizations.

• Curriculum vitae.
• Cover letter expressing interest and qualifications, including summary of relevant experiences and accomplishments, works in progress, or proposed work that demonstrates your potential for success in this position.
• Personal statement of teaching interest and philosophy.
• A one page personal statement of teaching philosophy including the candidate's ideas for supporting an equitable and inclusive educational environment consistent with the Virginia Tech Principles of Community. Specific examples of experiences, activities, and plans will help us identify candidates who can support our college’s aim to sustain an equitable climate and extend our University's commitment to inclusive excellence.
• Portfolio of design work (max 9 MB PDF).
• Reference list of three persons (including the names and titles) the search committee may contact. Including: e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

Additional materials may be requested from shortlisted candidates.

Regular

Salary range is $75,000 - $80,000 per year

December 10, 2024

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a veterinary medicine college, Graduate School, and Honors College. The university has a significant presence across Virginia, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia; the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke; sites in Newport News and Richmond; and numerous Extension offices and research centers. A leading global research institution, Virginia Tech conducts more than $500 million in research annually.

Virginia Tech endorses and encourages participation in professional development opportunities and university shared governance.  These valuable contributions to university shared governance provide important representation and perspective, along with opportunities for unique and impactful professional development.