The School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD), formerly known as the Faculty of Fine Arts, at York University is seeking an outstanding researcher to be nominated for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the area of Information Design, Advocacy and the Environment. The successful candidate will be appointed to a tenure track position in AMPD at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. One of North America’s leading schools for the arts, AMPD offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Dance, Design, Digital Media, Film, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Art History, Media Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies.
This pan-faculty position will attract a strong, well-established, hybrid research-practitioner with an innovative and stellar programme of research, creative practice and significant scholarship in the areas of information design, advocacy and the environment. The successful candidate will participate across the knowledge domains of the visual arts, media, performance and design and often engage collaborations with environmental studies, health, computer science and engineering. We invite applications from candidates with demonstrable expertise in one or more of the following: graphical strategies for information design, development of tools and methodologies for data exploration, design-driven social advocacy, dynamic visualizations of live systems, interface design, design for virtual environments and massive multi—user systems, HCI, and strong cross-disciplinary approaches to information design.
The appointment is linked to the new University Strategic Research Plan, which identifies Digital Cultures as a compelling opportunity for development in the next five years by pushing “technological boundaries while critically investigating the social and cultural impacts†of new technologies on human activity and interaction. The successful candidate will play a strong role in Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology Research, a catalyst for new ideas and experimentation. <finearts.yorku.ca/sensorium/> Based in AMPD the Centre supports cross-disciplinary work in application and content creation, artistic and scientific inquiry, design practice and methodologies, policy development and critical discourse in digital media arts.<finearts.yorku.ca>
The successful candidate will have a PhD or equivalent in the areas of Digital Media, Design, Interactive Arts, Computer Science or a closely related field, an outstanding research record, experience working with undergraduate and graduate students, and must be eligible for prompt appointment to the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The successful candidate must demonstrate excellence or promise of excellence in teaching and scholarly research. The candidate is expected to provide leadership by fostering collaborative research, securing external funding, making links across art, design, health, computer science and engineering, supervising graduate students, and generating national and international academic, community and industry partnerships. The Chairholder will be placed in a Department or Departments most closely reflecting his or her experience and that best supports institutional priorities.
This appointment is subject to approval by the CRC program review process. The Canada Research Chairs program was established by the Government of Canada to enable Canadian universities to achieve the highest levels of research excellence in the global, knowledge—based economy. Tier 2 Chairs have five—year terms, once renewable, and are intended for exceptional emerging researchers (less than 10 years post terminal degree) who have the acknowledged potential to lead their field of research. Information about the CRC program can be found at
York University is an Affirmative Action (AA) employer and strongly values diversity, including gender and sexual diversity, within its community. The AA Program, which applies to Aboriginal people, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and women, can be found at www.yorku.ca/acadjobs or by calling the AA office at 416-736-5713. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority.
This position, subject to budgetary approval, will commence July 1, 2015. Applicants should submit a detailed CV, statement of contribution to research and teaching, links to scholarly and/or creative work, and three letters of reference.
Applications should be sent by December 5, 2014 to:
Jim Fenton
York University
Faculty of Fine Arts, GCFA 201 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Tel: +1 416 736—2100 x 20033
Email: jfenton@yorku.ca