Duke Kunshan University (DKU) invites applications for the Founding Distinguished Professor of the Arts. DKU is poised to launch an innovative, integrated and interdisciplinary liberal arts and sciences undergraduate program leading to both Duke and DKU degrees. This curriculum is designed to give the arts a central role. This role begins with an initial major in Media and Arts and we seek a faculty leader who can further develop a curricular and co-curricular vision for the arts at DKU. We seek a faculty leader whose talent for creating original programs is as abundant as that for explicating or creating original works of art. The Founding Distinguished Professor of the Arts must be an exceptional leader who can lay the foundation for the visual, performing, and literary arts and connect these with the university’s other disciplines in new and meaningful ways. The faculty leader must also be an “orchestra conductor” who creates a larger, harmonious whole by forging
relationships with practicing artists and performers, arts institutions, special populations like children and the elderly, and entrepreneurs and corporations.

The role will evolve organically from several essential building blocks:

•       Introduce path-breaking teaching and scholarship in the visual and performing arts.
•       Connect the arts at Duke Kunshan, via students and faculty, to the rest of society by organizing collaborations that range from international conferences to the Signature Work of individual students, drawing in top practitioners from a wide range of fields.
•       Innovate through integration of ideas and techniques and forge new linkages between the arts and other disciplines, including health and the environment.
•       Act as a magnet for other outstanding arts and humanities faculty, as well as faculty in other disciplines seeking to incorporate the arts into their work.

Candidates must hold a Ph.D. degree or equivalent in an appropriate field (e.g. M.F.A.). Successful candidates should show a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching in a liberal arts curriculum and a demonstrated record of leadership in an academic setting. Research and scholarship are also highly valued.  Applicants should provide a curriculum vitae, a research statement and a teaching statement, as well as names and contact information for three references. All materials should be submitted through Academic Jobs Online: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/11360 . The search committee also invites and encourages letters of nomination for potential candidates. Nominations and questions about the positions may be sent to arts-search@dukekunshan.edu.cn using “Arts Search” as the subject line. Priority will be given to applications received by October 15, 2018; we will accept applications until the position is filled. 

DKU is a partnership of Duke University, Wuhan University and the Municipality of Kunshan, China (https://dukekunshan.edu.cn).* The DKU campus is 37 miles west of Shanghai in Kunshan, and is connected to Shanghai via an 18-minute high-speed train and a subway-light rail train system. DKU provides competitive compensation, benefits and start-up packages.

As an international intellectual community that encourages diversity, openness and creative learning, DKU welcomes outstanding faculty from around the world who contribute diverse perspectives and experiences to a global learning and research environment. DKU particularly welcomes applications from underrepresented groups and minorities.

*“Duke Kunshan University (DKU) is accredited by the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People’s Republic of China. Duke University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in the United States to award baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate degrees. Duke Kunshan University is not accredited by SACSCOC and the accreditation of Duke University does not extend to or include Duke Kunshan University or its students. Note that DKU students successfully completing the course of study required by Duke Kunshan University will be conferred both a DKU graduation certificate and diploma officially approved by the MOE as well as a diploma from Duke University (Duke University and its degrees are accredited by SACSCOC). Further, although Duke University agrees to accept certain course work from Duke Kunshan University to be applied toward an award from Duke University, that course work may not be accepted by other colleges or
universities in transfer, even if it appears on a transcript from Duke University. The decision to accept course work in transfer from any institution is made by the institution considering the acceptance of credits or course work”.

Topic Area: Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Literary Arts