Career Opportunities

Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor, Design Foundation, Beirut

This position is no longer open.

School of Architecture and Design
Department: Fine Arts & Foundation Studies
Campus: Beirut
Vacancy Date: Fall 2016-Spring 2017

The Foundation Program in the School of Architecture & Design at the Lebanese American University is now accepting applications for a visiting professor at the Assistant or Associate Professor level for the academic year 2016-2017, for its Beirut Campus.

The Foundation Program is a program common to all entering students in Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design and Fashion Design. The program is seeking visiting faculty to teach three-dimensional design studios, which are directed towards the development of a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to design, emphasizing visual perception, analytical interpretation and plastic studies.

Applicants to this position should have prior experience in teaching foundation, specifically 3D studios, and would be required to teach the following studios:

Design Studio I-B         

This studio explores the basics of plastic modeling and initiates students to critical thinking through exercises that address three-dimensional formal analysis / volumetric studies and evolve from soft materials to hard materials, with an emphasis on learning wood craftsmanship. Projects explore the syntax of 3D forms and investigate the properties of materials, structure, mass, and scale, as well as the effects of light on forms. This studio stresses the importance of craftsmanship and the different techniques of modeling requiring an active use of the workshop. This course is given with a co-requisite course on Shop Techniques.

Design Studio II

This studio is a sequence to Studio I-A [intro to 2D design] and I-B [intro to 3D design] and constitutes a master studio in foundation, where the techniques and methods acquired in the previous studios are taken to a higher level in a project that emphasizes process thinking in design, effectively synthesizing between two-and three- dimensions. Projects should allow each student to develop mature works that combine analytical thinking, interpretation, and experimentation in design. Formal exercises involve structural analysis, dissection, assembly and transformation, with the objective of creating elaborate objects that move beyond simple repetition of acquired types or ‘models’, and reflect articulate thought, intuitive understanding of phenomena and deductive reasoning. Students are expected to develop their faculties of creative interpretation, using a multiplicity of design tools simultaneously, from manual crafts / model making to technical sketching and precision drafting. Rather than developing independent objects, the aim of this studio is to emphasize on process in design and the generation of multiple variations on a single theme.

Minimum Requirements: a Master’s degree in any Design field with teaching experience in Foundation Studies.

Duration of position: This position will be open in FALL 2016, which starts in September 2016 and is renewed on a yearly basis according to university policies that apply to Assistant and Associate Professors.

For more information on faculty personnel policies:
https://www.lau.edu.lb/about/policies/personnel_policy_faculty_section.pdf

Application Process: Candidates should apply electronically by sending a letter of intent outlining their particular design pedagogy, a CV with names of 3 references, and the following:

  1. Professional Portfolio with examples of design projects, etc. [PDF format, 15 pages maximum]
  2. Teaching portfolio with examples of syllabi and students work [PDF format, 15 pages maximum]

The application should be sent by email to: sard.jobs@lau.edu.lb, specifying the job title in the subject line.

Applications deadline: Applications received on or before April 30, 2016 will have best consideration. The position will remain open until filled.

The Lebanese American University is an Equal Opportunity Employer operating in Lebanon under a charter from the Regents of the State University of New York. Information about the University can be found at http://www.lau.edu.lb