Position Open / Search for Chair for Fashion Studies Department, Columbia College Chicago

[Arti Sandhu]

*Fashion Studies*
* Chair and Tenured Faculty Member, POS 1180*


Seeking Departmental Leadership in Fashion Studies

Columbia College Chicago is seeking qualified candidates to fill the
position of Chair of the new Fashion Studies Department, under the School of
Fine and Performing Arts. Review of applications will begin on December 1,
2009, and will continue until the position is filled. The successful
candidate will start in the summer of 2010.

Columbia College Chicago currently has over 800 undergraduate students
studying Fashion Design and Fashion Retail Management. These two areas of
study have been housed respectively in the Art and Design Department and in
the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management Department. With the rapid
growth in enrollment experienced over the past decade by both of these
fashion programs and the increasing popularity for fashion studies at the
College, we are now ready to launch a freestanding department devoted to the
study of fashion. The new department will offer a comprehensive program of
courses and programs in fashion that cater to a diverse student body. The
curriculum will emphasize aspects of design, business, theory, and practice,
and include cross- and inter-disciplinary offerings within a vibrant
environment where innovation and experimentation are actively encouraged and
nurtured.

The Chair of this new department will provide intellectual leadership to the
faculty and existing programs, as well as ensure the department’s alignment
with emerging trends in the fashion and related fields in proposing and
developing new initiatives, programs, and course offerings that expand the
breadth of fashion studies at the College. Columbia College Chicago is
characterized by collegial and engaged interactions among faculty, staff,
and students. Currently the fashion faculty is comprised of eight full-time
members with an array of research, practitioner, and active professional
portfolios, and more than 70 adjunct members who teach courses embedded in
practice. The study of fashion is supported by an impressive fashion study
collection, which will also fall under the purview of the new department.
The successful candidate will hold a full-time tenured faculty appointment
with an initial three-year term as Chair and the expectation of two or more
subsequent such terms. This position reports to the Dean of the School of
Fine and Performing Arts.

Requirements:
• Advanced or terminal degree in a related field, established research and
scholarship record and/or practitioner and leadership experience in fashion,
and demonstrated competence in interdisciplinary approaches. Note: The
degree requirements may be waived in the exceptional case of a candidate
with a professional career of national or international stature and verified
ability to provide academic leadership.
• History of intellectual thought and leadership that can foster
teambuilding and spearhead the new department’s emerging and dynamic
programs and faculty.
• Proven administrative experience in fashion education and/or fashion
related fields that reveals substantial strategic-planning skills and
focused awareness of sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical
issues.
• Vision whose scope is at-once deep enough to nurture expert fashion
designers, theorists, and business specialists and broad enough to also
effectively address issues of material, product, interior, industrial, and
textile design and management.
• Excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and/or graduate level or
experience in related activities that suggests strong likelihood of success
in the classroom and demonstrates clear understanding of the industry and
educational standards relevant to designers, practitioners, managers, and
future leaders in the diverse field of fashion.
• Understanding of the potential of the Midwest region and Chicago and how
fashion interfaces with society at large, with a particular commitment to
forging new partnerships with local and regional social, educational,
government and business organizations, as well as a commitment to coalition
building with other educational institutions nationally and
internationally.
• Commitment to developing new programs and, in conjunction with the Dean,
fundraising to support department initiatives.

The position is available as of June 1, 2010.

Columbia College Chicago is an urban institution with over 12,000
undergraduate and graduate students, emphasizing arts, media, and
communications in a liberal education setting with a policy of generous
admissions at the undergraduate level and selective admissions at the
graduate level. The College offers a competitive salary and an excellent
benefits package and encourages female, LGBTQ, disabled, international, and
minority classified individuals to apply for all positions.

For consideration, applicants should send electronically a letter of
application, a complete curriculum vitae, and the names and contact
information, including e-mail addresses, of three (3) references to:

Email: ChairFashion1180@...

More information on Columbia College can be obtained at www.colum.edu.

http://web2.colum.edu/hr/search.results.php?page=3&term=&search=Search&dept=&limit=5&jobtype=

Date Posted: October 9 2009






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Arti Sandhu Assistant Professor - Fashion Design Art + Design Department,
Columbia College Chicago 623 S. Wabash, Rm 700D, Chicago, IL 60605 Ph: (+1)
312.369.7607 E: asandhu@..., arti.sandhu@...