Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

PROGRAM HEAD + ASSISTANT PROFESSOR FILM

Position Description: Moore College of Art & Design (MCAD) seeks to hire a filmmaker at the rank of Assistant Professor. Candidates should be well versed in contemporary issues and practices in film and digital cinema and demonstrate an active practice that includes filmmaking together with a strong exhibition and/or screening record. We are seeking an artist who can advance our mission to empower women, non-binary and transgender voices by developing their artistic ability, leadership capacity and marketable skills. Created as the first and only visual arts college for women in the US, we believe that this mission is as urgent today as it was 173 years ago. In response to a lack of diversity and representation in the field of film and video, Moore has developed a new Film and Digital Cinema program that is designed to create access to the film industry for women, non-binary and transgender voices to create opportunities for them to tell their own stories.

Duties: This is a full-time teaching position with primary responsibility in the Film Department (BFA and 4+1 MA). We are seeking individuals who can also teach in other departments within the college, possibly including (Animation/Game Arts, Foundations, Photography, Studio Art or our graduate programs in Socially Engaged Practices). Full-time teaching load is 21 credits per academic year with the expectation of teaching at all undergraduate and graduate levels. The successful candidate will serve as the program head for the new film department, which comes with an additional stipend annually. Core responsibilities of the program head position include  are to provide information and expertise about the program/major to the Department Chair and to provide attention to, engagement with, and retention of students and majors within the program. In this role, the successful candidate will collaborate with the advising office to support and retain students in the program, attend admissions and recruiting events, and advise on the program curriculum and assessment. This person will also work to build the film program through programming, events, and off-campus experiences.

Ongoing professional research and production in film and participation in both college and departmental service is required.

The full-time faculty at MCAD are hired onto 3-year renewable appointments with the potential for promotion through the ranks culminating in 5-year contracts. The start date for this position is August 23, 2022. Salary and rank are commensurate with experience and subject to the collective bargaining agreement with Moore Federation of Teachers.

Required Qualifications:

  • Terminal degree in relevant field (MFA or PhD)
  • Minimum of three years of teaching experience
  • National exhibition, screening or publication record
  • Strong technical skills in fimmaking including the ability to teach courses in cinematography, screenwriting, editing, sound, theory and the business of filmmaking

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Minimum of three years of teaching experience in higher education post-degree
  • National or international exhibition, screening or publication record
  • Demonstrated commitment to decolonizing pedagogy
  • Demonstrated commitment to inclusive teaching practices, methods, and theories
  • Ability to connect students to industry professionals, networks, experiences and internships
  • Ability to work collegially and collaboratively in a small, historically women’s institution

About the Film Program: In 2021/2022, the College launched a new Film & Digital Cinema program to our roster of inclusive, innovative and prestigious BFA programs for undergraduate women and nonbinary students. For over 130 years, important moments and events have been recorded on film and video. Now, due to the advancement of media-recording technologies, we hold the tools in our hands every day. As film and video become increasingly omnipresent in our daily lives, creators in this field are younger, more diverse and more imaginative than ever before. At Moore, we believe that every creator should have the knowledge, tools, and opportunities to tell their own story. In response to a lack of diversity and representation in the field of film and video, Moore has developed a program that creates access to the industry for women and nonbinary voices emerging with fresh and fantastic stories to tell. As we witness in the 21st century a significant increase of creative leadership, engagement and impact of women in the film industry, Moore’s founding mission of empowering women by developing their artistic ability, leadership capacity and marketable skills remains deeply relevant. The goal of the Film & Digital Cinema program is to take students beyond the smartphone with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment and learn to share stories that will prepare you for a career in the industry. The curriculum offers a dynamic balance of ideas and concepts with hands-on and technical education—and all with a perspective on the future of digital cinema and film as the most ubiquitous form of art, culture and communication.

Moore has small class sizes that encourage and support each student to be an individual with her/their own voice. Additionally, students have opportunities to explore cross-disciplinary collaborations with other programs. Filmmaking is inherently collaborative; Moore provides an opportunity to create a supportive cohort as you collaborate, cross-train, and innovate with classmates and professors. We empower Moore students to tell stories. Students will gain the foundations that will allow them to be flexible, yet focused, as they take on different production roles at Moore and upon graduation.

About the College and Community: Moore College of Art & Design is a historically all-women's undergraduate college that has evolved to include undergraduates assigned female at birth, those who self-identify as women, trans women, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming individuals as well as co-educational continuing education and graduate studies. We educate artists and designers to build creative, enterprising careers of significant impact. We are a forum for big ideas, and a champion for creative expression as a means to connect local and global communities.

Our mission is more relevant than ever, as technology, sustainability and diverse cultures drive and disrupt new and existing industries. Through dynamic BFA and Graduate Studies programs, educational programs for creatively curious youth and professional adult learners, and our own public and dedicated space for contemporary art—The Galleries at Moore—we are influencers and advocates for breakthrough artists and designers of all ages and backgrounds.

With an enrollment of 400 students, Moore offers ten majors: Animation and Game Arts, Art Education, Art History, Fashion Design, Film, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, illustration, interior Design, and Photography. Film began admitting students in AY 2021-2022 and is the newest of the programs. Moore’s graduate programs include and MA in Art Education with an Emphasis in Special Populations (Residential and Online), and MA in Socially Engaged Art and and MFA in Socially Engaged Studio Art. Centrally located in Philadelphia, our students experience the small scale of the institution and the benefit of a vibrant cultural community within the city as well as close proximity to cultural resources in Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City. Attending Moore in the heart of Philadelphia provides students with unique opportunities, including an inspirational urban backdrop for filming their stories with close proximity to rural communities as well as New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. Philadelphia is home to a robust filmmaking industry, and students are supported in the telling of their stories by industry faculty as well as The Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Blackstar Film Festival, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, Asian American Film Festival and Latino Film Festival, and other studios and organizations including Philadelphia Film Society, Scribe Video Center, PhillyCAM, and Big Picture Alliance, and other studios and organizations. With internships and professional opportunities at local production houses as well as connections to New York and Los Angeles, Moore students gain valuable hands-on experience that takes the learning well beyond the classroom.

The College adheres to the principle of equal educational and employment opportunity without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, handicap or disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other College-administered programs and employment practices. Retaliation is also prohibited. The full compliance statement is on our website.