DescriptionThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville invites applications and nominations for Director of the School of Interior Architecture, a bold intellectual and organizational leader ready to guide a talented, ambitious community of faculty, students, and staff at a pivotal moment of growth. The director sets the school's strategic and intellectual direction, embracing a plurality of approaches to teaching, research, and practice while synthesizing the discipline's most pressing forces, including technological change, environmental and social justice, visualization, and shifting global economies, into a coherent vision for the field's future. Beyond intellectual leadership, the role demands a fiscal and organizational acumen; managing budget, advocating for the school internally and externally, fostering collaboration across the college's schools of architecture, design, and landscape architecture, and connecting daily decisions to long-term ambition. The director should understand the shared mission among the varied constituencies of the college and the school and should be able to listen and communicate sensibly to a wide range of faculty, administrators, students, alumni, and others.
The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with the successful candidate's qualifications and experience, as part of a 12-month full-time appointment at the rank of full professor. As a faculty member, the director is expected to teach and maintain knowledge at the leading edge of the field. The successful candidate will serve a renewable 5-year appointment as director subject to annual performance reviews from the dean of the College of Architecture and Design. The positions preferred start date is July 1, 2027.
QualificationsREQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS- An established Associate or Full Professor.
- A Master's degree or higher in Interior Architecture, Interior Design, Architecture, or allied discipline.
- A record of leadership.
- Experience as an accomplished supervisor and/or mentor.
- Teaching with an emphasis on interior architecture or interior design.
- Eligible for tenure at the rank of Full Professor.
DESIRED/PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONSON LEADERSHIP
- Demonstrated record of visionary, strategic, and creative leadership.
- Demonstrated skills in communications and active listening in collaborating with diverse constituencies, such as campus community, professional community, local community, alumni, and other stakeholders.
- Interpersonal skills that indicate a high level of professionalism, initiative, resourcefulness, and personal accountability.
- Demonstrated understanding of the research, instructional, service, and engagement demands of a Research-1, land-grant university.
- Established experience with fiscal management, facilitation, and negotiation including fundraising and a forward-thinking approach to growth and management.
- Demonstrated record of identifying and partnering with professional and industry partners who advance curricular and research initiatives and strategic goals.
ON RESEARCH, CREATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, DESIGN, AND EXCELLENCE
- A portfolio of research, scholarship, creative work, engagement, and/or practice that demonstrates the ability to pursue self-directed intellectual objectives.
- Accomplishments demonstrating a clear understanding of undergraduate design education in support of excellent studio-based design instruction.
- Practice experience with an emphasis on interior architecture or interior design.
- Demonstrated support for traditional and emergent technologies and the development of innovative, future-oriented curricula.
- Demonstrated support for a plurality of approaches to research, scholarship, creative work, and engagement, and experience in supporting faculty to realize those diverse research objectives.
- Established record of working across academic or disciplinary design units and programs.
- NCIDQ Certification.
ON TEACHING
- The ability to instruct undergraduate interior architecture studios.
- The ability to integrate digital and analog skills in the design studio and classroom.
Application Instructions SUBMISSION MATERIALSPlease submit the following application materials in the form of a PDF
- Statement of Interest that summarizes the candidate's accomplishments and articulates a clear vision for our school that pertains to research, scholarship, creative work; teaching; service
- Current curriculum vitae
Additional materials will be requested for candidates under consideration.
Initial review of applications will begin on December 1, 2026, with continued review until the position is filled.
