Clemson UniversityThe Clemson University School of Architecture invites applicants for a
full-time tenure-track/tenured position in Historic Preservation at the
rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. The faculty appointment is
assigned to the Clemson Design Center in Charleston, South Carolina,
with an anticipated start date of August 15, 2024. The position will
have the obligation of teaching, research, and service.
We seek a collaborative, dedicated candidate interested in applied
work in this role’s teaching, research, and/or service capacities. The
graduate program in historic preservation has an established record of
developing students’ practical knowledge and skills as taught through
real-world projects focused on documenting, interpreting, and planning
preservation interventions in the built environment.
Candidates for this position should be invested in collaborating on timely preservation work addressing a host of issues relating to social and environmental justice and preservation of the built environment as it is imbued with cultural meaning. We seek a candidate who will establish themselves in Charleston and become a respected partner for local and regional organizations, communities, and individual stewards of historic places.
A candidate joining the faculty will maintain and expand upon the profile of our program as a resource and collaborator on preservation issues with skill sets and projects that provide value to community partners and students. Enhancing and expanding the program’s current curricular posture is an asset.
We seek a motivated candidate with an established record of projects that made positive educational and community impact, possibly including successful grant writing and management of grant-funded work. With the breadth of incredible historic places, unique history and culture of the Lowcountry, and an ambitious and motivated established faculty, we seek a candidate who will join and help shape the program’s momentum.
About the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, launched in 2005, leverages student course projects and faculty research to work with community partners on understanding, interpreting, and preserving important places in Charleston, regionally and state-wide. The mission of the program is to educate future leaders in the documentation, evaluation, interpretation, and conservation of historic structures, sites, objects, and landscapes with the goal of developing appropriate preservation strategies for a sustainable future.
The program offers a Master of Science in Historic Preservation, a Certificate in Historic Preservation, and a Minor in Historic Preservation. The 60-credit MSHP curriculum is structured in layers, beginning with an initial core semester devoted to the acquisition of skills in the analysis and documentation of historic buildings, landscapes, and sites, and the final semester concludes with a thesis. Coursework throughout the four semesters emphasizes engaged community learning as students work in a ‘hands on’ or experiential learning mode to cultivate preservation skills and gain experience while contributing to real projects at historic places.
For more information about the Graduate Program in Historic preservation see our website, http://www.clemson.edu/caah/departments/architecture/programs/historic-preservation/index.html including a student-produced annual newsletter describing engaged community projects and collaborations, and other facets of the program’s student experience.
About the Clemson Design Center in Charleston and the location
The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation is based at the Clemson Design Center in Charleston, which is currently located in the “Cigar Factory” building – a rehabilitated historic building with great significance to labor history, including being known as the first location where the song ‘we shall overcome’ was sung outside of a religious context, and became an anthem for labor and civil rights protests. The CDC.C is also home to a graduate program in Resilient Urban Design and graduate and undergraduate architecture and landscape architecture courses, including a Community Build (design built) certificate.
A common theme among the CDC.C programs is our alignment with the tradition of a land-grant university; seeing engaged community projects as central to how students learn, and how the Center is an active participant in shaping and preserving the local built environment.
With its unique combination of history, culture, tourism, and expanding economic base, the city of Charleston and the Lowcountry provide a rich learning laboratory. The long preservation history, robust network of industry-leading professionals and organizations in the field of historic preservation who work collaboratively with the program, and incredible range of historic places and communities to engage with are assets as our program educates students about, and collaborates on timely preservation work addressing a host of issues relating to race and ethnicity, climate change, and preservation of built environments imbued with cultural meaning.
About Clemson University, CAAC (College of Architecture, Art, and Construction) and the School of Architecture (CUSoA)
The program’s academic home is the School of Architecture. The School of Architecture offers degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Resilient Urban Design, and Architecture and Health with total enrollments of over 500 students, supported by over 70 faculty and staff.
The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation is located full time at one of Clemson’s FluidCampus© sites in Charleston, SC. The School’s Fluid Campuses, offer a unique global education in world-class facilities in four locations (Clemson, SC; Charleston, SC; Genoa, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain). The School of Architecture is part of a College of Architecture, Arts and Construction. The college fosters theoretical understanding of design combined with practical knowledge, technical skills and a global mindset.
Clemson University is a top 25, Carnegie R1 public research university. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the land-grant institution of South Carolina with more than 27,000 students in over 200 degree programs. Main campus is located in the Upstate of South Carolina, the city of Clemson provides a small college-town setting.
Inclusive Excellence at the CUSoA In the last ten years the School of Architecture has increased the diversity in demographics both in faculty and students, but continues efforts to create a more equitable and inclusive environment. The architecture and preservation work of South Carolina and the South East region is consequently affected by the lack of diverse and inclusive voices in the preservation profession. We are a main educator of future generations of preservationists and our alumni’s careers take them across the United States.
It is imperative that this tenured/tenure-track candidate brings an inclusive pedagogy and a progressive approach to teaching, as well as an understanding of how equal representation in professional practice has a direct impact on the communities least represented in this field. This candidate is expected to have a clear understanding of history and to embrace the emerging culture of inclusivity.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications:
• Master’s degree in Historic Preservation or one of the allied disciplines which establishes academic credentials appropriate for national leadership in the field of historic preservation.
• An emerging trajectory for, or established record of, excellence in teaching, scholarship, and/or professional work in preservation practice.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication in the English language.
The MSHP program especially welcomes candidates with any of the following:
• Expertise researching, teaching, or professional work centering people in preservation of the built environment, possibly including emphasis on the social context of the built environment, material culture and materiality, and/or cultural landscapes.
• Evidence of excellence teaching in ‘applied learning,’ ‘experiential learning’ or ‘engaged community project’ mode.
• Ability to teach a broad range of historic preservation topics from foundational classes to specialized knowledge and skills.
• Experience advising students in their thesis research and writing or guiding student research in general.
• A Ph.D. in Historic Preservation or an allied field or professional licensure in an allied field.
• A record of nationally recognized scholarship, possibly including funded research.
• A record of collaborative professional practice experience, possibly including work with underrepresented groups and community engagement projects.
• The documented ability to develop new collaborations and partnerships for the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.
Application Instructions
Interested candidates should submit the following application materials to Interfolio:
http://apply.interfolio.com/137485
• Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of Interest (maximum three pages) outlining the candidate’s accomplishments in the following areas: 1. Teaching 2. Research, Scholarship, and/or Professional work. 3. Service, Mentorship, and Outreach 4. Committment to inclusive excellence
• Names and Contact information of three professional references
• A work sample, set of work samples, or portfolio of research/scholarship/creative activities, professional work, and teaching as applicable with a maximum of 30 pages and 30 MB file size
For full consideration, applications must be received by January 20, 2024 but will continue to be accepted until a suitable candidate is identified for the position.
Salary is commensurate with experience and competitive with Clemson’s national peer institutions in architecture.
The committee anticipates conducting brief video conference (Zoom) interviews the weeks of February 12 and February 19. We anticipate campus visits to be held the weeks of March 4 and March 11.
