Art Education

Teaching Assistant Professor in Illustration and/or Computer Animation School of Art & Design, Studio Art Program University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign   The School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure-track Teaching Assistant Professor position in Illustration and/or Computer Animation within the Studio Art Program. We seek two dynamic artist-educators whose practices engage traditional and digital media in the service of storytelling, expression, and creative communication. This unified search reflects our program’s commitment to cultivating interdisciplinary learning while also maintaining disciplinary clarity. Candidates may apply for either the Illustration or the Computer Animation position, or both, depending on their area(s) of expertise. This search supports growing curricular demand and student interest in both illustration and animation at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The successful candidate(s) will contribute to our vibrant studio community and help shape future curricula that advance critical, inclusive, and cross-disciplinary creative practices. About the School of Art & Design Located within the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the School of Art & Design is home to a diverse and vibrant community of artists, designers, and scholars. We support interdisciplinary and socially engaged creative practices and offer a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Our Studio Art program emphasizes both technical excellence and conceptual rigor, encouraging students to explore the intersections of art, technology, and culture. For more about our programs and values, visit art.illinois.edu. Application Guidance To ensure clarity in review and evaluation, applicants must indicate in their cover letter whether they are applying for:

• The Illustration position, • The Computer Animation position, or • Both positions.

Applicants should tailor materials accordingly, highlighting their qualifications for the relevant role(s). Position 1: Teaching Assistant Professor in Illustration We seek an accomplished illustrator whose dynamic, versatile practice engages both traditional and digital media. The ideal candidate will demonstrate expertise in several of the following areas:

• Foundational drawing (gesture, perspective, and anatomy) • Collage and mixed media • Digital painting and coloring (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate) • Serialized storytelling and storyboarding • Visual development for games/media • Traditional media, including ink, watercolor, and gouache • Freelance or commission-based illustration practices

The successful candidate will develop curricula for both the Master's program in Game Studies and Design and the undergraduate minor (offered in person and online) through collaborative efforts between the School of Information Sciences and the School of Art & Design. They will also work across disciplines, particularly with colleagues in the College of Fine & Applied Arts and Information Sciences, on initiatives related to visual storytelling and game development.   Position 2: Teaching Assistant Professor in Computer Animation We seek a digital or computational artist with a robust practice in animation, game development, and narrative media. Ideal candidates will demonstrate expertise in at least two of the following areas, with openness to a broad, interdisciplinary approach:

• 2D and 3D animation workflows • Digital painting and texturing • 3D modeling, rendering, and rigging • Storyboarding and narrative design • Game engine integration (Unity, Unreal) • Freelance or commission-based media production

The successful candidate will develop curricula for both the Master's program in Game Studies and Design and the undergraduate minor (offered in person and online) through collaborative efforts between the School of Information Sciences and the School of Art & Design. This includes shaping an inclusive, forward-looking animation curriculum that integrates technical fluency, cultural critique, and media experimentation. They will also collaborate across disciplines, particularly with colleagues in the College of Fine & Applied Arts and the School of Information Sciences, on initiatives related to visual storytelling and game development. Courses May Include The following are representative courses taught within the Illustration and New Media concentrations. Exact course assignments will be based on expertise and program needs:

• Beginning Illustration
• Composition and Storytelling
• Digital Coloring
• Advanced Illustration
• Observational Drawing
• Visualization Drawing
• Expressive Drawing
• Life Drawing
• Beginning & Intermediate Painting
• Image Practice
• Time Arts I
• The Art of 3D Imaging
• Interaction I
• Graduate Studio (Online, MS in Game Development)

  Minimum Qualifications (Both Positions)

• Terminal or advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., studio art, illustration, animation, game development, computational media) • Professional experience in relevant creative industry sectors • Demonstrated experience teaching or mentoring in both academic and/or professional settings • Technical fluency with industry-standard software and digital workflows • Engagement with contemporary critical discourse in media, culture, and storytelling

We welcome applicants whose research and creative practices expand or challenge dominant narratives in the fields of illustration and animation. This may include, but is not limited to, work that engages with underrepresented histories, global perspectives, emergent media, or innovative modes of storytelling and image-making. We are particularly interested in candidates whose teaching and practice demonstrate sensitivity to a wide range of cultural frameworks, lived experiences, and ways of knowing. Appointment Information This is a 100% full-time Teaching Assistant Professor position, appointed on a nine-month basis. The expected start date is August 2026. The budgeted salary range for the position is $62,500–$70,000. Final salary offered will be determined by a thorough assessment of available market data, internal salary equity, candidate experience and qualifications, collective bargaining agreements, and budget constraints. Application Procedures & Deadline Information Applications must be received by 11:59 pm (Central Time) on December 1, 2025. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. Required materials:

• Cover letter (indicating Illustration, Computer Animation, or both) • Curriculum vitae • Teaching statement • Portfolio of creative work (PDF or link to online portfolio) • Samples of student work (if available) • Names and contact information for three references

For further information about this specific position, please contact Bobbie Clegg at bjclegg@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137. The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits. The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify. Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu.

Assistant/Associate Professor in User Experience and User Interface Design (Tenure-Track)

School of Art & Design

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign   The School of Art & Design, housed within the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, invites applications for two full-time tenure-track faculty positions in User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, with an anticipated start date of August 16, 2026. These positions will play a central role in the development and instruction of the BS in Computer Science + Design degree, a collaborative program that bridges design and technology. Faculty will contribute to three programs including Graphic Design, Industrial Design and Studio Art to foster interdisciplinary teaching and research. We seek a candidate with a terminal degree (MFA, PhD, or equivalent) in a field engaging art, design, and computation. The ideal candidate will be both a practicing artist/critical designer—with a strong record of public engagement through exhibitions, installations, and/or performances—and a researcher whose writing and publishing investigate the social, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions of computation. Candidates should demonstrate expertise in computational media and contribute through creative interventions in areas such as but not limited to: • Artificial Intelligence as medium and cultural system • Platform culture, computational logics, and interface aesthetics • Digital rights, privacy, and ethics of computation • Race, gender, and technology • Algorithmic bias, equity, and social justice • Design for Accessibility • Bio-art, Art–science, Data Visualization, and emerging crossover disciplines, including Behavioral Sciences • Code as art We are looking for an artist-designer-researcher whose creative practice and critical inquiry together advance new ways of engaging with computation, interface, and interaction in their wider cultural, social, and political dimensions. Context: The School of Art & Design The School of Art and Design supports interdisciplinary and socially engaged creative practices and offers a range of programs, including undergraduate and/or graduate degrees and concentrations in Art Education, Art History, Fashion, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Design for Responsible Innovation, New Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Studio Art. Our School emphasizes both technical excellence and conceptual rigor, encouraging students to challenge themselves and use their creative skills in building a better, more just and sustainable world. In all areas, student and faculty work is supported by state-of-the-art labs for traditional and contemporary media, including spaces for digital imaging and printing, audio-visual production, rapid two- and three-dimensional prototyping, and darkroom photography. Facilities for bookbinding, letterpress, printmaking, and fashion design are also available. Teaching Responsibilities: The teaching load includes two courses per semester. The successful candidate will teach courses that position computation as an artistic and critical design medium, ranging from introductory coding for creative practice to advanced, research-driven practice and method-based seminars. Areas of teaching could include (but are not limited to): computational art, critical interface design, interactive art, data art, information art, net art, and related emerging practices. The candidate will contribute to both undergraduate and graduate curricula, mentor students across disciplines, and help shape the evolving identity of computational art and critical design within the School of Art and Design. Minimum Qualifications • Terminal degree (MFA, PhD, or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. • Evidence of an active creative practice with a strong record of public engagement through exhibition, installation, and/or performance. • Evidence of critical research through writing, publishing, or equivalent scholarly contributions that engage computational media, design, and the arts. • Demonstrated potential for excellence in teaching, mentoring, and curriculum development at both undergraduate and graduate levels. • Commitment to fostering an inclusive academic environment and contributing to the diversity of the School and University. Preferred Qualifications: • PhD in relevant discipline. • Familiarity with and a critical perspective on historical approaches to experience design. • Practice, teaching, and/or research that connect to one or more of the following areas of design: Gender and Design, Equity and Design, Indigenous Design  Knowledges, and Design Futures. • Familiarity with liberatory pedagogical approaches. • A critical perspective on social biases embedded in technological systems. • Experience teaching in a program that integrates Design, Technology, and Science. Application Materials: • A cover letter addressing qualifications and research/creative practice. • Curriculum vitae. • Portfolio of scholarly and creative work. • Research Statement. • A teaching portfolio, including a teaching statement, one or two sample syllabi, and (if possible) student work. • Names and contact information for three references.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Assistant/Associate Professor position, appointed on a nine-month basis. The expected start date is August 2026. The budgeted salary range for the position is $75,000 to $80,000 at the Assistant Professor level and $88,000 to $95,000 at the Associate Professor level, for a nine-month service basis. Final salary offered will be determined by a thorough assessment of available market data, internal salary equity, candidate experience and qualifications, collective bargaining agreements, and budget constraints.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 6:00 pm (CST) on December 8, 2025. Interviews may begin prior to the initial closing date; however, the review of applications will continue until suitable candidates are identified. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact Bobbie Clegg at bjclegg@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.  

The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits.

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The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal, or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu.

Art Education Professor Dr. Laura Hetrick named a 2025-2026 Center for Advanced Study Associate. CAS Associates are tenured University of Illinois faculty members whose proposals are selected in an annual competition. These appointments grant one semester of teaching release time in order to pursue an individual scholarly or creative project. With the Professors and Fellows, they form the core of the Center for Advanced Study Community. Associates also participate in a yearly roundtable discussion of research interests and are invited to offer a future CAS presentation. https://cas.illinois.edu/person/laura-hetrick Professor Hetrick will use her CAS release time appointment to further two ongoing projects. She will continue working on her edited volume tentatively entitled, Neurodivergent Narratives of Navigating Academia: In Our Own Words, composed of the personal narratives and strategies that various neurodivergent faculty use to navigate academia, the accommodations they need to better accomplish their jobs, the perceived strengths their neurotype afforded them in their position, and their insights regarding how academic institutions can better work with and support their neurodivergent faculty. She will also work on finalizing her solo authored book, currently titled A Flamingo Among Penguins: Growing up Undiagnosed Autistic. This autistic autoethnography focuses on her own autistic lived experiences, while keeping her intellectual and speaking privileges in mind, and connects them to wider cultural, political and social meanings, understandings, and conditions. Instead of someone else interviewing her and writing her story from their (neurotypical) perspective, Professor Hetrick owns her own story. Both of these texts answer the call from the autism community for more autistic authors talking about the autistic lived experience. In other words, nothing about us without us.  

Lori Fuller was recently on WCIA for her art education program with older adults with memory loss at Savoy Place. The video may be viewed here  

Art Education PhD candidate, Jean Carlos Valentin Velilla received a Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship. Jean Carlos will continue his arts-based autoethnographical and sociological work on queer male Puerto Rican arts teachers. Congratulations Jean Carlos!

Grace Eunhye Bae (Art Education) is a member of the 24–25 graduate cohort for “Collisions Across Color Lines,” the third Interseminars project funded by the Mellon Foundation. Grace shares how her experiences and interests connect with Interseminars. In what ways do your research interests connect to the theme “Collisions Across Color Lines?”

Dr. Jorge Lucero was recently featured in Amy Jackson's article, "What’s Your Artistic Practice? How Art21, Curating, and Jorge Lucero Made Me Feel Like an Artist Again" in Art 21.

Dr. Laura Hetrick and her team, Dr. Stephanie Ceman, Cell and Developmental Biolgoy, and Dr. Tracey Wszalek, Director of Beckman’s Biomedical Imaging Center and Co-Director of the Carle Illinois Advanced Imaging Center are included in the 2023-2024 Beckman Institute Annual Report. Reimagining autism in research is on page 20 of the report here.

Dr. Laura Hetrick was named a Humanities Research Initiative Summer Fellow for her research, “Auto-ethnography of an Autistic Professor: Navigating a Neurodiverse Academic Life.” This award supported research preparation for my solo authored book about being an autistic professor that I will begin drafting in fall 2024 during use of an approved Humanities Release Time award. Specifically, I will travel to a United States Society for Education through Art (USSEA) regional conference in Santa Fe, NM where I have two accepted proposals to speak on my autistic lived experiences. These two presentations’ scripted notes and any audience feedback will be later turned into respective chapters of the book.

Sharayah Cochran, Art History was recently named as a Humanities Research Institute Graduate Fellow. Grace Eunhyn Bae, Art Education and Samantha Jenae Jones, Design for Responsible Innovation, were named as Graduate Fellows of the Interseminars Initiative, 2024-2025 CONGRATULATIONS!  

Laura Hetrick, with Stephanie Ceman and Tracey Wszalek were recently interviewed in Smile Politely, "An unlikely team with a new approach to autism research" by Lauren Cravens.

Realist Artist Jennifer Cronin’s Upcoming Solo Exhibition Takes Us on a Cosmic Journey Chicago: Elephant Room Gallery is thrilled to present artist Jennifer Cronin’s 5th solo exhibition at the gallery entitled “Star Stuff”, opening on Friday, September 20th from 6 to 9pm. The exhibition will be on view through October 26th. The gallery is located at 704 S Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop Neighborhood. More information can be found on the gallery’s website: www.elephantroomgallery.com Jennifer Cronin is known for her uncanny realism from her large scale figurative oil paintings to her meticulous pencil drawings. Over the past few years, her work has moved into a magical realm of neon colors, mysterious shapes and luminism. Her latest body of work in “Star Stuff” takes inspiration from the night sky, finding pieces of cosmic mystery in our everyday landscapes. Even though the work is dark, it is not sad or complacent. It invokes a connection to something outside of ourselves: distant galaxies, the passage of time, and the mystery of our existence. “Star Stuff” is about all of us: where we are from, where we are and where we are going. For Cronin, this work is a reflection of her growth as an artist and as a human being. Cronin pulls inspiration for her subject matter from her own surroundings on frequent walks in her neighborhood in Chicago. “…I can still find pieces of it everywhere. The dotting of artificial lights across a landscape, or the mysterious je ne sais quoi of a liminal space in the alleyway. Stories of this urban landscape are not that different from the stories of an endless night sky. I can find it right here–reasons to be, moments of cosmic mystery, connection to something outside of myself, the thrill of being alive in this very time and space.” - Cronin   Jennifer Cronin is a Chicago-based visual artist known for her realistic paintings that explore the mystery and complexity of everyday life. Cronin’s work has evolved many times over, delving into psychology, income inequality, and climate change. Her most recent work celebrates the mundane, infusing quotidian scenes with a sense of magic and mystery. In support of her forthcoming body of work, Jennifer was awarded grants by the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and Chicago DCASE. Jennifer’s work has been featured on NPR, Newcity, and Sixty Inches from Center and included in exhibitions at the Elmhurst Art Museum, Museo Internazionale Italia Arte, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Jennifer received her BFA in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is represented by Elephant Room Gallery in Chicago. The artwork in this series was funded by a grant from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, and partially supported by an Individual Artists Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Art Education Associate Professor Laura Hetrick was recently in an article published by the Beckman Institute "With, not on: Reimagining autism in research" by Jenna Kurtzweil.

Pethumanity | Thursday, February 1 – Saturday, March 2, 2024 | Opening Reception: Thursday, February 1, 2024 | 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Kamila Glowacki (BFA 2013 Art Education & Painting / MA 2018 Art Education) is the 2023 IAEA Art Education Museum Educator of the Year. Kamila Glowacki is employed at Krannert Art Museum. Annually, the IAEA recognizes the top art, design, and media educators for their excellence and service to the field. The IAEA awards and scholarship committee found Kamila Glowacki’s professional performance, service, and leadership to be exemplary in every regard and selected her for this recognition. The Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA) is the premier professional development provider for art, design, and media educators in Illinois. The organization serves thousands of teachers statewide through a wide range of programs and services. Learn more at ilaea.org.

The School of Art + Design and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology are pleased to announce that Associate Professor of Art Education and Beckman member Laura J Hetrick has been named a 2023-2024 OpEd/Public Voices Fellow.  One of only 20 scholars selected from across the University of Illinois system to participate in this prestigious fellowship, Professor Hetrick will join her cohort of Public Voices Fellows in crafting her research and expertise in ways that can contribute to public conversations of our age. The Public Voices Fellowship is a national program initiated with scholars from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, and has since grown to include the nation’s top universities.  The Public Voice Fellowship aims to increase the public impact and presence of our nation’s top underrepresented thinkers.  This one-year Fellowship includes interactive seminars and monthly sessions with media insiders including NYT, CNN, and TED. The overreaching goal of the Public Voices Fellowship is to assist the Fellows with producing tangible thought leadership, including op-eds, radio/TV appearances, speeches, and TED talks.  As a scholar of art education, with research interests now focusing on her autistic lived experience, Professor Hetrick aims to redress the absence of information that is vital to better understand, support, and engage with some autistic individuals, recognizing that no two autistics are alike. Some of the concepts that she will address are intricacies such as masking/social camouflaging (a performance of neurotypicality aiding in hiding autistic traits to assuage potential bullying); imagining a radial spectrum as opposed to linear (to eradicate the hierarchy between high and low functioning labels); recognizing autistics as having heightened double empathy as opposed to no empathy; and considering neurotypical and neurodivergent as different operating systems (neurotypes). Hetrick said, “My hope is that by engaging with my work, people will have a heighted awareness of the perspectives of autistic people. I want to use my own voice to (re)educate the public on the actuality of what life is like from inside the highly misunderstood, yet vividly colourful autistic world that I inhabit daily.”

Alexandria, VA—The National Art Education Association has named Jorge Lucero, of Urbana, IL, as the recipient of the 2023 National Higher Education Art Educator Award. This prestigious award, determined through a peer review of nominations, recognizes the exemplary contributions, service, and achievements of one outstanding NAEA member annually at the National level within their division. The award will be presented during the NAEA 2023 National Convention in San Antonio. NAEA President James Haywood Rolling, Jr. states, "This award is being given to recognize excellence in professional accomplishment and service by a dedicated art educator. Jorge Lucero exemplifies the highly qualified art educators active in education today: leaders, teachers, students, scholars, and advocates who give their best to their students and the profession." Founded in 1947, the National Art Education Association is the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts educators. Members include elementary, middle, and high school visual arts educators; college and university professors; university students preparing to become art educators; researchers and scholars; teaching artists; administrators and supervisors; and art museum educators—as well as more than 54,000 students who are members of the National Art Honor Society. We represent members in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, U.S. Possessions, most Canadian Provinces, U.S. military bases around the world, and many foreign countries. The mission of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) champions creative growth and innovation by equitably advancing the tools and resources for a high-quality visual arts, design, and media arts education throughout diverse populations and communities of practice. For more information about the association and its awards program, visit the NAEA website at www.arteducators.org