Posted: Oct 8, 2025

Assistant Professor of Visual Communication

Application Deadline: N/A

Providence College invites applications for a tenure-track position at the assistant professor level, beginning July 1, 2026, with scholarly expertise in visual communication. This will be a joint appointment between the Communication Program and the Department of Art & Art History. We seek candidates whose pedagogy attends to theory, history, analysis, and practice/production and who engage students in active learning and hands-on experience in Communication, Art History, Visual Culture Studies and/or related disciplines. Candidates should have a strong understanding of Communication, a general knowledge of the field and its history, and ability and/or experience teaching across course levels, including introductory and upper-level classes. Especially welcome are candidates whose scholarship addresses questions of diversity and equity in media representation, global perspectives, social justice, ethics, and the impact of new technologies including virtual and artificial constructs and their applications in media.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The normal teaching load will be three courses per semester, with class sizes of 12 to 25 students. Core assignments each year will include Visual Communication, Introduction to Communication, and upper-level electives. We seek scholars who are enthusiastic about the opportunity to design new courses in areas which reflect their interests and expertise. Our faculty are respected scholars with active research agendas who provide generous professional advice and mentoring for junior colleagues. Other support for research includes College-sponsored research grants, grant writing assistance, conference and research travel funds, individual discretionary funds, access to research librarians and other library resources, undergraduate research assistants, and opportunities for collaboration.

Education and Experience:

• Ph.D. in Communication, Art History, or a terminal degree in a related field. Candidates who are ABD and scheduled to defend prior to the position start date are also encouraged to apply.

• An active and ongoing research agenda in the areas related to the position as outlined above.

• Ability and willingness to teach a range of courses at the undergraduate level.

• A commitment to curricular innovation and interdisciplinarity.

Supplemental Information:

How to Apply: Applicants should possess a PhD (or be very close to completion) in Communication, Art History, or a terminal degree in a related field and will be asked to demonstrate evidence of teaching excellence, strong research skills, and potential for continued research productivity. Apply online at https://careers.providence.edu where you will submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, names and contact information for three references, evidence of commitment to innovative and inclusive teaching, a statement outlining your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and one or more samples of scholarly writing, either published or unpublished. For additional information, please contact Dr. Andrea McDonnell, search committee chair and Communication Program Director, at [email protected].

Deadline: For full consideration, your completed application should be submitted (see above) no later than October 10, 2025. Review of applications will commence as they are received, and will continue until the position is filled

The Department of Art & Art History at Providence College offers majors and minors in studio art and art history. We have two galleries on campus that focus on contemporary professional practice in the visual arts.

The Communication Program offers a major and minor in the history, theory, and contemporary application of media and communication. The minor, established in 2021, currently serves more than 100 students; the major is debuting during the 2025-26 academic year.

Salary, Benefits, and Resources: The position offers very competitive salary and benefits, generous annual and step salary increases, and campus amenities including fitness center, swimming pool and athletic facilities, free on-campus parking, chapels and meditation spaces, and information technology resources including MacOS and Windows desktop systems on secure campus networks.