Description

Assistant or Associate Professor 

Interior Design

Tenure Track – 9 Month

College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED)

Kent Campus – Kent, OH

[Job #986098]

Opportunity: The College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) at Kent State University seeks a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor in Interior Design with expertise in design and lighting, acoustics, and/or building materials and systems. Candidates should demonstrate strong design capabilities, expertise in lighting design, building acoustics, and/or building materials and methods; a clear research agenda, and demonstrated ability to teach in studio, seminar and lecture settings. The successful candidate will be expected to pursue and integrate design / creative work and/or scholarship/research into their teaching.

Minimum Requirements: The successful candidate must hold an advanced degree in Interior Design or related discipline. They should have demonstrated teaching experience, professional/scholarly engagement, innovative research and/or creative design practice with a commitment to interior design as a material practice and show promise for developing a national reputation through peer-reviewed scholarship/ research and or creative practice disseminated through leading venues. 

About CAED and Kent State: The CAED fosters integration of research and practice to address evolving environmental, societal, and technological challenges. The college is dedicated to advancing professional disciplines relating to the built environment and preparing graduates to lead in a rapidly changing world. Our programs engage in interdisciplinary collaboration across undergraduate offerings in Architecture, Interior Design and Construction Management, graduate programs in Architecture, Healthcare Design, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Construction Management, a research degree in Architecture and Environmental Design. Aligned university enterprises include Kent State’s highly ranked Fashion School, School of Visual Communication Design, College of the Arts, College of Aeronautics and Engineering, as well as the Advanced Materials and Environmental Science and Design Institutes, and Design Innovation Hub dedicated to design education that addresses global challenges and transforms lives. The CIDA accredited Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design program is dedicated to the understanding, development, and improvement of the building environment.  The interior design program prepares student to think critically, work creatively and design interior environments humanistically.  
 
In addition to a rich array of university assets, CAED resources include a branch architecture library, materials library, lighting lab, Fabrication Lab (equipped with CNC mills, a metal fabrication facility, woodworking and vacuum forming tools), and the Robotically Augmented Design Lab (RadLAB). The CAED’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC) provides opportunity for community engagement dedicated to the betterment of our region. Substantial international study opportunities include sponsored studio/course travel opportunities, study-abroad programs in Florence and Paris, traveling workshops, and sponsored workshop, lecture, and exhibition series. The CAED's 38 full-time faculty and administrators and over 1300 undergraduate and graduate students occupy the LEED Platinum 107,000 sq. ft. John Elliot Center for Architecture and Design designed by Weiss/Manfredi; the newly renovated Beall Hall, Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative in downtown Cleveland; and the Palazzo Vettori in the historic center of Florence, Italy.  

Located midway between New York and Chicago in the Cleveland/Akron metro area, Kent State is an R1 research university in the heart of a burgeoning cultural and industrial region that is home to some of the world’s finest art museums, parks, universities, restaurants, theaters, music venues, and independent cinemas. These include recent buildings and landscapes such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Playhouse Square, Akron Art Museum designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, James Corner, Frank Gehry, Farshid Moussavi, NADAAA, Laurie Olin, Stanley Saitowitz, and Rafael Viñoly, to name a few. For more information on Kent State see: http://www.kent.edu/ and the CAED at http://www.kent.edu/caed/.

 
Application Process:  Apply online at: http://jobs.kent.edu (search by position 986098). Submit:

1)      Letter of interest outlining vision for interior design education, a teaching philosophy and research agenda.

2)      Curriculum Vitae

3)      Portfolio (Max 10MB) with research/scholarship, creative work, and teaching evidence, (e.g., course syllabi and examples of student work)

4)      Contact information for three references

Review begins January 15, 2026. Full consideration will be given to applicants who have submitted by February 15, 2026.  For inquiries, contact Search Committee Chair Tina Patel at tpatel10@kent.edu. 

Kent State University is committed to creating a community that is culturally and intellectually diverse and to attracting and retaining a diverse staff. We strive to create and maintain working and learning environments that respect differences, and are inclusive, welcoming, respectful and kind.