The College of the Arts and the School of Art + Art History + Design at Portland State University invite applications for the James DePreist Visiting Professorship in Graphic Design, beginning Fall 2026. This is a full-time, fixed-term, non-renewable, three year position (1.0 FTE, 9-month). The DePreist Professorship honors the legacy of James DePreist, a visionary conductor and educator committed to access, equity, and excellence in the arts. This position reflects his values by supporting inclusive design education and broadening representation in the field of Graphic Design.
Created as a position to provide new educators with teaching experience and interactions with other university professionals, this position is intended to provide a well-rounded view of academic life through instruction, research, service, and outreach.
We are seeking a practicing designer and educator whose teaching and creative work show a commitment to supporting first year students as they build foundational skills, confidence, and a strong voice in Graphic Design. Candidates should have a forward-thinking design practice grounded in experimentation and inclusive design, with a broad perspective that spans analog, digital, and technological approaches.
We welcome applicants with a wide range of design interests and experiences—including, but not limited to, areas such as creative coding, UX/UI, extended reality (XR), motion, experiential design or speculative design.
This position also requires an engaged, community-minded educator looking to contribute to the development of a contemporary, equity-focused design curriculum, while mentoring students from diverse backgrounds in a highly collaborative environment.
This is a 1.0 FTE, three-year position, non-renewable. The position begins September 16, 2026.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Typically, a Full-time Fixed Term position teaches 36 credits during the three-quarter academic year. However, this position involves an instructional workload reduction of 8 credits for funded DEI community-engagement and outreach.
The successful candidate will have an active scholarly research agenda; a commitment to teaching lower division courses in the area of his/her/their expertise; and an interest in the possibility of engaging local underserved communities and the Multnomah public school system.
