Assistant Professor of Museum Studies

Assistant Professor of Museum Studies - 105770

The University of West Florida Department of Art & Design invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor of Museum Studies. This position will play a central role in developing the new interdisciplinary Minor in Museum Studies and expanding the Art History Major into Museum Studies, both designed to provide students with foundational knowledge and hands-on experience in museums, galleries, collections management, exhibition production, interpretation, preparatorship, and public-facing cultural work. The salary for this position will be commensurate with education and experience.

This initiative supports the university’s area of expertise in Public Archaeology and Community Heritage and is intended to serve undergraduate and graduate students in Art, Art History, History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Public History, Graphic Design, Arts Administration, and related disciplines. The program will leverage the University’s unique partnerships and resources, including TAG, The Art Gallery at UWF, the Pensacola Museum of Art, the Pensacola Museum of History, the Pensacola Children’s Museum, the UWF Historic Trust, the UWF Archaeology Institute, and the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN).

The successful candidate will contribute to the development and growth of the Museum Studies Minor and Art History and Museum Studies Major while also helping to guide The Art Gallery at UWF (TAG) as a teaching gallery, exhibition space, and experiential learning site. The position emphasizes interdisciplinary learning, applied museum practice, and student-centered professional development through coursework, internships, exhibitions, collections work, public programming, and collaborative cultural projects.

The faculty member will be housed in the Department of Art & Design in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of West Florida. The Department is strongly committed to fostering a welcoming, collaborative, and student-centered learning environment grounded in interdisciplinary practice, experiential learning, and community engagement.

Position Responsibilities

This is a full-time, tenure-earning position with benefits. The successful candidate will contribute to developing an interdisciplinary Museum Studies Minor and an Art History and Museum Studies Major, teaching courses across museum studies, curatorial practice, gallery operations, collections management, museum education, public history, and audience engagement.

Teaching responsibilities may include undergraduate courses within the Department of Art & Design, as well as courses that support interdisciplinary connections with History, Public History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Art Administration and related majors and programs. Depending on the candidate’s expertise, courses may address topics such as:

• Museum Studies
• Exhibition Practices
• Curatorial Methods
• Collections Management
• Museum Education and Interpretation
• Gallery Operations
• Preparatorship and Exhibition Installation
• Public History and Community Heritage
• Museum Writing and Audience Engagement
• Digital Interpretation and Public-Facing Cultural Work
• Art History
• Architectural History

The successful candidate should demonstrate the ability to curate exhibitions and develop exhibition-related learning opportunities in collaboration with TAG, the Pensacola Museum of Art, the UWF Historic Trust, the UWF Archaeology Institute, FPAN, and other regional museums, galleries, archives, archaeological organizations, and cultural institutions.

Experiential Learning & Museum and Gallery Engagement

The position connects classroom learning directly to applied gallery and museum practice by guiding exhibitions as a teaching opportunities and experiential learning sites, coordinating exhibition and experiential learning opportunities through partnerships with TAG, The Art Gallery at UWF, the Pensacola Museum of Art, the Pensacola Museum of History, the Pensacola Children’s Museum, the UWF Historic Trust, the UWF Archaeology Institute, and the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN). The faculty member will coordinate the department's experiential learning ecosystem, providing mentorship across all stages of exhibition production. This includes leading student-centered initiatives such as exhibition and event graphic design, administrative and preparatorial operations, and an annual faculty-partnered exhibition series that connects coursework with faculty research. Together, these opportunities allow students to engage in the full lifecycle of exhibitions—from concept development and design to installation, programming, and documentation—as the Assistant Professor strengthens curricular connections and expands partnerships with regional cultural institutions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Terminal degree, PhD, MFA, or equivalent, in Museum Studies, Art History, Public History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Arts Administration, Exhibition Design, Curatorial Studies, or a related field, completed by the start date of appointment.
• Professional experience in museums, galleries, archives, collections, cultural institutions, exhibition spaces, or related organizations.
• Teaching experience at the university level or demonstrated potential for effective undergraduate teaching.
• Demonstrated ability to support gallery, museum, exhibition, collections-based, or public-facing cultural learning experiences for undergraduate students.
• Demonstrated commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student professional development.

This position requires a commitment to collegiality, high-impact educational practices, scholarship and publication, professional development, academic citizenship, and community engagement. The successful candidate will teach face-to-face and online courses. Typical teaching load for faculty is 3/3 between the Fall and Spring semesters. The start date is August 8, 2027. Salary is commensurate with experience and pending available funding. Summer teaching assignments may be available depending on the curricular needs of the Department. Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing or teaching interdisciplinary Museum Studies coursework.
• Experience directing, managing, or coordinating a museum, university gallery, exhibition space, archive, collection, cultural program, or public-facing arts initiative.
• Experience with exhibition production, collections management, curatorial practice, museum education, preparatorship, archives, public programming, or cultural heritage interpretation.
• Experience curating exhibitions or developing exhibition-related projects in collaboration with museums, galleries, archives, archaeological organizations, public history sites, community-based cultural institutions, or university partners.
• Experience supporting experiential learning, internships, undergraduate research, project-based learning, or high-impact educational practices.
• Experience mentoring students in applied museum, gallery, exhibition, design, archival, or public history contexts.
• Ability to contribute to interdisciplinary collaboration across Art, Art History, Graphic Design, History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Public History, Arts Administration, and related fields.
• Experience working with student exhibition teams, design teams, preparator teams, gallery interns, or museum education programs.
• Experience teaching in multiple modalities, including in-person and online instruction.

Desired Areas of Expertise

Applicants may have expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Museum Studies
• Curatorial Studies
• Exhibition Design
• Gallery and Museum Administration
• Collections Management
• Museum Education
• Public History
• Cultural Heritage Interpretation
• Preparatorship
• Community-Based Cultural Work
• Digital Interpretation
• Arts Administration
• University Gallery Leadership
• Experiential Learning in Museums and Galleries

Candidates must apply online through the University of West Florida website:

https://careers.uwf.edu. Applicants are required to attach a cover letter, resume, and list of professional references to the online application. References will be contacted upon submission of this application. An opportunity to upload these documents will be provided during the application process. For assistance, please contact Human Resources at 850-474-2694 or email jobs@uwf.edu.

Start Date: 08/08/2027

Preferred Response Date: 12/1/2027

The University of West Florida is an Equal Opportunity/Access/Disabled/Veteran employer. Any individual requiring special accommodation to apply is requested to advise UWF by contacting UWF Human Resources at 850.474.2694 (voice) or 850.857.6158 (TTY). A criminal background check is required for successful candidates. E-Verify is required for employment. All applications for employment at the University are subject to the Florida public records.

The University of West Florida is located on a 1,600-acre nature preserve in Pensacola on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The Pensacola metro area has a population of over 300,000 and is home to numerous local, state, and federal law enforcement, court, and correctional agencies. UWF is a Carnegie doctoral/research university UWF enrolls over 15,000 students.