News + Opportunities

Deborah J. Norden Fund
Travel/Study Grants
Call for Applications

Application Deadline
April 16, 2012

About the Norden Fund
The Deborah J. Norden Fund, established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden, awards a total of up to $5,000 annually in travel/study grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies. For a list of past winners, click here.

The Deborah J. Norden Fund is administered by the Architectural League of New York.

How to Apply
Applicants must submit a proposal (maximum three pages), which succinctly describes the objectives of the grant request and how it will contribute to the applicant’s intellectual and creative development. The grant amount requested (up to $5,000) must be specified. The submission should also include a résumé of not more than two pages and a projected project schedule and budget for travel and other costs. An addendum of not more than four pages may include images, maps, or other supporting material.  Two letters of recommendation must be requested from individuals who are knowledgeable about the applicant’s ability and project.

Eligibility
The fund may award one or more grants. Applicants must reside in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. The application process is extremely competitive. The intention of the fund is to support genuinely independent projects that require travel. Grant funds cannot be used for tuition, and grants will not be awarded to support an individual’s participation in an organized program, such as a university’s summer abroad program. While requests for support of dissertation research will be considered, they are not a priority of the fund. Preference will be given to strong proposals from applicants who have not had this sort of opportunity before.

Submission Requirements
Applicants must submit their proposal, résumé, schedule and budget, and optional addendum, digitally as letter-size PDFs. The applicant’s name and project title must appear on the first page of the proposal. PDFs should be emailed to Gabriel Silberblatt, at silberblatt@archleague.org by midnight April 16, 2012. Faxed or mailed applications will not be accepted. Late applications will not be accepted. The two letters of recommendation should be sent by the recommenders directly to the Architectural League by mail or email PDF; letters of recommendation must be received or postmarked by April 16, 2012.

Letters of recommendation should be sent to:

Deborah J. Norden Fund
The Architectural League
of New York
594 Broadway, Suite 607
New York, NY 10012.

PDF recommendations should be emailed to: silberblatt@archleague.org.

Announcement
Awards will be announced in early June 2012.

Publication
Travel Reports from the Deborah J. Norden Fund, a publication documenting the first ten years of Norden Fund grants, was published in January 2007. For more information, click here.

For more information
Email silberblatt@archleague.org or call 212.753.1722 x10.

Through our two-year Echoing Green Fellowship program, we provide start-up capital and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity of their social enterprise. We offer:

• A stipend of $80,000 for individuals (or $90,000 for 2-person partnerships) paid in four equal installments over two years
  A health insurance stipend
  A yearly professional development stipend
  Conferences led by organizational development experts
  Access to technical support and pro bono partnerships to help grow your organization
  A community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and public service leaders, including the Echoing Green network of nearly 500 alumni working all over the world

Application Cycle & Dates

The Echoing Green Fellowship selection process is highly competitive. Applicants progress through three application stages with eliminations after each phase. By the end of the process, Echoing Green will have narrowed the 2500+ applications to 12-20 fellowships. The 2012 Fellows will begin their fellowship July 2012 and continue until June 30, 2014.

The application dates are announced early Fall each year with applications accepted during an open call in late fall / early winter.

2012 Application Cycle Dates:
•    December 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm Noon EST: Phase 1 of application opens to all eligible applicants.
•    January 9, 2012 at 12:00 pm Noon EST: Phase 1 of application closes
•    Early February 2012: Semifinalists announced and invited to complete expanded application. All applicants notified of results by email.
•    Late February 2012: Semifinal applications due.
•    April 2012: Finalists announced.
•    May 10-12, 2012: Finalist interviews in NYC.
•    June 2012: Fellows announced.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship:

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
  Applicants must have sufficient English fluency to participate in interviews and Echoing Green events.
  Organization must be the original idea of the applicant.
  Organization must be in a start-up phase. To be considered a start-up, the organization may have been in operation for up to two years, and Echoing Green's financial support should qualify it as significant early funder. Applicants who have only worked on their organization on a part-time basis or have yet to start the organization are generally considered eligible.
  Organization must be independent and autonomous. Organizations cannot be considered independent or autonomous if they are started under the direction of an existing organization. The applicant must be the primary decision maker for the organization’s development and management. Generally, organizations with fiscal sponsors are still considered autonomous.
  Applicants must make a full-time commitment (minimum 35 hours per week) to the organization's development for the duration of the two-year fellowship. It is expected that all selected fellows resign from their current employment to dedicate themselves full-time to their initiatives. Students will not be eligible for their fellowship stipend if their organization is put on hold due to conflicts with their studies.
  Partnerships (organizations co-founded and led by two individuals) may apply. Both partners must meet all eligibility requirements and make a full-time commitment of no fewer than 35 hours per week to the development of the organization.
  Applicants can be citizens of any nationality and their organizations can be based in any country. However applicants based in the US must have legal status to work in the US. If you are authorized to work in the US, but this status is granted to you through your current employer and you are only authorized to work for that employer, you are not eligible to apply for a US-based proposal.
  Applicants must commit to attending Echoing Green's training conferences if selected as fellows. All new fellows attend a conference in summer the year they are selected, as well as a winter conference for two years. Echoing Green covers all expenses related to these events and will announce the dates a few months prior to each conference.

Note: Organizations may be for-profit or non-profit.

The following proposals are not eligible for consideration for an Echoing Green Fellowship:

• Expansion of an existing organization that is past its start-up phase
  Research projects
  Lobbying activities
  Faith-based initiatives (In this context, faith-based implies that you are associated with a religious institution or are promoting a specific faith; if your work has a spiritual basis but is not tied to any specific religion or faith, you may be eligible for consideration)
  Recipients of prior Echoing Green funding
  

Assessment Criteria

Applications for the Echoing Green Fellowship are evaluated on several criteria to assess both the strength of the applicants as well as the strength of the idea. Here are the main components of assessment:

1. The Applicant(s):

• Purpose / Passion – Applicant exhibits strong passion and commitment for the program area in which they plan to work, as well as personal integrity
  Resilience – Applicant has demonstrated ability to overcome obstacles
  Leadership – Applicant has demonstrated leadership potential
  Ability to Attract Resources – Applicant is a “Resource Magnet,” capable of attracting money, people and other resources to cause

2. The Organization / Idea:

• Innovation – Organization is innovative and demonstrates new approach
  Importance – Organization addresses serious social problem
  Potential for Big, Bold Impact – Organization has clear potential for tangible impact to the beneficiary population and either has potential for effecting systemic change (e.g., policy change, societal change, influence in their field) and/or demonstrates potential for replication and growth
  A Good Business Model – Organization has clear and compelling mission and objectives, and has given real thought to program development and delivery, ways to measure success, raising money, and other key factors indicating potential for sustainability.

Additionally, for applicants applying as a partnership, Echoing Green evaluates the strength of the partnership and the commitment of both individuals to the organization.

The Architecture + Design Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst seeks an individual with expertise in Design and Digital Media. The position is Assistant Professor, tenure-track, beginning September 2012. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Candidates must hold an accredited degree in architecture; and a terminal professional or academic degree in architecture or allied field. An advanced degree in one of the humanities is preferred. Candidates must also demonstrate significant professional or academic experience in digital design and interdisciplinary design practice or research.

We seek applicants who are engaged in digital media practice and/or scholarship with a strong background in critical studies and an interest in integrated digital communication in the public sphere.

The candidate should have substantial experience creating, interpreting, and applying the technologies of the digital world. Strong emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary instruction and research, with collaborations within and outside the department. The successful candidate will playa major role in shaping the digital design curricula in the Architecture + Design program (Department of Art, Architecture, and Art History), and the digital humanities initiatives in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Submit letter of application, curriculum vitae, documentation of professional work, SASE and the names of three references who have agreed to write on your behalf (DO NOT send letters of reference). We welcome course materials, syllabi, examples of student work and a statement of teaching philosophy.

Send application materials to:

Digital Design Search Committee
Department of Art, Architecture, Art History
Fine Arts Center (Room 457)
151 President's Drive
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-9330.

Deadline for first consideration: February 1, 2012.
UMass Amherst is a member of the Academic Career Network, a resource for dual-career couples (http://acn.fivecolleges.edu/). The University is a member of the Five College Consortium along with Amherst, Hampshire, Smith and Mt. Holyoke colleges. The department is committed to developing a more diverse faculty, student body, and curriculum. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.

Hampshire College, an independent, innovative liberal arts institution, in collaboration with Mount Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the Five College consortium, is accepting applications for a Five College Assistant Professor of Sustainable Architecture. We seek an architect and educator to teach studio architecture courses that foreground sustainability- as both a practice and a philosophy. We are searching for experienced and diverse applicants who are able to combine engaged teaching with creative inquiry within the context of an experimental, rigorous liberal arts education.  The ability to work cooperatively with faculty, students and staff of various backgrounds is essential; cross-cultural considerations are expected.

We seek an architect with a clearly articulated specialization in sustainability-  although the range of disciplines and arenas in which sustainability is positioned might range broadly- from environmental design, landscape or urban studies, to historic preservation and adaptive reuse, and from cultural studies to eco-criticism, and/or aesthetic theory. Our ideal candidate will teach design from the position that sustainability is a critical mindset and a methodological principal, as much as a set of technical practices; he/she must be committed to approaching their teaching from this perspective- at all studio levels from foundational to advanced. This full-time professor will approach sustainability as an integrated process that embraces many arenas of theoretical investigation and design practice, and that intersects with economics, history, planning, engineering, politics, the physical, cognitive and biological sciences, as well as other image, object, spatial, or text-based arts.

A master’s degree in architecture or design (or its equivalent) is required; M.Arch and/or PhD are preferred. Expertise in sustainability issues is also required, demonstrated through graduate study or through publication and/or practice. Teaching experience and an active professional record are expected. This position will be based in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at Hampshire College, and shared with the Architectural Studies Program at Mount Holyoke College and Architecture + Design Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The teaching load is 4 courses per year, plus theses committees and advising; all faculty are expected to maintain their design and scholarly practices, and to contribute to college and program governance. This is a continuing position, with a generous sabbatical leave policy of one semester off at full pay every six semesters, as well as start up funds from the Mellon Foundation.

The successful candidate will work closely with faculty members and students at all five of the consortial campuses, which are located within 12 miles of each other in western Massachusetts.  Programs include a combined undergraduate certificate in Sustainability studies and coordinated offerings in Architectural Studies and the built environment. There are campus-based programs in architecture, landscape, and environmental studies at Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst along with graduate programs in Architecture + Design and Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at UMass Amherst. Our combined resources are extraordinaryundefinedincluding five integrated library collections, outstanding museums and galleries, and farm and agricultural centers. The Five Colleges are also home to a number of technologically advanced studios and laboratories, including (for example) The Miller Worley Center for the Environment at Mount Holyoke College, the Hampshire College Creativity Center, and the Center for Design Engagement and the Environmental Institute at UMass.

We will begin reading applications January 13, 2012. Please submit: a letter of application describing your approach to teaching sustainable architecture, and outlining your design, research and scholarly interests; a CV; names/contact information for three professional references; samples of professional work; and representative syllabi or course proposals via our website at http://jobs.hampshire.edu/

An anti-disciplinary research organization, the Media Lab focuses on the invention of new technologies that radically improve the way people live, learn, express, work, and play. Candidates should have a record of original thinking, action, and impact in the arts, design, and quality of life. Applicants should be willing to take risks commensurate with the Media Lab’s willingness to look beyond known boundaries and disciplines.

Successful candidates will establish and lead their own research group within the Media Lab; pursue creative work of highest international standard; engage in collaborative projects with corporate members and other Media Lab research groups; supervise master’s and doctoral students; and participate in the Media Arts and Sciences academic program.

The Media Lab welcomes applications from candidates interested in establishing research programs in: music, performance, arts, design, food, fashion, architecture, games, things we have not thought of, or any combination thereof.

Appointments will be within the Media Arts and Sciences academic program, principally at the assistant professor level. A doctorate is not necessary, but evidence of extreme creativity is.

Application deadline: February 1, 2012

The Media Lab is building a diverse community of scholars, and strongly encourages applications from women and members of under-represented groups.

Questions? Contact faculty-search@media.mit.edu

Download a pdf of this announcement.

Design and Planning of Sustainable Built Environments

The Architecture + Design Program in the Department of Art, Architecture, and Art History, and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst seek an Assistant Professor in design and planning of sustainable buildings and communities. This is a joint hire intended to foster interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach. The tenure home of the new faculty member will be the Architecture + Design Program of the Department of Art,

Architecture, and Art History. The successful candidate will have a 50% appointment within the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. The position includes teaching and advising undergraduate and graduate students, research efforts, and maintaining collaborative ties between the two Departments.

The successful candidate will have a focus in one or more areas of sustainable design and development, demonstrated through research, peer-reviewed publications, and/or creative work, and will possess the capacity to integrate scholarly work across the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and planning. S/he will teach community-based studios and lecture/seminar courses with a primary focus on sustainable systems. The faculty member will have the opportunity to collaborate with other faculty through the new UMass Design Center at Springfield, along with the existing design and planning centers affiliated with UMass.

Required:

Professional degree in architecture (NAAB accredited BArch, MArch, or DArch, or international equivalents);
Appropriate terminal degree in architecture, or landscape architecture (MArch or MLA), or PhD in planning (or a closely related field);
Demonstrated commitment to and expertise in sustainability and community-based design and/or planning;
and Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines.

Preferred:

Strong record of creative activity and/or research, funding, and teaching experience beyond graduate school;
Licensure in architecture, landscape architecture, and/or AICP;
Doctoral degree, or significant professional experience;
Degrees and/or experience working in multiple disciplines;
Proficiency with digital technology;
and Knowledge of contemporary critical discourse in academic/professional field. 

Tenure track, beginning September 2012. 
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Application deadline January 17, 2012.

To apply electronically (strongly encouraged), submit a letter of purpose that contains a statement of teaching and research methods/philosophy, CV, samples of creative work and/or research, and the names of three references who have agreed to write on your behalf to https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/1225. Committee may ask for comprehensive portfolios and/or publications from short-listed candidates. Complete applications can also be submitted by postal mail to: Chair, Design and Planning Search Committee, Architecture + Design Program, University of Massachusetts, 353 Fine Arts Center, 151 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003-9330.

UMass Amherst is a member of the Academic Career Network, a resource for dual-career couples (http://acn.fivecolleges.edu), and is also a member of the Five College Consortium, along with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke colleges. Both Departments are committed to developing a more diverse faculty, student body, and curriculum. UMass Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.

Under the program’s innovative structure, the Rose Fellows work deeply in communities for three years, forging community ties, developing leadership skills, and expanding the capacity of their local host organizations to execute projects with the best possible designs, meaningful community engagement, and the most advanced green building features.

The 2012-14 Enterprise Rose Architecture Fellowship Class are:

Sam Beall, Fellowship Host: Cathedral Square Corporation I Burlington, VT: Read More

Sam Carlsen, Fellowship Host: Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation I Saint Paul, MN: Read More

Mark Matel, Fellowship Host: Nuestra Comunidad Development Center I Boston, MA: Read More

Ceara O'Leary, Fellowship Host: Detroit Collaborative Design Center I Detroit, MI: Read More

Nathan Poel, Fellowship Host: Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing (ORFH) I Yakima, WA: Read More

To learn more about the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship: http://www.rosefellowship.org/index.php

The application procession is now open for the next class of IDEO.org fellows.

The IDEO.org Fellowship Program enables future global leaders from the design, business, and social sectors to spend one year working with experienced IDEO designers to address poverty-related challenges using the tools of human-centered design. IDEO.org is looking for inspiring individuals with backgrounds in design, business, the social sector, and social enterprise. Individuals with experience working in developing countries and/or with low-income communities are encouraged to apply. We seek candidates with minimum of 5 years work experience or a graduate degree + 3 years experience. Passion for the challenges of poverty and design thinking are a must!

View the entire job description at http://ideo.org/careers