Assistant Professor Of Interactive Media For Social Innovation

The Champlain College Division of Education and Human Studies (EHS) seeks a dynamic interdisciplinarian with a background in games and interactive media as it intersects with persistent challenges to individual and community well-being, equity, justice, and sustainability.

EHS, which includes majors of Applied Sustainability, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Education, Law, Psychology and Social Work, prepares students to develop innovative solutions for persistent social and environmental problems. Our students collaborate with community partners to address real-world problems in a social impact incubator model in partnership with the Center for Community and Social Justice. Our graduates are active social change agents in a digital world, embodying the very definition of social innovation. We are seeking a scholar who shares this social impact framework, and is passionate about games and other forms of immersive media, technology, creativity and meaningful play in affecting individual and societal change.

This successful candidate will develop and teach courses within EHS and in collaboration with our successful Game Studio programs, a cohort of seven game programs: Game Art, Game Business and Publishing, Game Design, Game Production Management, Game Programming, Game Sound Design, and Interactive Narrative, and will support students in learning:

• How people and their environments interact and are enabled, supported, and augmented by design and engagement in games and other interactive media.
• Knowledge of the impact of technology on people, societies, and the environment.
• Fundamentals of technology as they intersect with play and creativity.
• Collaborative development of digital, interactive media.
• Human-centered design to address persistent challenges to individual and community well-being, equity, justice, and sustainability.
• Use of games and other interactive media in discipline-specific interventions.
• Integration of analog and digital knowledge, tools, methods and creative processes from design, humanities, social sciences.

Potential topical areas of instruction may include:

• Gamification in learning, health, and sciences
• Research and content creation for immersive experiences
• Game and interactive media studies
• Play as an agent of change
• Technology as a driving force for social change
• Engaging communities for social justice through digital media
• Human-centered design, psychology of games, and user research

Requirements:

Qualifications:

• Masters or terminal degree in relevant discipline.
• As a highly multidisciplinary academic unit, EHS welcomes candidates from game design, human-computer interaction, fine arts, social sciences, game studies and other relevant backgrounds.
• Expertise in the use of gamification in non-gaming applications.
• Expertise in the social impact of games and other interactive media.
• Expertise in user-centered design principles.
• Expertise in the use of games in a range of serious applications such as health, education, and simulation.

Nice to Have:

• Team leadership and curriculum development.
• Higher education teaching or mentoring experience.
• Expertise in user research and game psychology.
• Relevant industry experience in a creative role.
• Development of a game or interactive media for research or publication.
• Relevant experience in game technologies like Unity and Unreal.
• Experience in emerging technologies like XR.

Additional Information:

The successful completion of a criminal background check is required as a condition of employment.

Champlain College does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, religion, age, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, veteran or military service status, HIV -positive status, qualified disability, or on the basis of any other status protected by law, and does not discriminate in the administration of its education and admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, employment practices or co-curricular and other College-administered programs. Champlain College will make reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified students, applicants for admission or employment, or employees. Please contact the People Center at 802.651.5800 with questions concerning the hiring process or future employment at Champlain College, or if auxiliary aids or services are needed to apply for employment at Champlain College.

Champlain College is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse community. Recognizing that diversity is both a reflection of our world and a source of rich education, Champlain strives to be diverse and inclusive in ways that reflect the world in which we live and work. All members of the Champlain community are valued as individuals.

Application Instructions:

Application materials must include a resume/CV and a letter of interest (Cover Letter) specifically addressing the desired qualifications. The College seeks candidates who, through their work and life experiences, service to the community, teaching or research can contribute to the diversity, inclusivity and academic excellence of Champlain College. Please include information about how you would contribute to these efforts and help to further this goal in your letter of interest/cover letter.