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The Department of Undergraduate Drama, in the Institute of Performing Arts at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, seeks an accomplished, visionary Chair to lead our uniquely structured Bachelor of Fine Arts program beginning in Fall 2026. This search is for an Associate Professor or full Professor tenure line who will serve as Chair. The Chair position is a renewable 3-year term, upon successful review.

The Department -

The Department of Undergraduate Drama prepares the next generation of leaders in theatre by offering an innovative, rigorous, and ambitious artistic and academic education at the world's first global network university, New York University. For information about the department please visit www.nyu.edu/tisch/drama.

The Department of Undergraduate Drama educates students through a unique blend of conservatory training, historical and critical studies, robust production work, and a thorough grounding in the liberal arts. The Department has a unique structure of eight primary studios, with additional studios in advanced training (five of these are in partnership with major New York professional theater institutions, while others are housed within the Drama Department). All studios offer rigorous artistic training in a range of areas including acting (musical, contemporary, experimental, television, film, and classical theater), directing, design, management and technical theater in conjunction with an expansive range of cutting-edge courses in theater history, dramatic theory, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, applied theater and performance studies. Students have full access to courses in the humanities and sciences through NYU's College of Arts and Science where they fulfill their liberal arts requirements. Additionally, students are offered an outstanding array of study­ abroad opportunities for an incomparable immersion into another cultural context. The Department annually presents over 150 professional and student-directed productions.

This unparalleled combination of a methodologically diverse approach to artistic training, theater studies and production, exemplary liberal arts education, the cultural resources of New York City, a global network, and an extensive array of productions offers unique opportunities for innovative programmatic development that aims to expand the traditional boundaries of theory and practice in theatre.

Responsibilities -

The Chair provides artistic and academic leadership for a large faculty and student body of approximately 1500. In collaboration with the Associate Chair, the department's area directors, Studio leadership and the Director of Finance and Administration, the Chair oversees and helps to coordinate the creation, organization, and implementation of curricular, administrative, development, and department operations, budgetary initiatives and procedures. The Chair oversees faculty and staff recruitment and hiring, faculty reviews and development, enrollment targets, partnership oversights, and complex facilities planning. The Department recently added a group of studios and cabaret spaces, as well as an impressive new performance space in the new NYU Paulson Center at 181 Mercer Street. Applicants with experience opening new facilities should indicate this in their CV's. The Chair, with the department's area directors, advocates and articulates the vision of the department within the Institute of Performing Arts (https://tisch.nyu.edu/performing-arts.html) , Tisch School of the Arts, the University, and the professional theater community. As a member of the faculty, the Chair will teach in their area of expertise . The Chair reports directly to the Dean of Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.

In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary range for an Associate Professor position is $110,000 - $170,000 and the annual base salary range for a full Professor position is $125,000 - $195,000. This pay range represents base pay only (for 9 months - paid over 12 months) and excludes any additional items such as incentives, bonuses, clinical compensation, or other items. The position will provide additional compensation for serving as Chair of the Department. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

Applicants should be highly accomplished professionals and/or scholars from academia, or non-profit or commercial theater, who have strong administrative and teaching skills and a commitment to a robust and well-rounded theater education. They should possess artistic and intellectual vision, proven leadership experience in administration and development, and strong collaborative abilities to work with a large and varied population. We are actively seeking applicants who have a demonstrated passion for, understanding of, and commitment to practices that provide access and opportunities to all, both inside the classroom and in the larger professional field. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to developing and implementing initiatives that align with Tisch's community values and that foster and support students' sense of belonging and overall ability to flourish at NYU. They should have a desire to help shape and lead the department's next stage of development in artistic and academic curricular innovation, faculty and staff development, professional local and global collaborations, facilities management and expansion , and the further enhancement of our national and international prominence.

Candidates should provide a CV and/or resume/portfolio, and a one-page (500 word) personal statement articulating a philosophy of theater, theater training and education . Detail any past successes, priorities, strategies, etc. Application deadline is November 24, 2025.

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NYU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its recruitment and hiring process without regard to age, alienage, caregiver status, childbirth, citizenship status, color, creed, disability, domestic violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national origin, parental status, partnership status, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy, race, religion, reproductive health decision making, sex, sexual orientation, unemployment status, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. All interested persons are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

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