Bridge to the Faculty Fellowship

10.21.20

STM has been awarded a Bridge to the Faculty fellowship. A committee of eight UIC faculty and administrators from various disciplines reviewed applications from across the campus and our application “stood out as one of the most outstanding proposals in a very strong pool.”

The UIC Postdoctoral Fellowship for Diverse Faculty, is a postdoctoral program designed to recruit underrepresented scholars with the goal of transitioning them to faculty members after two years. This recruitment initiative aims to attract and retain promising scholars to UIC as well as diversify our faculty.

The Department of Theatre received the Bridge to the Faculty (B2F) program in order to recruit, support, and promote a dynamic, inspiring underrepresented directing and/or acting faculty member for whom cultural responsivity and inclusivity are foundational concepts, and whose awareness of the seismic shifts occurring in theatre, television, and film—in terms of reactions to the racial justice movement as well as in terms of technological innovation being developed in response to COVID-19—informs their directing and/or acting, and teaching.

STM recognizes that there is a critical need in academia for more tenure system theatre artists who are reflective of the intersectional, lived experiences of voices that are Black, Latinx, Indigenous and People of Color. For the UIC Department of Theatre specifically, we recognize a critical need for a tenure system faculty member who understands the Latin experience and how it operates in the world, in academia, and in theatre; who can model and inspire career paths in the arts; and who can provide access to expanded professional networks for students after graduation.

The UIC Department of Theatre aims to become a national leader in inclusive theatre education and training. We recognize that underrepresented minority faculty members must play key roles in realizing this goal.

STM will host a postdoctoral fellow in Theatre for the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 academic years. After completion of the first year, the department will notify its college and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs if it is recommending the candidate for a faculty position, and Faculty Affairs will work with the college to initiate the hiring process for Fall 2023. Salary support for the postdoctoral position and the faculty hires that result will be provided by UIC’s central administration.

We are beginning a search immediately. Derrick Sanders has agreed to chair the committee.

I want to thank the Executive Committee, Yasen, and Louis for supporting this initiative last year, and again this year. Also, thanks go to theatre faculty who provided invaluable input during a discussion at our last department meeting; and, finally, I want to particularly thank Yasen, Derrick, and Tanera for working with me up to the deadline on critically important ideas and language.

We are going to have an incredible spring with three significant searches: Director of Choral Activities, Director of Bands, Acting/Directing Theatre Postdoc. And, more likely than not, all of them will be conducted, at least partially, remotely. We can do this.

Best,

Christine Dunford
Director
UIC School of Theatre and Music