Job Description

Music Industry & Production Faculty Position

The College of Arts & Humanities at Southern Oregon University (SOU) seeks qualified candidates for a full-time faculty position in Music Industry & Production, beginning Fall 2026. This position may be filled as either a non-tenure-track Instructor or a tenure-track Assistant Professor. It is a nine-month, renewable, benefits-eligible appointment.

Instructor appointment: Initial appointment at the rank of Instructor requires a Master's degree in Music or equivalent thereof from an accredited institution and industry experience. An Instructor appointment includes an expectation of departmental service.

Assistant Professor appointment: Initial appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor requires a terminal degree in the discipline taught, or ABD, from an accredited institution and a creative or scholarly agenda suitable for tenure at SOU. An Assistant Professor appointment includes an expectation of scholarship or creative activity, departmental service, and university service.

The Music Department offers two majors, Music and Music Industry & Production, with approximately 70 students, as well as several certificate pathways and ensembles open to non-majors. Housed in the College of Arts & Humanities and closely associated with the Oregon Center for the Arts, the department produces more than 100 events annually, including the renowned Tutunov Piano Series. The Music Industry & Production program is among the newest and fastest-growing majors at SOU, with opportunities to collaborate across campus with programs such as SOU's nationally recognized Theatre program and its Top 30 ranked film school.

We seek a candidate able to teach in multiple areas such as Music Industry, Entrepreneurship, Music in Gaming, Music in Film, Commercial Music, and/or Popular Music Ensembles. Additional responsibilities may include:

• Coaching instrumental commercial and/or chamber music ensembles
• Offering individual instruction in the candidate's applied area (woodwinds preferred)

Preferred qualifications include experience in commercial music, sound design, music recording, music technology, music entrepreneurship, and/or other non-traditional career models.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to recruit students and build strong relationships with regional music educators. The Music Department is actively engaged in meeting the needs of a growingly diverse student body and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented in higher education.

SOU offers excellent comprehensive health and retirement benefits, has a strong culture of shared-governance, and a strong faculty union. The start date is September 2026 and the position will be open until filled with a priority deadline of November 3, 2025.

Southern Oregon University is a public liberal arts institution with approximately 2,500 undergraduates and 500 graduate students. Located in the scenic Rogue Valley, SOU serves as a creative catalyst for a diverse community of students, educators, and artists who enrich the region's cultural life. Nearby cultural offerings include the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Ashland International Film Festival, and the Britt Music Festival. The surrounding area is noted for its unparalleled biodiversity, proximity to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and access to abundant outdoor recreation such as hiking, skiing, and biking.

SOU is committed to recruiting, supporting, and retaining a diverse workforce of culturally competent employees. Our students actively seek opportunities to engage multiple perspectives and ways of knowing, learning, and being.

Minimum Qualifications for Instructor Appointment:

• Applicants should have at least one year of experience teaching in higher education and demonstrate effective teaching and mentorship
• Initial appointment at the rank of Instructor requires a Master's degree in Music or equivalent thereof from an accredited institution
• Experience working in the music industry

Minimum Qualifications for Assistant Professor Appointment:

• Applicants should have at least one year of experience teaching in higher education and demonstrate effective teaching and mentorship
• Initial appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor requires a terminal degree in the discipline taught, or ABD, from an accredited institution
• A promising record of distinguished scholarship and/or creative work appropriate to be appointed at the assistant professor level

Preferred Qualifications for Instructor Appointment and Assistant Professor Appointment:

• Mastery of a woodwind instrument
• Experience in commercial music, sound design, music recording, music technology, music entrepreneurship, and/or other non-traditional career models

Essential Functions:

Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive:

• Teaching encompasses normal instructional activities beyond the teaching of assigned courses such as academic advising, working with students outside of class, posting and maintaining appropriate office hours, course and curriculum planning, etc.
• Professional Development includes maintaining currency in the discipline taught.
• Service includes program and institutional administrative, committee, and student support and retention activities.
• In addition, professorial faculty members are expected to participate in scholarly and/or creative activities, including formal research (whether in scholarship of discovery, scholarship of synthesis, scholarship of application, or scholarship of teaching), and in service to the university and beyond the campus, such as in professional organizations or other professionally related public service.

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated excellence in written, verbal, and technical communication skills and with a high degree of personal integrity and standards
• Ability to facilitate an innovative, transformative curriculum and pedagogy to enable students to be prepared for the future
• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing
• Demonstrated experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist
• Demonstrated ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, sometimes under pressure and a fast-paced environment
• Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations
• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems
• Ability to independently analyze software functionality and design and document efficient/effective work processes
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with community leaders, business leaders, and donors to advance the mission and vision of the institution.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information.
• Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy
• Ability to take initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail
• Proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, internet/online systems (e.g., calendaring and email), social media platforms, Learning Management Systems, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere internally and externally, and to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds

Physical Demand:

• Regular teaching activities, including standing/sitting, lecturing, and using a computer.

Special Conditions:

• Workload expectations are outlined in the Association for Professors, Southern Oregon University (APSOU) Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 19.
• Teaching assignments may include First Year Experience, online and/or hybrid courses, Medford and Ashland campus classes, and day, evening, and weekend courses.
• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development.
• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis.
• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check.
• Under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), this position classification is defined as exempt and is not subject to overtime regulations.
• The person holding this position is considered a "mandated reporter" under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

SOU is an

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