DESCRIPTION: Located in the heart of Detroit’s Cultural Center, Wayne State University is seeking a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities in the Department of Music.
Detroit is a city of musical invention and reinvention, and home to a broad array of cultural communities. The ideal candidate will have strategies to contribute to these aspects of our city by fostering innovation and promoting community collaboration. They would also be equipped to celebrate and add to the city’s vibrant choral tradition, which includes many professional and community choruses. The choral program at Wayne State has been a vital part of this tradition as well, and we are committed not only to maintaining it, but to strengthening our leadership role in Detroit’s arts community. Wayne State Music collaborates with numerous world-renowned organizations (including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Opera, and the Detroit Jazz Festival) while championing new music and exploring a wide range of musical styles.
MUSIC AT WAYNE STATE: The university is investing heavily in the Department of Music and the performing arts, having recently completed a $65 million complex that houses the Hilberry Gateway, the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, and our own underground jazz club, Dee Dee Bridgewater’s. The university has a long-standing relationship with the Detroit Jazz Festival (300,000+ in-person attendees) with students and faculty on full display for the annual Labor Day weekend festivity, while our various student and professional concert series attract a diverse audience member from around the region. The Department of Music also participates in innovative community programming such as workshops for K-12 students and educators.
In recent years, the university has bestowed honorary doctorates to Detroit music luminaries such as Neeme Järvi, Stevie Wonder, Sixto Rodriguez, and Jack White. When compared to other higher education institutions, Wayne State has a distinct competitive advantage: There is no other public research university in the country positioned in the middle of a city, serving the city, creating and continuing to shape American culture as its core identity.
THE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY: Through our everyday activities and interactions, creative and scholarly practices, curricular design and teaching, and service and community engagement, the university seeks to create an inclusive institutional atmosphere that recognizes and celebrates the inherent value of a diverse campus community.
We are a university of access and opportunity, and we have a responsibility to demonstrate a commitment to our mission of providing access to an excellent and affordable college education. We are here to make our students’ lives and futures better. Financial aid avenues that help support this commitment are the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and Wayne State Guarantee (a tuition-free program open to all Pell Grant-eligible Michigan residents, as well as most families that earn less than $80,000) for first time students, and Michigan Reconnect for transfer pathways. In addition, the Detroit Promise award ensures any eligible Detroit-resident student graduating from a high school in the city will have a tuition-free path to a bachelor’s degree.
The Department of Music is one of four departments in the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts; the other constituent units are the Department of Communication, the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, and the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art, Art History, and Design. The college offers 17 undergraduate programs, 10 graduate programs and three graduate certificate programs. It is home to today’s aspiring artists, performers, scholars, dancers, debaters, entrepreneurs and communication professionals who all represent the college’s legacy of excellence in our respective fields.
From debate to dance, jazz to journalism, and fashion design to center stage, our students create captivating performances, inspire artistic and academic excellence, and conduct innovative research on behalf of our Detroit community. The college’s alumni include a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and winners of and nominees for the Grammy, Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe, Obie, Screen Actors Guild and Caldecott awards.
Wayne State University is a Carnegie Tier 1 Research (R1) university enrolling 24,000 students in 350 undergraduate and graduate programs offered through the University’s 13 schools and colleges. Wayne State’s immediate neighbors in our Midtown Cultural Center include the Detroit Public Library, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Science Center, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Opera. The vibrant Midtown and Downtown areas are also home to active theatres, galleries, professional sports stadiums, and entertainment venues ranging from the Detroit Artist Market and the Fox and Fisher Theatres.
APPLICATIONS: A letter of application, curriculum vitae, and a list of five references (including names, addresses and contact information) must be submitted through Wayne Talent at https://jobs.wayne.edu, referencing requisition #2645.
The deadline for applications to be considered is May 4, 2025; the search committee will review applications as they arrive. The position begins on August 18, 2025. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
Inquiries about the position may be directed to:
Prof. Jonathan Lasch, Chair
Choral Search Committee
Department of Music
gl0475@wayne.edu
Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.
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