Two faculty appointments and three faculty searches

The University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design is pleased to announce the hiring of two new Art History faculty members with complementary specializations in Latin American art: Jennifer Baez and Caitlyn Earley. Both are appointed as assistant professors and begin teaching in September 2022.

Jennifer Baez
Jennifer Baez specializes in the visual, material, and religious culture of colonial Latin America and the African diaspora. Her research on art in the long eighteenth century in the Iberian Atlantic emphasizes reception by marginalized or understudied groups. Baez grew up in The Dominican Republic before moving to the US to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking and painting at SUNY Purchase. She received her MA from the University of Arizona and her PhD from Florida State University. At FSU, she taught courses in museum studies and the history of African art. She is co-founder of Apotropaicas Collective, a collective of Americanist art historians organized around the principles of care, good food, and convergence.

Caitlyn Earley
Caitlin Earley received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. She specializes in art of the Ancient Americas, focusing on Maya sculpture. Her research interests include the role of art in the construction and negotiation of identity; art from social and cultural frontiers; and the history of collecting in Mexico and Guatemala. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has held fellowships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Her first book, The Comitán Valley: Sculpture and Identity on the Maya Frontier, will be published in 2023.

New faculty searches
The school is also excited to announce an opportunity for three faculty appointments. Two are in the Division of Art (Dale Chihuly Endowed Chair of Glass and Photo/Media) and one in the Division of Design (Visual Communication Design). As per the University of Washington’s Diversity Blueprint, the institution prioritizes attracting and retaining a diverse faculty that reflects our diverse student population. We are the center for creative innovation and study at the University of Washington, one of the world’s leading public research institutions. The school invites applications from those who value original research, cutting edge technology, unique modes of artistic inquiry, and fresh approaches to pedagogy. Our focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and the development of new practices enhances both studio and classroom learning as well as fostering dynamic engagement and critical discourse.

Learn more about these faculty openings here.