Assistant/Associate Professor - Piano/Department Chair - Music

SCHOOL/COLLEGE: Visual and Performing Arts

DEPARTMENT: Music

TENURE STATUS: Tenure Track

FLSA STATUS:  Exempt 

EMPLOYMENT STATUS: Full-time, 10 months   

POSITION DESCRIPTION: Seton Hill University invites applications for the position Assistant/Associate Professor of Piano/Department Chair beginning August 2027. We are looking for an engaged and collaborative colleague who will chair our music department with six full-time faculty and adjuncts.  Our degree programs include: BA in Music, BM in Commercial Music, BM in Music Education, BM in Music Performance, BM in Music Therapy and a certificate in Sacred Music. We are a small, Catholic liberal arts college with a NASM accredited department in a sizable school of Visual and Performing Arts, looking for an individual who supports the four pillars of our university: Learning, Welcoming, Serving, and Celebrating. The arts are a core part of Seton Hill’s identity. The first two degrees were Bachelors of Music granted in 1919.  The successful candidate will have experience and/or interest in chairing a music department with strong leadership, organization and communication skills. The candidate will have good listening and collaboration skills and experience working with curriculum development. The teaching load is nine credits per semester, with a three-credit course release for the chair. Teaching responsibilities include Class Piano, Keyboard Strategies, Applied Piano and directing the Piano Ensemble. We are looking for an active and engaged recruiter for the department and the piano program. Additional duties to be determined based on the successful candidate’s area(s) of expertise. This is a tenure track position. 

RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES:

• Teaches 9 instructional units per semester 
• Chairs the music department, overseeing 6 full-time faculty members
• Manages and recruits adjunct faculty for the department
• Supervises music adjunct payroll
• Oversees assessment and curriculum development and revision
• Maintains accreditation and serves as the program’s representative for NASM. 
• Teaches applied piano lessons
• Advises students 
• Recruits for the piano major
• Directs the Piano Ensemble
• Organizes and oversees Piano Proficiencies

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• MM in Piano Performance
• Experience teaching at the undergraduate level

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience serving as chair of a university music department
• Experience in recruitment

Required applicant materials include: Cover Letter, CV, Transcripts, Teaching Philosophy, Names, phone numbers and email addresses for at least three references.   Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.  Applications received by December 31, 2026 will receive priority consideration.  Finalists will be required to submit a reflection statement to Seton Hill’s Mission Statement.  Background checks will be performed on all new hires. Employment is conditional upon acceptable results of background checks and clearances.

About Seton Hill University:

Chartered in 1918, Seton Hill University is a leading Catholic coeducational liberal arts university founded by the Sisters of Charity and embracing students of all faiths. Located in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands (yet only 35 miles from Pittsburgh), Seton Hill educates its students to think and act critically, creatively and ethically as productive members of society committed to transforming the world.