Open Rank Professor of AI and Games In Education

AI and Games in Education is an emerging, growing sub-discipline that draws from a wide variety of hard and soft skills which are relevant and applicable across educational research. A core commitment of the Design, Informal, and Creative Education (DICE) program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison is that equity, education, making, and play are deeply interrelated. By enabling more students to express themselves by playing and making games, we can explore and improve our understanding of teaching and learning outcomes and engage students who are both consumers and producers of knowledge.

This position is part of the Wisconsin Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Initiative. Through accelerated and strategic faculty hiring, research infrastructure enhancement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and increased student and educational opportunities, RISE addresses complex societal challenges of importance to the state, nation and world. Building on UW–Madison’s strengths, RISE expands the University’s successful track record of connecting with communities and industry on collaborative solutions.

Over the next three academic years, UW–Madison will substantially increase current hiring levels, bringing 150 new RISE faculty to campus. Candidates hired through RISE will join a community of scholars working across disciplines, schools and colleges on research, teaching and outreach endeavors. The community will engage regularly in venues such as seminar series and colloquia to share ongoing projects and identify opportunities to work together. The University will support the community, facilitating access to research infrastructure, and funding to support broad and rich collaboration. 

Further information regarding RISE can be found at: https://rise.wisc.edu/.

• Continue to build out (teach, administer) our Game Design programs by collaborating on the creation of new a program, designing new courses, and teaching existing courses;
• Highlight the growing interdisciplinary work among researchers in education who focus on games and game-based learning;

• Establish a nationally recognized research program focused on games and education;

• Successfully secure external funding to support research and education for graduate students;

• Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the game design certificate, digital media, and STEAM programs;

• Advise undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students;

• Participate in shared governance and other committee activities; and

• Contribute professionally to games and education at the local, state, and national levels.
• Participate in interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts with other departments, schools and colleges

School of Education / Curriculum and Instruction

Minimum: Negotiable

Commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

• Previous higher education teaching and research experience
• Record of scholarly publications and potential for external funding (demonstrated record of significant external funding for senior candidates)
• Experience working with underserved populations and on equity issues

Earned Doctorate degree in education, games, learning sciences, design studies, media studies, the social sciences, or related field to be conferred by the start date of the position.

Please go to the “Apply Now” area and select your current UW Employment Status. 

Applications must include the following uploaded documents:

• Letter of application and current Curriculum Vitae (CV) as one document;
• Two (2) samples of scholarly writing as one document.
• Names and contact information of three (3) professional references. Letters will be solicited for finalists.

For assured consideration apply by 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2026. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Note:

• There is one upload area in Workday, but you can upload multiple documents to your application. Incomplete application packages that do not include all of the requested documentation will not be considered.
  

Jennie Bauernhuber

Administrative Specialist

[email protected]

Lisa Sigurslid

Department Administrator

[email protected]

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. 
 
The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). 
 
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