International Scholar Named as Dean of College of Fine Arts
Andrew Schulz comes to the UA from Penn State, where he raised the profile of research and creative practice in the arts.

University Communications
June 28, 2018


Andrew Schulz, a visionary leader in the arts and one of the foremost scholars on 18th- and 19th-century Spanish art, has been named as dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona. He will join the UA on July 30. 

"Dr. Schulz is looking to set an international stage for the arts at the University of Arizona," said Jeffrey Goldberg, the UA's acting provost. "He has a contagious passion for setting a strategic vision and then positioning and promoting the arts. This vision, combined with his extensive knowledge of research, offers the right mix for furthering our arts programs." 

"My aim as dean will be to ensure that the arts become signature elements of the University's identity as we create transformative experiences for all UA students and find effective ways to serve and partner with broader communities," Schulz said. "During the interview process, I was delighted to find that this ambitious vision was shared by everyone I encountered." 

"We are so glad to welcome Dr. Schulz to the UA," said UA President Robert C. Robbins, "and we all look forward to how his vision and leadership will build on our tradition of excellence in the fine arts, and inspire our students to create bold, innovative and world-class work that engages audiences across the nation and around the world." 

During his five-year tenure as associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State University, Schulz has significantly raised the profile of research and creative practice in the arts. His tenure as associate dean witnessed the establishment of the Arts and Design Research Incubator and the Center for Pedagogy in the Arts and Design, among many other initiatives. Schulz also led strategic planning and faculty development efforts for the college, and he served this past year as interim head of the Department of Art History. On the national level, Schulz has been a leader in the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities, and he currently serves as vice president for external relations of the College Art Association. 

An internationally renowned scholar, Schulz has examined in his research the role of visual culture in the construction of national and imperial identity, specifically in regard to the conditions of artistic production and reception in the Age of Enlightenment and Romantic era. Much of Schulz's published work has focused on the art of Francisco Goya, with his book "Goya's Caprichos: Aesthetics, Perception and the Body" receiving the 2007 Eleanor Tufts Prize from the American Society for Hispanic Art Historical Studies. His current research project examines the "afterlife" of Islamic culture in Spain. 

Schulz has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a 12-month fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Getty Scholar residency at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and a five-year Faculty Excellence Award from the University of Oregon in recognition of innovative scholarship. Before joining Penn State in 2013, Schulz was on the faculty at Seattle University (1994-2005) and the University of Oregon (2005-2012), where he served as department head of the history of art and architecture from 2009-2012.  

"The arts play a crucial role as public research universities become increasingly outward facing," Schulz said, "and I am excited to find new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement that will further integrate the arts into the University's mission." 

The College of Fine Arts at the UA has a world-class reputation, with accomplished faculty and alumni contributing to its identity as a distinguished student-centered place of learning and creative inquiry. The success of the program is built on artists and scholars in art, dance, music, theatre arts, and film and television. The College of Fine Arts offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the School of Art, the School of Dance, the Fred Fox School of Music, and the School of Theatre, Film and Television. Each year, the college serves more than 300,000 attendees at exhibits, performances, lecture series, seminars and K-12 educational outreach programs.

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Nick Prevenas

University Communications

520-621-2194

nprevenas@email.arizona.edu