In concert with the University of Arizona strategic plan, Andrew Schulz, dean of the College of Fine Arts, last week was named the inaugural vice president for the arts to carry out a re-imagined vision of the UA and Tucson as an international destination for fine arts.
“Arts, culture and humanities are central to the development of creativity and they are key to our success in achieving the bold goals outlined in our strategic plan,” said UA President Robert C. Robbins. “The UA is uniquely positioned to leverage the arts to advance creativity-based education, innovative research and community engagement. Ultimately, our goal is to celebrate the diverse richness of our region and share it with the world, and the University of Arizona is incredibly fortunate to have a leader like Andrew Schulz working to advance UA fine arts to a new level.”
In this new role, Schulz will work to further integrate the arts into the university curriculum while also designing and implementing strategies to raise the profile of the arts within the campus community as well as regionally, nationally and internationally. He also has been charged with creating a coherent vision for the arts for the main campus and medical campuses in Tucson and Phoenix. In addition, he is tasked with working more closely with Arizona’s other two state universities, and local and regional arts and philanthropic partners. He will lead efforts to re-envision the “arts district” that occupies the northwest corner of campus.
“The fine arts programs at the UA are already well-recognized as among the best in the country,” said Schulz, who will continue to serve as dean of the College of Fine Arts. The UA Bachelor of Fine Arts programs in dance, musical theater, and theater design and technology each placed in the top 10 among public universities in the latest rankings
from OnStage.
“This new role provides the opportunity to substantially improve cultural development and social and economic impact,” Schulz said. “We are primed, and now is the time to truly set
ourselves apart.”
In this new position, Schulz will oversee the College of Fine Arts academic units: the schools of dance, art, music, and theatre, film and television. He also will oversee museums and arts presenting units, including the Center for Creative Photography, the UA Museum of Art, UA Presents, the Hanson Film Institute and the College of Fine Arts in Schools program. In addition, he will manage administrative units within the College of Fine Arts that include marketing, communications and philanthropy. A key new initiative will be the creation of an office for arts engagement and partnerships that will foster collaboration and integration on and off campus.
Schulz is an internationally renowned scholar who joined the UA as dean of the College of Fine Arts in July, coming to Tucson from Penn State. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a 12-month fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Getty Scholar residency at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.
“Before I even arrived here, I knew there was an opportunity to make the arts one of the signature elements of the university’s identity,” Schulz said. “My goal is to make the arts at the University of Arizona a transformative experience for UA students, southern Arizona
and beyond.”
