After six years of impressive leadership at the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts, Andrew Schulz announced late last month that he will be stepping down from his role as dean and vice president of arts when his current contract ends on June 30, 2025. 

Through his tenure, Schulz has made several advances to integrate the arts in all aspects of the university.

Schulz joined the UA in July 2018 as dean of the College of Fine Arts and was appointed vice president for the arts just six months later in January 2019. 

As dean, Schulz oversees the schools in the College of Fine Arts: the schools of Dance, Art, Music and Theatre, Film & Television.

In his leadership role, Schulz also created Arizona Arts, bringing together the UA’s cultural institutions including the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona Museum of Art and Arizona Arts Live.

Schulz plans to take a sabbatical during the 2025-26 academic year to complete a long-term project focusing on the legacy of Islamic art and culture in Spain, according to a UA news release. As an art historian, Schulz is an expert on 18th- and 19th-century art with a specific focus on work created by Francisco Goya, according to the release.

After his sabbatical, Schulz plans to return to teaching art history at the UA.

Schulz, who could not be reached for comment,  told the Arizona Daily Star that he felt the timing was right for him to take a step back and explore other opportunities. He said he set an ambitious goal of making the arts a central experience for all students and was proud of what he and his team had accomplished, but said he is ready to pass the torch to someone else.

During his role as dean, Schulz worked to integrate the arts into an experience for all university students and make art accessible for students of all majors. He worked closely with his faculty to facilitate changes in the curriculum and encourage more ways to engage with the arts, UA officials said. 

“Andy helped elevate the arts on campus with a vision to provide meaningful arts experiences for all University of Arizona students. He encouraged curriculum innovations from our schools and pushed the college to expand efforts in arts research and in equity in the arts within the Arizona Arts division,” said Charlie Snyder, director of marketing and communications for the School of Fine Arts. 

Schulz not only worked to expand the accessibility of art but to integrate it into the research side of the university. 

“Dean Schulz arrived with a commitment to integrate the arts as research into the U of A’s R1 ecosystem, and in his second year appointed the first associate dean for research in the institution’s history,” said Ellen McMahon, associate dean of research at the College of Fine Arts. “Since that time arts research projects have received unprecedented internal funding and support; Udall Fellowships, Research Leadership Institute participants, RII integration funding and Arizona Institute for Resilience grants.” 

UA Provost Ronald Marx will meet with the new University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella, who was welcomed to the university Oct. 1, to discuss Schulz’s replacement, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.