Leadership Announcement – Arizona Arts

Dear Arizona Arts colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Hasan Elahi as the next dean of Arizona Arts, effective July 1, 2025.

Hasan is an internationally recognized artist whose work has been featured in major exhibitions, including the Sundance Film Festival, Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Venice Biennale. His practice, often at the intersection of art, technology, and social commentary, has received broad media attention from Fox News to Al Jazeera, and he has spoken at diverse venues such as the World Economic Forum, TED, National Geographic, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, and the Tate Modern.

Hasan was named a Guggenheim Fellow in Photography in 2016 and is a recipient of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in recognition of his contributions to art and activism.

Since 2022, Hasan has served as the dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University in Detroit. Prior to that, he was professor and director of the School of Art at George Mason University, where he also held affiliate faculty appointments with the Business for a Better World Center and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

I would like to express my gratitude to Andy Schulz for his dedicated leadership over the past seven years. Under his guidance, the arts have been meaningfully elevated and more deeply integrated across our campus and into the broader community. His vision and resilience have left a lasting impact, and I wish him all the best as he prepares to return to the faculty in 2026.

I also want to thank Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, for chairing the search committee as well as the students, faculty, staff, and community member who served on the committee, for their thoughtful and diligent work throughout this important process.

I look forward to working closely with Hasan as we continue to build on the strength and impact of our presenting units and advance the academic excellence and student success of the College of Fine Arts. Please join me in warmly welcoming Hasan to the Wildcat family.

Warm regards,

Patricia A. Prelock 
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

This email was sent to all students, faculty, staff and DCCs in the Arizona Arts.