November 2025 - School of Art

University of Arizona School of Art seeks new director

Posted on November 6, 2025December 1, 2025 by Michael Chesnick

The School of Art at the University of Arizona is thriving and ready for its next chapter. If you believe art is not just a discipline but a transformative force that shapes culture and society, this is your opportunity to lead one of the nation’s most distinctive and forward-thinking art schools.

Our programs rank among the best in the country, guided by faculty who are internationally recognized artists, educators, and scholars redefining creative practice. With revitalized facilities, robust resources, and a student body that is diverse, curious, and fearless, we stand at the forefront of innovation and impact. We seek a director who will harness this momentum. Someone who honors our achievements, expands our reach, and leads with imagination and purpose.

This is a rare chance to lead from strength and shape the future of a school grounded in excellence, both academically and operationally. We are looking for a leader who values creative inquiry, champions interdisciplinary connections, and cultivates an environment where faculty, staff, and students thrive and push boundaries.

Why Arizona, Why Now

Here in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, the light, the land, and the community shape creativity in extraordinary ways. Tucson is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, a crossroads of cultures, and a city that values expression, experimentation, and authenticity. It is the perfect setting for artists and thinkers who want to explore how place shapes practice.

The School of Art is part of the College of Fine Arts and the larger division of Arizona Arts, a nationally recognized model for how a public research university can elevate the role of the arts. Together with the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, and Arizona Arts Live, we have built a collaborative ecosystem that connects teaching, research, and community engagement. It is a rare structure that allows students and faculty to move seamlessly between classrooms, studios, galleries, and world-class creative institutions, all within steps of one another.

This is a pivotal moment for both the university and Arizona Arts. As the University of Arizona enters a new chapter of growth and transformation, there is a powerful opportunity to affirm the role of the arts in shaping its future. Arizona Arts is on the rise, and the School of Art is central to that story. The next director will have the chance to lead boldly, advancing a legacy of excellence and defining the next era of arts education, research, and engagement in the Southwest.

What You Will Lead

As Director, you will join a school that believes in the arts as a force for transformation, personally, intellectually, and socially. You will guide an extraordinary faculty, nurture a community of students across multiple disciplines, and champion work that matters: research that expands understanding, art that sparks dialogue, and education that shapes future leaders in creative industries and beyond.

You will have the support of a financially sound, forward-looking university that values the arts as central to its mission. You will also have the partnership of Arizona Arts, where cross-disciplinary collaboration is not only encouraged but expected, and where you can connect the School’s strengths to broader university research, public impact, and innovation.

About the School

Founded in 1927, the School of Art currently enrolls nearly 700 majors and 60 graduate students. We offer nationally ranked programs and a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in Art History; Art and Visual Culture Education; Studio Art (including 2D Studies; 3D & Extended Media; Illustration, Design and Animation; and Photography, Video and Imaging); and Design Arts and Practices. Our Photography program is ranked No. 3 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

Alongside newly renovated facilities that foster experimentation and collaboration, the School of Art also maintains about 65,000 square feet of instructional and research space, including the nearby Visual Arts Research Studios (VARS). This space provides graduate and faculty studios, exhibition areas, and additional classrooms, creating an extended environment for creative work and learning.

Our visiting artist program brings global voices to Tucson, our alumni shape creative industries around the world, and our 30 full-time faculty and 14 adjunct faculty earn Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships, exhibit at major biennales, and publish field-defining research, as do an impressive number of alumni.

About Tucson and the University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a top-tier, AAU/R1, land-grant institution with more than $1 billion in research expenditures annually. It is also a place that deeply believes the arts belong at the center of the university experience.

Arizona Arts unites the College of Fine Arts with the Center for Creative Photography, the University of Arizona Museum of Art, and Arizona Arts Live. This unique structure integrates arts education, research, and public engagement, creating an environment where collaboration is constant and creativity is visible across campus. The division has become a national model for how a major public research university can elevate the arts while serving its land-grant mission.

Tucson itself is a city of makers and dreamers, affordable, beautiful, and welcoming. With its thriving arts scene that blends Indigenous, Latinx, and Western influences, Tucson provides a rich cultural context for artistic exploration. From vibrant downtown galleries to verdant desert trails that surround campus, it is a place where creative people come to build meaningful lives.

Key Responsibilities

Academic Vision and Excellence

Lead faculty in sustaining and evolving a forward-looking curriculum that merges artistic rigor, conceptual exploration, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Encourage innovation in teaching and research while strengthening the School’s deep traditions of studio practice and art scholarship.

Faculty, Staff, and Culture

Cultivate a community built on respect, transparency, and shared purpose.
Champion the professional growth of faculty and staff and nurture a culture of collaboration, creativity, and inclusion.

Student Experience and Success

Strengthen recruitment and retention through programs that connect learning, professional practice, and community engagement.
Champion opportunities that prepare students for meaningful, sustainable creative careers.

Research and Creative Practice

Support faculty and student research, exhibitions, publications, and practice-led inquiry across disciplines.
Enhance the School’s visibility and impact within the University’s AAU/R1 research ecosystem.

Partnerships and Advancement

Collaborate with College and Arizona Arts development teams to build relationships with alumni, donors, and community partners.
Serve as an ambassador for the School locally, nationally, and internationally, amplifying its reputation and reach.

Operational Leadership

Manage budgets, personnel, and resources with care and transparency.
Ensure facilities and equipment remain exceptional and responsive to the evolving needs of art and design education.

Minimum Qualifications

An appropriate terminal degree or equivalent
Professional activity to warrant tenure at the rank of Professor or Associate Professor.
Demonstrated capacity to inspire and unify a dynamic academic community, cultivating excellence across a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary landscape.
Commitment to support the professional development of faculty, appointed professionals, and staff.
Interest in developing strong ties and connections with external constituencies and individuals, amplifying the School’s reach and relevance.
Commitment to engaging in strategies for successful development on behalf of the School and the College.

Preferred Qualifications

Academic administrative experience commensurate with the demands of the position.
Established record of research and leadership that aligns with the School’s programming and mission.
Experience working with financial models of large complex universities.
Experience administering academic and professional programs in the context of a research institution
Experience and qualifications sufficient for appointment at the rank of Professor

Learn More and Apply

Please visit https://talent.arizona.edu/ to apply with CV and cover letter. Review of Applications begins January 5, 2026, and will remain open until filled. The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity Vets/Disabled institution.

Apply Now!

Macias charms Cheech, others with art and teaching

Posted on November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 by Michael Chesnick

Alejandro Macias felt a mix of nerves and pride as he introduced his work to actor and Chicano art collector Cheech Marin at a recent exhibition opening. Then Marin smiled and told him something unexpected: He’d dreamed about one of Macias’ paintings the night before.

“I’ll go ahead and take that as a good sign that I’m doing something correctly,” the University of Arizona associate professor said with a laugh.

Macias has been honored for doing a lot of things correctly since joining the School of Art faculty in 2019 as a painting and drawing teacher — including an Arizona Higher Education Award and multiple residencies, fellowships, grants and other awards. The New York Times even used his “American Mexican” painting as a supporting image to Pulitzer-winning opinion writer Carlos Lozada’s Oct. 20 essay, “You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish.”

Alejandro Macias, with his three paintings in “Soy de Tejas” at the Cheech Center: (from left): “Man on Fire (III),” “Ascension III” and “Turning Point.”

So far this year, Macias has presented work in six group exhibitions, including “Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art” at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, California. It features nearly 40 Chicano and Latinx artists from across Texas and the borderlands like Macias, who was raised near the Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.

Macias is exhibiting three self-portrait paintings in the show, including the one Marin dreamed about, “Turning Point” — featuring a video loop of Macias’ own navigation across the desert terrain in Mesa, Arizona — along with “Man on Fire (III)” and “Ascension III.”

“I described my work to Cheech as an exploration of identity, assimilation and place,” Macias said, “particularly how the U.S.–Mexico border continues to shape the lives, bodies and narratives of those connected to it.”

Marin rose to fame in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s as part of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, the television series “Nash Bridges” and the movie “Tin Cup,” filmed in Tubac and Tucson. He established “The Cheech” in 2022 with the Riverside Art Museum as the first North American facility dedicated exclusively to Mexican American and Chicano art — donating his collection of over 700 pieces.

“Meeting Cheech Marin was definitely surreal because I had an opportunity to speak about my work on such a personal level to a cultural icon,” Macias said. “Because he’s such a passionate art collector, he was deeply invested in what the artists had to say.”

Marin did a walk-through with 25 artists in early October, spending several minutes with each.

“Cheech Marin (left) has built a lasting legacy that has supported a lineage of important Chicano artists for decades.”
— Alejandro Macias

“Meeting (Macias and) so many talented artists in ‘Soy de Tejas’ was inspiring,” Marin said. “Each one offered a unique perspective on what it means to be connected to Texas and to identity. I was especially struck by the emotional honesty that runs through all of the works.”

That honesty is what sets Macias’ work apart, according to one of his former students, Vanessa Saavedra, a 2025 MFA graduate and now a School of Art adjunct instructor who took over Macias’ painting and drawing classes this semester while he’s on sabbatical.

“His work is visually pleasing, but the content can be challenging or uncomfortable for the viewer,” Saavedra said. “Alex isn’t afraid of criticism or rejection, and that fearlessness is incredibly inspiring. It’s powerful to see someone so grounded in their beliefs and so committed to expressing them for the greater good.”

Macias draws from his personal and regional histories in the borderlands to explore themes of assimilation and migration. His practice integrates traditional rendering, abstraction and multimedia approaches, using the human figure — often himself — as a central point of his works.

“These remain challenging times, but I do still believe that art has the power to foster dialogue, empathy, and understanding, even if the progress seems to be incremental,” Macias said. “My hope is that the work continues to offer a more nuanced, humanized view of the border experience, countering the harmful rhetoric and narratives that often dominate the mainstream. Having hope is the first step and I have plenty of it.”

Local exhibition has university ties

He and Saavedra are part of a group exhibition at the Tucson Desert Art Museum, “Cruzando La Línea: Contemporary Art in the Borderlands,” through June 27, 2026, alongside School of Art Professor David Taylor and Professor Emeritus Alfred Quiroz.

Alejandro Macias saw his “American Mexican” painting used as a supporting image in New York Times columnist Carlos Lozada’s Oct. 20 essay, “You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish.”

“We all have a connection to the University of Arizona as either educators or former students, and it feels special to be part of such an esteemed group that has contributed to important local and national conversations about the tensions and complexity of border life,” Macias said. His work in the show stems from his 2024 solo exhibition, “Land of Wolves,” at New York City’s LatchKey Gallery, where he held “a mirror to Border Patrol agents of Mexican descent who have surveilled the borderlands” he said.

Taylor, who is also associate dean of Faculty Affairs for the College of Fine Arts and a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow in photography, has seen Macias’ influence in and out of the classroom.

“Since joining the School of Art, Alex has been an outstanding colleague and teacher,” Taylor said. “His studio practice, which is deeply reflective of both his first-person expertise and research program, complicates and expands upon Latinx representation. Working across painting, drawing and multimedia, his output is innovative while also acknowledging a legible set of influences.”

Saavedra, who grew up in Nogales, Sonora, also received her BFA from the School of Art. She was one of Macias’ first students when he started teaching at Arizona. He also mentored her in Saavedra’s MFA thesis year and hooded her at graduation in May, which Macias called “one of the most significant and important professional moments of my life.”

“Now that both Alex and the university have trusted me to cover his classes during his sabbatical, I can see things from the other side — perhaps how he once saw me — and that makes me even more appreciative of his patience with my process and trajectory,” she said.

Saavedra’s work in the Tucson Desert Art Museum exhibition highlights the complexities of migration and cultural intersection. With her paintings and drawings, she also gives voice to the silenced lives of women across Latin America.

Vanessa Saavedra (center) received support from faculty members Alejandro Macias and Jennifer Saracino at her MFA graduation in May 2025. Saavedra and Macias both started at the School of Art in 2019, with Saavedra as an undergrad in Studio Art.

“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see Vanessa contribute to our art community through her own practice,” Macias said. “Her work is meticulous, profound, and is already making an impact in such a short amount of time. … To see her grow in the span of six years makes you realize how important higher education can be.”

Teaching honor ‘means a lot’

Not only did Macias participate in the University of Arizona’s 2024-25 Research Leadership Institute cohort, but he also was honored in late September for his commitment to teaching and mentorship in receiving the Alberto “Tito” Rios Outstanding Literary/Arts Award at the Arizona Higher Education Awards in Tempe.

“Being recognized by peers and institutions that understand the intersection of art, education and community engagement means a lot to me,” Macias said. “I found the whole (Tempe) ceremony to be incredibly overwhelming and emotional because I shared space with educators who dedicated their lives to sharing knowledge with others.”

Through Nov. 29, he’s sharing another space at Tucson’s Etherton Gallery with School of Art Professor Lawrence Gipe and MFA alum Jim Waid. Macias’ solo show, “In the Cases,” includes a variety of drawings and mixed media works from 2017-2025, mostly figurative and on paper, that explore his ongoing interest on the border as “a physical and psychological construct,” Macias said. He added that presenting with Gipe and Waid “has been inspiring, and both artists bring decades of experience and visual language that have contributed to the Tucson community” and elsewhere.

During his sabbatical, Macias is focused on developing new work for more exhibitions, including projects that further integrate painting with video documentation and installation. He’s part of a group exhibition, “The Armor We Wear,” at 516 Arts in Albuquerque, New Mexico, curated by Olivia Amaya Ortiz, a 2018 School of Art BFA graduate. The show, which also includes 2018 BFA alumna Elizabeth Denneau, runs from Nov. 8 to Jan 31.

“My work will continue to explore themes of culture, migration and belonging,” Macias said, “but in a more intimate approach that respectfully documents the lives of people who contribute to their border communities.”

Alejandro Macias received the Alberto “Tito” Rios Outstanding Literary/Arts Award from the Pete C. Garcia Victoria Foundation at the Arizona Higher Education Awards in Tempe.

Meanwhile, his paintings will stay on display at the Cheech Center through Jan. 11. Macias’ work also was included in the first two iterations of “Soy de Tejas” in San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas. He has high praise for the exhibition’s curator, Rigoberto Luna, whose exhibition explores migration, indigeneity, race, gender and mythmaking, while also celebrating the joy, resilience and traditions that define Latinx communities.

“Rigoberto has been building bridges across the coasts of the United States to recognize and uplift artists on a national level,” Macias said. “It’s honestly history in the making.”

Since 2019, Macias has presented his work in at least 65 selected exhibitions across the nation, including six with Luna as a curator. Macias participated in the 2024 Texas Biennial at Sawyer Yards in Houston, the 2024 Border Biennial at the El Paso Museum of Art and the 2023 Arizona Biennial at the Tucson Museum of Art. In 2023, he was the recipient of the Lehmann Emerging Artist award, which included a two-person exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. He’s held solo shows at Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts in Lubbock, Texas; Presa House Gallery in San Antonio; Tucson Museum of Art; and LatchKey in New York.

Macias’ work is included in the permanent collections of the Newark Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, El Paso Museum of Art, University of Arizona Museum of Art (which acquired his first “Man on Fire” painting), Tucson Museum of Art, Mexic-Arte Museum and the Brownsville (Texas) Museum of Art. He participated in notable residencies at Elizabeth Murray in Troy, New York; Vermont Studio Center; Chateau d’Orquevaux in France, Studios at MASS MoCA, Wassaic (N.Y.) Project, CALA Alliance in Phoenix and Uncool Artist in Brooklyn, New York.

“The accolades Alex’s work has received are a clear indication of its significance,” Taylor said. “It’s been a pleasure to see his art career flourish, and we are enormously fortunate to have his influence and mentorship in our program.”

When Macias returns to the Arizona campus in spring 2026, he can’t wait “to bring these new experiences and perspectives back to the classroom … and to continue guiding students as they find their own voices and purpose as artists,” he said. And in the summer, he will be a workshop instructor in mixed media portraits at North Carolina’s prestigious Penland School of Craft.

“Teaching remains one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” Macias said. “My students’ energy and curiosity constantly reinvigorate my practice and desire to share everything I can.”