The presidential portrait of Kirk Schulz, Washington State University’s 11th leader, was unveiled Monday afternoon inside the Pullman campus’ Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
The portrait was initially concealed beneath black fabric, with the museum’s Executive Director Ryan Hardesty promising the several dozen Cougs in attendance that its reveal would be worth the wait. Though he had seen a digital copy of the work, Hardesty said he was blown away by seeing the portrait in-person.
“I think it really does capture his spirit,” Hardesty said. “It’s buoyant, optimistic, bright, and cheerful. It’s a beautiful portrait.”
Once the pivotal moment arrived, Schulz and the portrait’s artist, Grace Flott, unfurled the final product.
Schulz’s portrait is vibrant and relaxed, making it distinct from the more formal portraits of previous WSU presidents. In his hands is the book Leading the Crimson and Gray, a history of past presidents that signals how important their efforts were in making WSU the institution it is today. The portrait’s backdrop is of the WSU Tri-Cities campus and includes the recently completed Collaboration Hall.
Schulz chose to wear his Virginia Tech class ring to represent his lasting appreciation for land grant institutions, a distinction held by his alma mater and WSU. He also wore an Omega SpeedMaster watch to call back to the Space Race’s influence on his ambition to become an engineer. The watch was made famous for being worn by the Apollo astronauts.
Flott, a Seattle-based visual artist who grew up in Spokane, sat down with the Schulzs for in-depth conversations long before setting paint to canvas.
“If you know Kirk and Noel, you know that they are extremely generous with their time, they’re very caring, they are really passionate about what they do, but they are also true collaborators,” Flott said.
In her remarks, WSU President Elizabeth Cantwell highlighted the fact that the university has only had 12 presidents despite existing for more than 130 years, remarkable lengths of service for a job filled with complexity and challenge.
“You’ll see a front-facing portrait of Dr. Schulz, as you would see a front-facing portrait of all of our presidents,” Cantwell explained. “This is a hallmark that we do at Washington State University to honor our presidents when they’re done with their service. What you don’t see are the scars on their backs,” she said to laughs from the audience.
Following the unveiling, Schulz’s portrait will briefly be placed in storage until it can be installed inside the Terrell Library Atrium.
