AMES, IA.- David Schmitz has been named the next Warren and Beverly Madden Endowed Director and Chief Curator of University Museums at Iowa State University. The appointment follows a national search and took effect July 13.

“David was chosen from a talented and accomplished candidate pool and comes to us with 20 years in the museum and cultural arts field. He is a proven director, fundraiser, curator, and collaborator,” said Duane Reeves, Assistant Vice President for Specialty Business Services and Cultural Arts.

David is not a newcomer here. He joined University Museums as Interim Academic Engagement Coordinator in December 2025. In that advisory role, he collaborated with staff, faculty, and campus partners to envision how the museums' collections and exhibitions can further enhance student learning, engagement, and success.

Before Iowa State, David served as director of the Iowa Arts Council, where he advanced statewide arts programming, and earlier as executive director of the Dubuque Museum of Art, an accredited institution he led through a capital campaign and national reaccreditation. He held positions with the Des Moines Art Center and the Chicago Artists' Coalition. He serves on the boards of the Association of Midwest Museums, Mainframe Studios, and the Friends of the University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art. A trained visual artist, he holds a master's in arts management from Columbia College Chicago and a bachelor's in studio art from the University of Northern Iowa.





University Museums comprises five entities at Iowa State: the Brunnier Art Museum, the Christian Petersen Art Museum, the Farm House Museum, the Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden, and the Art on Campus Collection. As the museums of a land-grant university, we hold works of art, historical objects, and primary sources in trust for Iowa State and the people of Iowa, and we put them to use in teaching, research, and public life. David succeeds Lynette Pohlman, whose leadership created and shaped University Museums over 55 years.

"University Museums holds a special place at Iowa State University, in Ames, across our state, and among campus museums and public art collections. I am deeply honored for the opportunity to work alongside our university leadership, professional staff, faculty, students, and supporters to build upon the extraordinary legacy of educational impact and cultural innovation established by Lynette Pohlman and generations of artists, scholars, and museum advocates," said Schmitz.