A farewell message from Dr. Daniel Doz, who retires on April 11, 2025, after 15 years of service as President and CEO of Alberta University of the Arts
As I complete the last few days of my 15-year tenure as President and CEO of this most special institution, I want to say thank you to all for your ongoing support to our university.
It has been a true privilege and honour to be part of this extraordinary community. The author and historian Edward Everett Hale wrote “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress; working together is success”. That quote is particularly meaningful for me at this moment. Without the “all of us” – ACAD and now AUArts would not be what is it today.
The last few weeks, I have also been asked many times what my highlights are. The best moments for me have simply been interactions with people. Over the years, I have encountered so many unique stories from the people who have passed through these walls, and for me, this reaffirms how rich and diverse this place is and why we are so fortunate to all belong here.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for allowing me to be being part of the journey of this amazing institution, and thank you to all for being part of my own journey.
All the very, very best to you all,
Daniel
Dr. Daniel Doz Biography
During Dr. Doz’s tenure, Alberta University of the Arts has embarked on an incredible journey, launching a graduate program in Craft Media (a first in Canada) in 2015 and transitioning from a college into a university in 2019. Dr. Doz’s leadership was also instrumental in working with the Elder council to launch the Lodgepole Centre (2015), AUArts’ dedicated and inclusive Indigenous gathering space, and to develop Indigenous Pathways: Soksipaitapiiwahsin Strategy (2023), a guiding vision for the University’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
Dr. Doz has continuously championed and engaged with the work of AUArts students and alumni, creating new exhibition opportunities and building an institutional collection of student work.
Dr. Doz’s vision for the University has always centred on the essential and unique role AUArts must play in contributing to economic, social, and cultural prosperity – the three elements of any healthy community -on a provincial, national, and international scale.
Born in Montreal and educated in France, Dr. Doz’s academic experience spans several disciplines, including art, cinema, photography, theatre, and architecture. He holds a Doctorate in Theatrical and Cinematographic Studies from the Université de Paris-VIII and is licensed as an architect by the French government. His scholarly, research and creative activities have been focused on the thematic interplay between cinema, photography, and architecture. His photographs have been published, and his photographic work has been presented in solo and group exhibits throughout the U.S. and France.
In 2022, Dr. Doz received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. In 2021, he was appointed by the French Government to the prestigious rank of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms). In 2013, he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
