Cal Schultz '57 HD'03
2003 Distinguished Service to College and State

If you've been to Mitchell any time during the past 25 years and visited the World's Only Corn Palace, you've seen the work of one of Wesleyan's most noted artists - Cal Schultz.

As the designer of more than 300 Corn Palace murals, Schultz has left a legacy in the state of South Dakota. He's even had a book written about him, titled "The King of Corn." After graduating from Ethan High School in 1946, Schultz enrolled at DWU, where he found his niche in art classes. After taking classes at Omaha Art School and teaching at the Joslyn Art Museum, Father Flanagan's Boys Town and St. Paul's Indian Mission at Marty, he returned to Wesleyan to finish his degree, graduating in 1957.

Schultz taught art classes at the South Dakota State Training School in Plankinton and in the Mitchell school system for 19 years. In 1977, he began designing the murals on the Corn Palace, retiring in 2001.

In 1998, Schultz was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame for his contributions. Last year some of his artwork, along with an article, was published in the magazine, "Good Old Days."

Ten years ago he was named South Dakota's Outstanding Citizen with a Disability, and in 1991 he participated in the Smithsonian Institute's Folk Art Festival in Washington, D.C. In May, Schultz received an honorary doctorate from Dakota Wesleyan. Schultz is a widower with two grown stepchildren.