Prof. Dr. Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen (born 1951) is a German philosopher and art historian who works in the fields of epistemology, art and design. In the last 14 years he was Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (2002-2011) and Director of the New Design University St. Pölten (2011-2016), where he has worked on the future development of universities with a focus on artistic education. He is honorary professor for aesthetics and artistic knowledge at the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen. Schmidt-Wulffen studied philosophy, linguistics and communication design in Cologne, Constance and Wuppertal. From 1992 to 2000 he was director of the Kunstverein in Hamburg and taught at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg. He taught at various universities in Europe and the USA and was a member of the advisory boards of museums and universities such as the Musée Grand Duc Jean, Luxembourg, the Kadir Has University, Istanbul, and the Free University of Bolzano. Schmidt-Wulffen has held a professorship in art theory at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano since 2016, where he heads the art program. In the last years, he worked as dean of the Faculty of Design and as scientific supervisor of the Platform for Cultural Heritage Cultural Production. His research includes 20th century art and art theory with a focus on conceptual and post-conceptual art, art in public space, and artistic practices.

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