Schulz first worked as an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the
University of North Dakota. In 1995, he became assistant professor of chemical engineering at
Michigan Technological University and promoted to associate professor in 1998. Schulz also became chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering there in the same year. He accepted a position at
Mississippi State University in 2001, becoming director of the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, where he held the Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. endowed chair. Schulz became Dean of Engineering of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering and the first Earnest W. and Mary Ann Deavenport Jr. endowed chair in 2005. Two years later, Schulz was Interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development, a position which became permanent for him later in the year. On February 11, 2009, the
Kansas Board of Regents announced that Schulz was selected as the thirteenth president of
Kansas State University. On March 25, 2016, the Washington State University Board of Regents announced that Schulz was selected as the 11th president of
Washington State University, which he began in June 2016. In 2021, his roles related to the Pullman campus were delegated to a new chancellor, Elizabeth S. Chilton, and his role transitioned into setting the strategic vision and direction for the entire WSU system. Schulz announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year, amidst a declining academic reputation and rising debt of the university. ==Personal life==