University News Last updated 11 June
Mavernie Cunningham has been appointed as Dean of Birmingham City University’s (BCU) new School of Arts, charged with building on the University’s position as the leading provider of creative graduates in the West Midlands.
Currently Head of Art at London Metropolitan University, where she specialises in researching cultural identity and representation through performance, film and sound, Mavernie (pictured) will join BCU on 1 September, in time for the start of the 2025/26 academic year.
BCU Vice Chancellor Professor David Mba said: “Mavernie brings a wealth of teaching and research knowledge to our University from her extensive career as a leader of creative arts education.
“BCU recognises how crucially important our graduate talent is to sustaining and growing the creative industries, which are worth over £120bn to the UK economy.
“With Mavernie at the helm of our new School of Arts, I am certain our impact will only accelerate.”
Mavernie said: “I am hugely excited at taking on this opportunity at BCU, developing a new school in subjects that are not just my passion but also an intrinsic part of the University’s past and future.
“BCU has a strong reputation for producing graduate talent across creative arts disciplines and I am hugely ambitious to develop that further, matching our fantastic facilities with passionate teaching staff and deep connections with the creative economy in the city, region and beyond.”
Prior to London Metropolitan, Mavernie held a range of posts at the University of the Creative Arts, culminating in her appointment as Programme Director Fine Art.
A graduate of the Royal College of Art, she is returning to the West Midlands after a lengthy period away, having fuelled her original passion for the creative arts at Stourbridge College, which was once a hothouse for artistic talent in the region.
Formed earlier this year, BCU’s new School of Arts consists of three departments – Art and Design, English and Media, and Fashion and Jewellery.
Professor Ian Blair, BCU’s Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic, believes Mavernie will play a key role in helping the University deliver its ambitions up to 2030 and beyond.
“I know Mavernie will be a tremendous appointment for BCU’s student and staff community, and that her expertise and enthusiasm for the creative arts will shine through in everything she does,” he said.
“BCU came into being through the creative arts in 1843, with the founding of our forerunner institution the Government School of Design. Producing talent for the needs of today’s growing creative economy is as important to us now as then."