Birmingham City University appoints Professor Alison Honour to top creative role

Birmingham City University has strengthened its position as a leading provider of creative arts education by appointing Professor Alison Honour as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of its Faculty of Arts, Design and Media.

A National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Professor Honour originally trained as a fine artist before taking on higher education leadership roles.

She spent 10 years at Oxford Brookes University, rising to the position of Associate Dean Student Experience, before becoming Pro-Vice Chancellor of De Montfort’s Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities.

Commenting on her appointment, Professor Honour, said:

“I am very excited about taking on this new challenge at Birmingham City University, which has an outstanding reputation for producing creative arts graduates. The facilities at the University’s new City Centre Campus are as good as any you will find in industry and I can’t wait to start working with the talented staff and students whose work has already impressed me hugely.”

Home to the new £57 million Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Media, Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Arts Design and Media is the biggest provider of creative courses in England outside London and the UK’s most successful recruiter for art and design in China and Malaysia.

Birmingham City University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Philip Plowden, said:

“Alison is a superb appointment for our University, with exactly the right blend of expertise, drive and passion to take our outstanding work across the creative arts to an even higher level.

“This is an exciting time for our University and I know Alison will be a great asset in developing our offer across arts, design and the media, and in projecting our University’s transformation to new audiences.”

A pioneer in education and research since 1843, the Faculty is also home to Birmingham School of Architecture and Design, the New Technology Institute, Birmingham School of Art and the Schools of English, Fashion and Textiles, Jewellery and Visual Communication.

Furthermore, Professor Honour will oversee Birmingham Institute of Fashion and Creative Art (BIFCA), a partnership between Birmingham City University and Wuhan Textile University (WTU) based in Wuhan, China.

Professor Honour will start with the University on Monday 2 July, working alongside Professor David Roberts, who will remain in charge of the Faculty during a handover period until Thursday 31 July.