The University of Winchester is delighted to announce that Dr Cathy Gower has been appointed as the new Dean of the Faculty of Education and the Arts (EDA).
Cathy, currently Dean of the School of Education at the University of Brighton, is due to take up her post on 1 January 2024.
Prior to joining Brighton in 2021, Cathy spent 25 years at Brunel University London, where she was an undergraduate and postgraduate programme leader for Physical Education (PE) teaching courses before taking on wider leadership roles, including Director of Initial Teacher Education, eventually becoming Head of the Department of Education.
“I am absolutely delighted to be joining Winchester to lead such a vibrant Faculty, which combines two of my own professional and personal passions in life; Education and the Arts”, said Cathy.
“These two academic disciplines are integral to so many aspects of our individual and collective development as human beings and to the socio-cultural and economic enrichment of society. They can truly offer transformational educational experiences for students, which I know is at the heart of the exciting new University Strategic Plan.
"I recognise the importance of the Faculty in terms of engagement with our local, regional, national and international community and I look forward to working with our key partners and stakeholders going forwards.
“It is also such a beautiful environment to work and learn in, with such a strong sense of community – it will be a pleasure and a privilege to be the Dean.”
Before moving into higher education, Cathy taught PE and English in two secondary schools in West London and in the early 1990s, as an early career teacher, she attended summer schools at King Alfred’s College – the forerunner of the University of Winchester.
Cathy has also been a co-investigator on an EU SchoolNet funded project on mentoring for School Improvement (MenSi) through the uses of technology and has been a principal investigator on a project funded by BELMAS (British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society) on the uses of technology to support the learning of educational leaders.
She is interested in the uses of technology to support professional learning more generally through video stimulated reflection and hopes to continue this research and to use this to support the further development of teaching at the University of Winchester.
Professor Sarah Greer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winchester said: “Cathy brings with her a wealth of outstanding experience in educational leadership in higher education and I am delighted to welcome her to the University. Winchester has an outstanding reputation for teaching and research in Education and the Arts, and I have no doubt that both disciplines will grow and flourish under her leadership.”
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