Valerie Eickmeier American (20th / 21st Century) Convergence, 2015 oil on board signed verso. Biography Valerie Eickmeier is a studio artist and a Professor of Fine Arts at the Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1979. Eickmeier has served many roles throughout her career. She taught sculpture for 18 years and served as the faculty president, Division Coordinator of Fine Arts and Associate Dean. After a series of promotions through the academic ranks, Eickmeier was named Herron’s dean in 1998. During her 20-year tenure as dean, she led the charge to raise more than $42 million for her school, which went to fund two new buildings for the school, endowed faculty chairs and student scholarships among other initiatives. Eickmeier has a productive and successful career, which encompasses more than 35 years of visiting artist lectures, private and corporate commissions, and more than 50 gallery and museum exhibitions. She is the recipient of many awards including two National Endowment for the Arts Special Project Grants, two Creative Renewal Grants from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and five research grants awarded through Indiana University. In 2005, Eickmeier was identified by Dialogue Magazine as one of the Midwest’s “Top 25 Most Influential People in the Arts.” 16"H x 8"W (sight), 17 1/4"H x 9 1/4"W (frame)