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Ms Jill Cowley

Job: Pro Vice Chancellor, Dean of Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: School of Humanities and Performing Arts

Address: СʪÃÃÊÓƵ, The Gateway, Leicester, UK, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0)116 250 6276

E: jcowley@dmu.ac.uk

W: /arts

Social Media:

 

Personal profile

Jill is Pro Vice Chancellor Skills and Training and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities.  Her university-wide portfolio includes the strategic development of higher technical education, including apprenticeships and HTQs.  Within Faculty, Jill is responsible for ensuring alignment of activity with the University Strategy through setting goals and the achievement of corporate key performance indicators in the areas of teaching, research, enterprise and innovation.  She oversees matters relating to quality assurance and enhancement, and contributes to the development of effective governance arrangements and compliance with agreed standards and processes.  As a member of the University Leadership Board, she chairs validations, hearings and appeals, and is responsible for effective, collective institutional leadership, including high level strategic planning and decision-making. 

Jill has been at СʪÃÃÊÓƵ since 2007, in previous roles  including Head of School of Humanities and Performing Arts, Subject Leader for Performing Arts and Faculty Academic Development Partner.    Jill is a dance practitioner who has worked extensively within a broad range of teaching contexts, including community practice, FE and HE.   She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has worked on a special commission for government around the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.  Her research is in the pedagogy of collaborative and intermedial practices in performance-making, and arts and wellbeing.

Research group affiliations

Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Dance

Key research outputs

COWLEY, J. et al (2015) ‘Will You Play? Implications of audience interventions in improvised dance performance’, Choreographic Practices, 6: 2, pp.297-315, doi:10.1386/chor.6.2.297_1

Collaborations in Choreography and Dance (CiCaDa) (2015) [online]. Available from collaborations.dmu.ac.uk

Collaborative Choreography: An approach to making. (Conversations with New Art Club) (2009) DVD and work booklet.  Created by BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J.  Leicester, СʪÃÃÊÓƵ.

BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J. (2009) Coping in Collaborative Choreography.  Proceedings of the Global Perspectives on Dance Pedagogy: Research and Practice.  CORD Special Conference.

Research interests/expertise

Lifelong Learning Entitlement and higher technical education. Collaborative practices; dance pedagogy; intermedial performance-making; dance and dementia; personal development within HE students

Areas of teaching

Dance practice; collaborative processes; performance-making; applied arts; dance management; the holistic learner

Qualifications

MPhil in Dance Studies and Public Health, Lancaster University

BA (Hons) in Performing Arts: Dance, Lancaster University  – 1st class

PGCE (pcet) Canterbury Christchurch University

СʪÃÃÊÓƵ taught

BA Performing Arts (Physical Theatre, Contemporary Music Theatre, Personal Development Planning, Performance Research Project and International Performance Project)

BA Dance (Dance Techniques, Choreography and Promoting Dance)

Honours and awards

Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher Award, June 2012.

СʪÃÃÊÓƵ Teacher Fellow, August 2016

Membership of external committees

Board Member of Phoenix (Leicester ARts Centre)

Board Member of the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS)

 

Membership of professional associations and societies

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

 

Professional licences and certificates

Senior Women's Leadership and Development Programme

Aurora

Forthcoming events

CanvavsCon Europe 2024

e.g Conferences/festivals/campaigns

Conference attendance

Panel Member: Supporting Degree Apprenticeships at Universities. Westminster Insight Degree Apprenticeships Conference, 7th July 2024

COWLEY, J. Valuing Cultural and Creative Education.  Belt and Road Forum, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30th October 2023

BRESLIN, J, COWLEY, J & DOUGHTY, S.  Keep that, leave that.  Questioning the Contemporary Conference.  Leeds Metropolitan University. 18th July 2014 (refereed paper)

BRESLIN, J & COWLEY, J. Collaborative Choreography: An approach to making. On Collaboration II Symposium. Middlesex University, 18th May 2013. (refereed paper)

BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J. Coping in Collaborative Making: Why coping strategies affect learning.  Theatre and Pedagogy.  IUTA 8th World Conference. 28th June 2010.  (refereed paper) 

BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J. Coping in Collaborative Choreography: Why coping strategies affect learning.  International Conference of Performing Arts Training, Leibnitz, Austria.  May 2010.  (refereed paper) 

BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J. Coping in Collaborative Choreography: Why coping strategies might affect learning.  Global Perspectives on Dance Pedagogy: Research and Practice.  CORD Special Conference, Leicester, June 2009.  (refereed paper) 

BRESLIN, J., COWLEY, J., FITZPATRICK, M. Assessing collaborative practice in dance. Exploring the Hinterlands: mapping an agenda for institutional research conference,

Southampton Solent University, June 2008.  (refereed paper) 

Other forms of public presentation:

Quick Shifts: Stripped. [24th January 2016. Attenborough Arts]

Quick Shifts. [15th November 2015 Attenborough Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts.  [26th April 2015. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Three ones [11th March, 2015.  Nottingham Concert Hall]

Quick Shifts: Found in Translation. [27th February 2015. Cultural Exchanges, Leicester]

Quick Shifts.  [25th January 2015. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts.  [16th November 2015. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts: Danscriptions [July 6th 2014. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts: Lin-gwis-tiks [March 16th 2014. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts: Double Take [January 26th 2014. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts: Salon #12 [November 3rd2013. Embrace Arts, Leicester]

What’s The Score?  [March 17th 2013. Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham]

Quick Shifts. [March 9th 2013.  Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Quick Shifts. [December 2nd 2012, Embrace Arts, Leicester]

Three ones. [November 17th 2012. PACE, Leicester]

Consultancy work

07/24 - 10/24     Special Commission Group Member for Lifelong Learning Entitlement review.

03/24    Process Panel Member for validation for The Open University, Foundation Degree Acting and Production, Belfast Met College

29/02/24     Shaping the Workforce of the Future.  Invited contributor to Instructure Roundtable

05/22 – 07/22   Consultancy for Leicester City Council – Cultural and Creative Strategy (Dance in Leicester City)

11/03/22     Process Panel Member for revalidation for The Open University, of BA (Hons) Acting (Top-up), Leeds City College

03/02/20     External Academic Panel Member for revalidation of BA Dance, BA Theatre and Performance and BA Performing Arts, Leeds Beckett University

11-12/11/19     HE Academic Consultant for Pearson International Diploma Performing Arts

15-16/11/16     Process Panel Member for O.U. validation of FdAs and BA Top ups at Leeds City College

15-16/12/15     Panel Member for O.U. validation of degrees in Theatre Arts and Contemporary Dance Practice at Deree College, Athens.

22/10/10     Represented Dance in H.E. at Medway Dance Careers event.

21/10/10     Advisor - Preparation for University Dance Auditions, Mid Kent College

28/07/10     Workshop leader at Foundation House, London for American University students

2010 & 2011   Panel member for Moving Out (graduate choreography platform), Coventry University 

21/05/10     Advisor on FE to HE transition, New College Telford

3-6/09/09     Workshop leader at the International Biennale of young artists, Skopje

External Examiner

09/19 - ongoing    University of Winchester BA Dance, BA Dance and Choreography, BA Dance and Young People

09/16 – 02/22   DEREE: The American College of Greece, Athens BA Contemporary Dance Practice (Open University)

01/14 – 10/17  Canterbury Christ Church University MA Arts and Cultural Management; BA Performing Arts and HNC Performing Arts

09/13 – 10/16  Hull College (Open University) BA Dance

11/12 – 10/14  Hull College (Leeds Metropolitan University) FdA Dance and Level 6 Top Up

Internally funded research project information

Collaborative Practices.  CEPA funded focus groups, buy-out time and the creation of a diary room.  July 2008 – June 2009.  Amount: £1100.  Co-investigator with Jo Breslin.

Making visible an existing paradigm of collaborative choreography in the process of professional practice.  RIT funding used to create educational DVD resource. Amount:  £3,818.23.  June 2009 – September 2009.  Co-investigator collaborating with Jo Breslin.   

Published patents

 

Case studies

Review printed in British Universities Film and Video Council (2010) Viewfinder. December 2010, No 81

 

 

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