Professor Gibson is currently the Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Research at the University of Leicester and will take up her new role in April 2021.

She is a specialist in the study of the relations between culture and 'the social' and her academic career has seen her span across the fields of heritage and museum studies, cultural and cultural policy studies, cultural geography, and sociology.

Professor Gibson was awarded her PhD in 1999 from Griffith University in Australia on ‘Art and Citizenship: Governmental Intersections’. She has held numerous Research Fellowships at New York University, University of Melbourne and Princeton University before joining the University of Leicester.

When asked about her appointment she said: “As a Professor of Culture and Society I am an academic whose work spans the Humanities and Social Sciences. As such I am a passionate advocate for the importance of the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines in helping us understand and solve the grand challenges of our times.

“I am really excited to accept the position as Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Loughborough. It is a top School with a considerable reputation for excellence. I’m really looking forward to working with colleagues in the School to explore further possibilities and to develop and support high quality and exciting courses alongside globally important leading-edge research.”

Loughborough University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Allison, added: “We are delighted that Professor Gibson will be joining us in this role. We have no doubt that her enthusiasm and experience will be incredibly valuable in the role as Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities and for the wider University. We look forward to welcoming her next year.”