Valerie Eickmeier is an accomplished studio artist, Dean Emerita, and Professor Emerita at the Herron School of Artand Design, Indiana University, Indianapolis. She served many roles throughout her 39-year career atHerron, including teaching studio fine arts courses and serving as the dean from 1998 to 2018.She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982 and aBachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1979.Eickmeier’s career encompasses numerous visiting artist lectures, private and corporatecommissions, and more than 60 gallery and museum exhibitions. She received many prestigiousawards including two special project grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, two CreativeRenewal Fellowships from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, an Individual Artist Fellowship from theIndiana Arts Commission, and six Arts and Humanities Research Grants from Indiana University, whichwere funded by the Lilly Endowment.She lives and maintains studios in Sarasota, Florida, and Carmel, Indiana.