Ian Grosvenor is Professor of Urban Educational History and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor for Cultural Engagement at the University of Birmingham. After reading History and Politics at the University Of Hull he trained as a school teacher. He has taught in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors in Wolverhampton and Sandwell. After fourteen years as a teacher he moved to Newman College as a primary teacher trainer. He became Head of History at the College in 1994. He then became Director of Educational Research in the School of Education at Nene College [now the University of Northampton]. In 1998 he joined the School of Education, at the University of Birmingham as a PGCE Secondary History tutor. He has held several roles in the School, including Head of School 2006-8. He was awarded a personal chair in 2004.
Ian has a longstanding interest in history having also worked as a local history tutor for the WEA and the School of Extramural Studies at Birmingham. He has been actively involved in local history projects, most notably Making Connections (2002), Connecting Histories (2005-07) and Birmingham Stories (2007-09). He is currently researching an exhibition on Children’s Lives for Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in 2012. He was co-convenor of Black Pasts, Birmingham Futures 1999-2008.
He is author of numerous articles and books on the history of education and childhood. He is the current chair of the Friends of Birmingham Archives and Heritage and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.