Renowned artist Beverly McIver, best known for her expressionist self-portraits, has joined the North Carolina Central University Art Department as an endowed professor.  The professorship is funded through a gift from SunTrust Bank. A reception honoring McIver and her contributions to NCCU is scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2009, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the NCCU Art Museum. The museum is located on Lawson Street between Fayetteville Street and Merrick Street. The reception is free and open to the public.
 
McIver, a native of Greensboro, received the Bachelor of Arts degree from NCCU and a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from Pennsylvania State University.  She served as a visiting lecturer at North Carolina State University and as an assistant professor at Duke University before receiving a tenured position at Arizona State. In the spring of 2007, McIver was awarded the Honorary Doctorate at NCCU.
 
Over the span of her career, McIver gained popularity through major solo exhibitions and sale of her paintings.  McIver, a recipient of numerous grants and awards, has three of her triptych paintings among the permanent collection at the North Carolina State Museum of Art, in Raleigh.  Her paintings are in the collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Scottsdale Museum of Art and the Crocker Art Museum, to name a few.  McIver has received a list of prestigious awards including: the John Simon Guggenheim award, the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies, The Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and the Creative Capital award.
  
McIver is a practicing artist with a very active career and understands the importance of preparing students for life after graduation.  She is also the instructor for Painting I, II and III at NCCU.  She instills in students the value of networking and exposing their work to a broader audience. 
 
McIver will donate her self-portrait, “Finding Peace,” to generate resources for art scholarships at NCCU in support of the university’s 100th Centennial Celebration. Tickets will be available at the NCCU Department of Art, NCCU Art Museum, Tyndall Galleries, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Craven Allen Gallery, Durham, N.C. The winning ticket will be announced at a reception held at NCCU’s Art Museum following the Homecoming Game on October 31, 2009.
 
For more information, contact Dr. Melvin Carver, chair, NCCU Art Department at (919) 530-6391.