Kyriaki Anagnostopoulou

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Leadership in Focus: Meet the Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Tuesday, 10 February, 2026

Last year, Bath Spa University announced Professor Kyriaki Anagnostopoulou as its new Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Kyriaki’s journey from a first-generation student studying across three different countries, through to her current position at BSU is an inspiring one and shows that even when the odds may be stacked against you, it is possible to progress and thrive in your career through persistence and the opportunities offered by education.

Kyriaki’s journey is a unique one, having been born in the United States to Greek parents, before moving to Greece as a teenager to study at secondary school and university, and studying her master’s and doctorate in England after being an Erasmus exchange student. Despite not deliberately choosing to study across three countries, Kyriaki believes that this is why she is in the role she is in today:

“I didn’t set out to explore different school systems. I found myself moving between them almost by accident. But those experiences shaped everything that followed. I’ve chosen to focus on learning and teaching throughout my career because of what I lived through as a student.

I moved between systems where I thrived in some and struggled in others, and I couldn’t understand why. That question stayed with me. It made me want to understand what makes learning environments work, and how we can develop systems and structures in which all students have the opportunity to succeed.”

She continued:

“Living and studying across three different countries gave me a deep appreciation of how profoundly context shapes educational experiences, and how much effort it can take to adapt to a new system.

These transitions strengthened my commitment to widening participation, student success, and the continuous enhancement of higher education. We often measure students by how far they rise but rarely acknowledge the depth from which they have climbed.”

Kyriaki’s progression through different school systems led to her pursuing a career in education, and she explains her passion for teaching:

“At its heart, my work is about learning and teaching that meets the needs of diverse students, whether they are international, first in their family to attend university, or come from underrepresented backgrounds. It’s about widening access and making higher education work for everyone.”

Professor Anagnostopoulou has been a part of the BSU community for nine years where she most recently served as Vice-Provost. Speaking about when she first joined BSU:

“It felt very homely and the values aligned with my own. The diversity of the university drew me in, the diversity of subjects and teaching and different ways of teaching, but also the diversity of students.”

As a Professor of Higher Education, Kyriaki is also a leading academic in the field of education and educational innovation and has over 28 years of experience in higher education. Nationally recognised with a National Teaching Fellowship, Kyriaki is a thought leader who has presented at conferences across the world and contributed extensively to education policy and practice.

Now four months into her new role, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Anagnostopoulou is focused on shaping the academic portfolio, strengthening approaches to teaching and assessment, and identifying educational opportunities to support continuation and progression for diverse learners across BSU.

Outside of the workplace, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is keen to challenge herself through developing her creativity and acquiring new skills, as she believes this helps her to grow:

“I seek out activities that offer new ways of seeing the world. For example, most recently, I’ve been exploring the medium of glass through sculptural flameworking, glass painting, and stained-glass design.

I am a novice in these, but I purposely engage in new and unfamiliar creative practices to help me step outside my comfort zone, develop new perspectives, and grow in unexpected ways. These experiences ground me and continually open new horizons, both personally and professionally.”

From being a first-generation student to becoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor at BSU, Kyriaki has built a successful academic career by embracing each opportunity along the way and remaining committed to inclusive and meaningful education. Her journey reflects the transformative power of education, not only in shaping individual careers but also in driving social mobility and opening doors for others to thrive.

2025 was a successful year for both BSU and its new Deputy Vice-Chancellor, with aims to make 2026 even better.