As Executive Director for Research at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, Dr. Cunningham launches and supports arts research projects. She sits on the boards of three national organizations: The Alliance for Arts in Research Universities, The National Guild of Community Arts Education, and the Strategic National Arts Alumni Survey. Since 2012, Cunningham has served as a U.S. representative to the Council of Europe's cultural policy network, the "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe." From 2005-2011, she served as Director of Arts Education for the National Endowment for the Arts. Currently, Dr. Cunningham is authoring the U.S. policy profile for IFACCA’s World Cultural Policy database. She received her philosophy PhD from Vanderbilt University, and teaches graduate seminars in continental aesthetics to MFA candidates.