Two candidates with strong UCC links vying to be NUI chancellor

Former UCC president Michael Murphy is vying with Linda O’Shea Farren, a former member of the UCC Governing Body and Audit Committee, in the contest to succeed Dr Maurice Manning, who has held the position of chancellor of the National University of Ireland since 2009.

While Ireland’s universities are largely autonomous and independent of one another, the NUI of which they are part has certain academic powers – all degrees conferred by UCD, UCC, Galway and Maynooth Universities, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland are degrees of the NUI.

The role itself is symbolic. As former UCC president and candidate Professor Murphy puts it: “The chancellor, as head of NUI, chairs the Senate. The role is honorary, certainly symbolic and ceremonial too – one of the regular roles of the chancellor is to conduct degree conferring ceremonies at NUI, present prizes and scholarships, launch books and so on.”

Even if the role has no executive power, the former UCC president concedes that the chancellor could advocate for causes and should speak out where there may be useful impact.

And there are plenty of causes which relate to the survival and accessibility of universities in Ireland today for Professor Murphy and Ms O’Shea Farren, who is aiming to be the first woman to hold the office.

Ms O’Shea Farren, who hails from Limerick, studied law in UCC before going on to a legal career in Ireland, London and New York. She has been a member of NUI Senate since 2002 and was previously the chairperson of both the UCC and NUI Audit and Risk Committee.

Professor Murphy served as UCC President from 2007 to 2017, having been previously Dean of Medicine and Health Sciences in the university. He had worked as a doctor in Cork and Dublin and carried out post graduate studies in London’s Imperial College. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology in the University of Chicago.

Impact of housing crisis

While there are more places on university courses than ever, access is an issue because of the shortage of accommodation on or near college campuses and affordability is an impossible challenge for many.

Ms O’Shea Farren believes that the current situation has the potential to have a negative impact on the education received by students in our universities.

“The current housing crisis in Ireland, alongside the spiralling cost of living, make working two or three jobs in college inevitable for many – if not most – students, especially students for whom living at home is not an option,” she said.

“While having a good work ethic is admirable, having to work two or three jobs to get through college severely affects a student’s university experience, both educationally and socially.

“If I am elected NUI chancellor, I will encourage enhancement of the student voice within NUI and other supports for students to maximise students’ university experience both educationally and socially.”

Professor Murphy describes the housing crisis as a huge challenge and acknowledges that students are particularly vulnerable.

“Government simply has to create the conditions to accelerate both purpose-built student apartments and family housing. Both are necessary if we are to reduce market prices for students and for citizens generally,” he said.

“There is a housing emergency. It impacts student access to higher education, and it limits our ability to attract international, talented staff, researchers and students – indirectly impacting further the quality of Irish education and research.”

Core funding 

The other major issue affecting universities in Ireland is that of core funding. While there was an increase in core funding for the third level sector of €50m this year and another €100m between next year and 2030, that only goes a fraction of the way to funding the €307m annual shortfall for universities at present, a shortfall which was estimated in the Government’s own ‘Funding the Future’ report in 2022.

This is having an impact on the campuses of Ireland’s universities. According to Professor Murphy, Irish universities did enjoy a decade-long renaissance funded by a €1billion donation from American billionaire and philanthropist, the late Chuck Feeney, but this money is gone now and the new buildings it built 10-15 years ago mark a full stop in the physical development of universities.

“These buildings are not being maintained as they must, the equipment is increasingly obsolete. There has been little government-funded infrastructure investment in the traditional universities since the onset of the financial crisis 16 years ago.”

Ms O’Shea Farren also puts the funding of NUI universities at the top of her list of priorities.

“Universities’ funding problems are everybody’s problem,” she said.

“It is vital for the overall economic well-being of this country that we have a properly resourced third-level education system that attracts the kinds of jobs to Ireland that will allow our graduates to stay here, and enable those who have emigrated to come back to live here with their families.”

She also pointed to the reports that have been published in recent years that have tackled the issue without providing all the answers. She described the €1.5billion surplus in the National Training Fund as ‘noteworthy’.

“Ongoing pragmatic communication among all stakeholders involved is crucial to ensuring that Ireland’s third level sector not only survives but thrives.”

Other issues 

Other issues both candidates have identified include the precarious nature of employment for people working in universities and the brain drain from Irish universities as graduates head overseas for employment, unable to afford to live in Ireland.

“What is the point in trumpeting total employment and wage increases when legions of young and more experienced graduates are being forced into emigration by economic failure once again – the alternative being living in their parents’ box room, co-living, couch surfing, digital nomadism and all of the other euphemisms for not being able to afford your own living space,” asked Ms O’Shea Farren.

An issue that Professor Murphy wants to build on is work he started while president of the European University Association until recently.

“As the president of EUA, I championed a project to develop a vision for Europe’s universities over the next 10-15 years. It’s called ‘Universities Without Walls’. To succeed in global competition, and meet the needs of our society, Europe’s universities must evolve in many ways. They must be more open, especially to adult learners, must evolve their education methods using emerging technologies, be much better networked in both teaching and research.”

NUI graduates have until October 17 to register and return their votes for their choice of candidate to succeed Dr Maurice Manning to become the sixth-ever chancellor of the National University of Ireland since the establishment of the NUI in 1908. Previous office holders have included former UCC professor, the late John A. Murphy, former Taoisigh Garret Fitzgerald and Éamon de Valera, and T.K. Whitaker, one of the key architects of the modern Irish state.