UCC names inquiry chief

A FORMER top civil servant has been chosen by the governing body of University College Cork to examine allegations of financial mismanagement and other claims made against staff.

The development comes as a shortlist of four candidates has been chosen to compete for the job of university president, to succeed Professor Gerry Wrixon when he retires at the end of next January.

John Malone, a former general secretary of the Department of Agriculture, is to carry out the review of allegations made to Education Minister Mary Hanafin by head of philosophy, Professor Des Clarke. He claims there has been a failure to control UCC’s debt under Prof Wrixon’s tenure and that there is widespread bullying and intimidation of staff.

The inquiry is to cover those issues which have not previously been considered by the governing body, but will also review the processes used in those previous inquiries.

The review was agreed upon by the governing body a fortnight ago, following consultations with the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which was asked by Ms Hanafin to examine Prof Clarke’s allegations.

While he had asked the minister to appoint a High Court judge as a visitor to the university to examine alleged breaches of university law and statutes, she believes such a step is not warranted. Mr Malone is expected to produce an interim report for the governing body within four weeks and they, in turn, will report to the HEA. However, no timescale has been put on the completion of the review.

The report should state if there is substance in any of the allegations. Mr Malone can make recommendations for remedial action, a further process of examination, if considered appropriate, or both.

The HEA and UCC have also agreed that the review should not interfere with or delay the process to appoint a new college president.

Following Prof Wrixon’s surprise announcement in May that he would be stepping down, an English recruitment firm was engaged to select a shortlist of candidates. It is understood four applicants have been nominated for further interview, with the successful candidate to be named next month.