Governing body to name UCC president

THE next president of University College Cork is expected to be named by the college governing body today.

The development follows a six-month selection process and comes as an interim report of a review of allegations of financial mismanagement under current president Professor Gerry Wrixon is due to be considered by the governing body.

Four candidates are understood to have been interviewed, with head of UCC’s College of Medicine and Health Prof Michael Murphy being the one most mentioned on campus as a likely successor.

He has overseen major changes and improvements in UCC’s medicine faculty since becoming dean of medicine six years ago, and is also noted for his amiable personality. Prof Murphy is a member of a number of public agencies and State bodies, including the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Another insider believed to be under consideration is UCC vice-president for research policy and support Prof Michael Peter Kennedy. He took up the position in April 2005, having founded the department of microelectronic engineering and is dean of the engineering faculty.

Other names which have been suggested include former European Parliament president Pat Cox, a Limerick native who started his career as an RTÉ journalist before moving to politics with the Progressive Democrats, for whom he represented Cork South Central in the Dáil between 1992 and 1994.

Prof Tom McCarthy, chief executive of the Irish Management Institute, has also been tipped. His academic background is prestigious, including roles as professor of economics at Dublin City University and dean of research and graduate studies at NUI Maynooth.

Meanwhile, there is uncertainty whether the interim report of an inquiry into allegations made in June by Prof Des Clarke will be ready for today’s governing body meeting. Prof Clarke, a member of the body, has told former Department of Agriculture secretary general John Malone he could not discuss the allegations with him as he rejects the authority of his review.

Prof Clarke insists the only way for the matters to be properly investigated is for Education Minister Mary Hanafin to appoint a High Court judge to carry out a visitor’s investigation as allowed under the 1997 Universities Act.