College promoted staff to stop ‘poaching’

FOUR academics at University College Cork have been promoted in the past year under a controversial scheme to retain staff who have been offered jobs by other colleges.

The retention promotion process was set up late last year in the wake of tensions between universities over alleged poaching of top academics, particularly those with strong research programmes that could bring increased funding.

The heads of the seven universities signed an agreement in September last year, setting out that they would recruit staff openly and transparently and respect each other’s research and teaching strengths when developing themselves.

The strongest concerns had been about the appointment by University College Dublin of key academic department leaders from other colleges, notably Professor Michael Gibney and his food science research team from Trinity College Dublin last year.

A committee was set up by UCC’s academic council last December to consider applications from people offered high-level posts at other Irish or British institutions for promotion to senior lecturer, associate professor or professor.

Since then, an associate professor has been appointed a professor, two senior lecturers have been made associate professors and a lecturer appointed as senior lecturer.

The promotions are outside the normal promotional process, although they are based on similar high standards and rigour of assessment.

The process was discussed at UCC’s academic board, a subcommittee of the academic council, last Wednesday.

The Irish Examiner has learnt that some department heads expressed concerns about the proposed continuation of the scheme for another year.

The retention committee, chaired by the college’s registrar Prof Paul Giller, reported to the board that the scheme has fulfilled the objective of allowing UCC to respond to exceptional circumstances in the best interests of the university.

However, at least two professors are known to have called for an end to the scheme and it is now likely to be referred to the academic council for discussion at its next meeting.

One of the concerns is believed to be about the apparent ease with which staff might get another college to make a job offer and earn themselves automatic promotion.

The process requires an applicant’s research and scholarship and academic standing to be given priority when applications are being considered by the retention committee. It also includes the heads of the four colleges, research vice-president Prof Peter Kennedy, human resources and promotions board figures and professors from the areas relevant to each application.

They consider the applicant’s career trajectory, the university making the offer and the importance of the staff member and his or her research area.