Tom Boland and Ellen Hazelkorn have published an op ed piece in The Irish Times, 23 April 2024, in response to recent events in Ireland concerning the universities.

“Our universities are again in the crosshairs of the media and the political system, and on the face of it for good reasons – financial deficits, overspending and apparent failures of governance and management at the institutional level.

This balance between autonomy and accountability is a very fine one, and is one easily disrupted, even by the universities themselves.

There is now a clear danger that the response from the political system will be that even stronger powers are needed to regulate the universities.

But it’s not enough to point fingers at politicians. Universities and their representative bodies have to understand, if they do not already, that the actions of one have implications for all.”

Read the full piece.