New Trinity Taskforce to hold first meeting on November 22

Posted on: 06 November 2024

Following approval of its terms of reference by the Board and University Council, Trinity College Dublin’s new Taskforce on Academic and Institutional International Links and Related Matters will hold its first meeting on November 22, 2024. 

 Mary Irvine, the former President of the High Court who has served as a judge of the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, has accepted the role as Chair of the Taskforce.

The Taskforce will have 26 members (listed below), including three nominated by the Trinity Students Union, two by the Central Societies’ Committee and four nominated by the Group of Unions. 

Mary Irvine said: “For a globally active institution like Trinity, which can and must forge links right across the world, it is both wise and important to consider in a formal manner the terms under which those links are established. I am very much looking forward to my role as Chair of this timely Taskforce and to the discussions that this group will undertake.” 

The Taskforce will operate within the formal structures and value systems of the College as its recommendations will need to be made to relevant Principal Committees, Council and Board, as appropriate, which is in accordance with the academic governance of the University.  

The Taskforce will*:  

• address the issues raised in the resolution statement (8th May) arising from the encampment regarding the situation in Palestine, by developing a set of ethical principles to inform current and future links and exchanges between Trinity College Dublin and higher education institutions, commercial enterprises and/or other relevant bodies in jurisdictions involved in armed conflicts  and / or there are violations of international law;   

• consider the interplay of individual academic freedom and institutional autonomy in Trinity College Dublin;  

• consider if Trinity College Dublin should issue official, institutional declarations on matters of social, cultural and political significance;  

• consider how to better support constructive disagreement and viewpoint diversity in Trinity College Dublin.  

The Taskforce will seek submissions from the College community on these issues, invite presentations to inform their deliberations and will make recommendations to Board and Council on the outcomes of the deliberations.  

The membership of the Taskforce is as follows:  

Chair: 

Mary Irvine   

Secretariat: 

The Senior Dean  

The Secretary to the College / Director of Governance (or their nominee)   

Members  

3 members to be nominated by the President of the TCDSU  

2 members to be nominated by the Chair of the Central Societies Committee  

Group of Unions (IFUT, SIPTU, UNITE, Craft Unions): 4 members to be nominated 

The Vice-Provost & Chief Academic Officer (or their nominee)  

The Chief Operating Officer (or their nominee)    

The Vice-President for Global Engagement (or their nominee)  

The Chair of the Fellows (or their nominee)  

The Director of Human Resources (or their nominee)  

The Librarian and College Archivist (or their nominee)  

The Dean of Research (or their nominee)  

Associate Vice-Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (or their nominee)  

The Dean of Faculty of AHSS (or their nominee)  

The Dean of Faculty of HS (or their nominee)  

The Dean of Faculty of STEM (or their nominee)  

The Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer (or their nominee)  

The Chief Financial Officer (or their nominee)  

The Chief Advancement Officer (or their nominee)  

Three External / Internal Members to be nominated by the Chair of the College Board  

Note: The Chair must approve a College Officer nominee. The nominee of the College Officer will be a member of the Taskforce for its lifetime.  

*Note some detail in the text was amended to reflect decisions taken at the first meeting of the Taskforce

ENDS 

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