THE appointment of Professor Kerstin Mey as Interim President of the University of Limerick has been welcomed by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris as an historic step towards improving diversity at the top of academic institutions.
The Berlin native is the first female president of a university in Ireland and Minister Harris said that he was fully committed to the roll-out of the senior academic leadership initiative to increase the number of women at professor level in Irish universities.
UL is already notable for its gender equality, with five female members out of eleven on the university’s executive committee. For the second time in its history, UL has a female Chancellor, while two of its three Vice Presidents and three of its five Deans are women.
Minister Harris said that Dr Mey’s prolific academic record, renowned research and established leadership both in Ireland and internationally will be of immense benefit to the university and he wished all in the university well in this new and exciting phase of its evolution.
