21st April 2000

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Over 150 of Ireland's top University administrators arrived at the University of Ulster's Magee College campus this week.

They came to take part in the 30th Annual Conference of Irish University Administrators, which runs until Thursday . It's the first time this prestigious conference has been hosted in the city.

The theme of the conference was Building Bridges: and delegates from Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin and Maynooth, as well as from UU and Queen's, attended presentations on

• the commercialisation of higher education (Professor Terri Scott (UU), Alan McClure (Perfecseal)
• the issues facing women in Ireland’s HE system (Senator Mary Henry, Monica McWilliams MLA)
• the interface between higher education and further education (Dr Sean Farren, MLA)
• the Springvale Educational Village (Professor Wallace Ewart, UU)

Welcoming delegates to the University and the city, Professor Gerry McKenna, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ulster, said:

"Nothing better exemplifies the modern face of our universities than your agenda for this conference, under the theme of building bridges. Your business sessions reflect the realisation that we must communicate with society and not to society. The commercialisation of higher education; its interface with further education; its responsibilities to offer inclusion and equality to all in society; and its power to revive and regenerate our communities; each says something of the journey of our universities from the first gathering of scholars in Bologna, Italy, some 900 years ago. Indeed, there has been more seminal change in the past twenty years than in nearly nine centuries of evolution. In a few decades, we have moved from elitism to mass participation and are on the road towards universal participation. Equally significant, is our applied research, helping to solve the chronic problems of economic and social deprivation and the major issues to do with the health of our people and the stewardship of the planet we have inherited. It was said recently:

"Of all the institutions created by human effort, it is difficult to find one more benevolent, more creative, more emancipatory, more dynamic than a university". That is a rich legacy for you and for me to inherit and I hope we will spend it wisely."

While in the Maiden City, delegates also enjoyed a full programme of leisure activities, including golf, a tour of the Inishowen peninsula, and guided tours of the city’s historic walls and fortifications.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk