Almost 10 years in office, 
the President reminisces.

But for his last of the traditional interviews for the Summer edition of UCD News, he feels that the University has grown in a satisfactory manner over the period of his stewardship. 

And he is glad enough to be passing on the baton. "It is the kind of job where somebody new is needed at a certain stage," he says. "Otherwise there is the danger of getting stale." 

On his original 'wish-list', Dr Cosgrove had included a number of areas for improvement, at teaching, academic, and infrastructural levels. Among those he is particularly pleased to have seen come to pass relate to staff development. 

"There is a new system for promotion to senior lecturer, and we have just had a round of associate professorship promotions," he notes. "The main change which we introduced was that candidates for senior lecturer were graded against stated criteria, or benchmarks, rather than competing against one another for a limited number of posts. Its implementation did involve some hiccups, but by and large I think most people now see it as a fairer system. They are more aware of what they need to do to get promoted, rather than feeling they are in some kind of lottery dictated by outside factors such as finance or the number of available posts." 

The further implementation of the 'two-way street' that Dr Cosgrove would like to see happen is an extension of staff development programmes. Already happening 'in spots', members of staff can meet with senior colleagues in their department for a 'mentor'-type discussion. 

"It seems to me that if you come into any institution, you should not only know what you are expected to achieve, but you should be helped to achieve it. In many instances, advice and counselling from other people in the system is desirable." 

During Dr Cosgrove's tenure as President, the Celtic Tiger roared into Ireland (though apparently is currently leaving the Irish jungle), and that might have made academic recruitment difficult against the competition of a bustling business environment. But in fact, it doesn't appear to have been so. 

"Some left to go into commercial enterprises, but I don't recall there being any occasion when we were desperately seeking people and couldn't find them. For a while it was difficult to get computer scientists, but that seems to have passed now. Where there is a problem is in attracting people from outside to professorship chairs, primarily because of the cost of housing in Dublin. That is an issue which is very difficult to crack." 

In infrastructural terms, there have been many positive achievements at UCD in the last decade, some of them 'long promises' finally made good, such as the Student Centre first mooted in the mid 60s. The Veterinary School also came slower than expected, but is now an integral part of the Belfield campus. Even the remainder of the Engineering Faculty is now in a schedule to leave Earlsfort Terrace, with the acquisition of the Phillips property on the Clonskeagh side of the University. 

"There have also been other landmark developments under the PRTLI, such as the Urban Institute, the Conway Institute which opens in September, and the Institute for the Study of Social Change. The Quinn Business School is in place, and the Humanities Institute is well under way. The student residence facilities have also been expanded, though there is still a greater demand than we can accommodate." 

The one 'orphan' is the School of Medicine, still in a limbo in Earlsfort Terrace, and with no decision forthcoming from the Department as to whether it can be moved. The situation is rapidly reaching a 'crunch' position, because unless UCD gets the green light to move to Belfield, up to 10 million will have to be expended on bringing the building and laboratories in Earlsfort Terrace up to a minimum standard of 21st century requirements. 

"If we could get the go-ahead to move now, we could save up to 7 million by incorporating the School into our current building programme for the other Health Sciences - Nursing, Diagnostic Imaging and Physiotherapy. I have written to the relevant ministers that at this stage any decision would be better than none. Even if it is a decision that we don't want, at least we could plan on that basis." 

That situation is a reflection of one of the continuing frustrations for university leaders, that they have not been able to achieve a multi-annual budgeting system from the Government for year-to-year funding. 

"One of the big difficulties is how late we are told what our funding will be for any given year. Even now, in early July, we don't know what fee increase will be needed or sanctioned for the students coming back in September. We are 'budgeting in the blind'. We know that there will probably have to be cutbacks, but how do we tell our deans to cut back when we don't know by what amount?" 

Dr Cosgrove also echoes the concerns of his colleagues about the current hiatus in research funding, a 'casualty' of the economic downturn analogous to a patient in hospital having treatment deferred until funding is found. 

"We have had a quantum leap in the amount of money coming available for research in third level over the last five or six years. There has at last been a recognition that universities have a key role to play in the economic development of the country. But there is a tendency at the political level to want the same kind instant return from research as happens in other kinds of infrastructure development, and that is just not possible If you embark on a research plan, you are building for the longer term and you must be consistent." 

The President emphasises the truism that research is the carrot that has retained many highly qualified Irish graduates in Ireland. 

"If they are not sure that the research programmes are going to continue, you won't get them to come. And if you do not continue a research programme through to its finale, it goes elsewhere or just dies. The Government keeps making the point that Ireland must be at world class level, and we have been making progress in niche areas where we can be competitive. But there are other countries investing far more money in research, and we cannot afford to turn off the tap here because we could lose all we have built up. I am not sure that all members of the Government are aware of this." 

The President points particularly to the 'pause' effect on the Centre for Chemical Synthesis & Biology (CSCB), where some 12 million was originally allocated. But that is now stalled, and unless the budget comes through soon, the University is likely to lose the contractor, not to mention all the work already done in sourcing equipment and personnel. 

Dr Cosgrove has led UCD during the period of the abolition of third level fees, a move which was argued as giving a chance for further education to a broader section of the population, particularly to those from disadvantaged areas. He is not convinced that it changed things very much. 

"What is not generally appreciated is that the money available for education is a finite resource, and it must come from somewhere. If we don't get it from fees, or by student loans, then we must get it from the state if we are to provide an education environment that is internationally competitive, and the state must raise those funds from taxation. 

"As far as increasing the numbers from deprived areas, we have had our own programme which has been reasonably successful, but the situation is much more complex than simply opening the doors to third level. They must first have completed a second level programme, and this is where much of the real difficulty lies."  

After nine years, an apt metaphor for the horse racing enthusiast Art Cosgrove is that he is heading down the home straight. On a personal level, what has happened to him as President of UCD? 

"Well, my hair is greyer and my skin is thicker," he grins. "It has had its ups and downs. There have been times when I thought it to be a great job, and others when I thought nobody could be paid enough to do it. 

"Now I'm looking forward to becoming a student again for a while. I could stay on for another year or so until I reach retirement age, but I don't think they're clamouring for me to come back to the History Department!" 

One specific thing Dr Cosgrove will miss is University Lodge, the house that goes with the job as President of UCD. "My wife will particularly miss it, but it is time to move on. UCD is transferring into good hands, and I hope the new family at the Lodge will enjoy it as much as we have."