Universities are Public Servants and Must Work at Maintaining Trust
Tuesday 18 December 2007
Lessons Must Be Learned From Failures in Other Sectors – HEA Chairman
The Chairman of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Michael Kelly, has urged Ireland’s universities to view their role as servants of the public good and to be increasingly open and transparent in all of their activities. He said this vision must underpin a debate that they must lead on the role of the university in Ireland today. He was speaking at the launch of the second code on Good Practice in University Governance, convened by the HEA and the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and attended by the leading figures in our seven universities.
Noting how the universities have taken the lead on this issue, Mr. Kelly went on –
“The university is a key part of the community in which it is based and it has a duty to share its knowledge and experience and work toward common national goals. University Presidents, administrators and academics are public servants. They are right to take pride in their work and they should have no fears about communicating what they do, the processes by which decisions are made and why the work of our universities represents value for money.”
“The relationship between any public institution and the general public is one of trust. We can see the consequences in other areas where that trust is abused or the general public not treated with the respect that it deserves.”
Pointing out that Irish universities are now among the most open in the world about their activities, Mr. Kelly challenged them to ensure that stakeholders in each institution (staff, students, graduates) and the public generally could find out information on the university’s activities in an efficient and transparent manner.
“We have got to challenge any perceptions of lack of openness and welcome any questions on our work in leading the debate on the role of the universities in Irish society.”
The Higher Education Authority is the statutory body charged with advising Government on and implementing higher education policy and for allocating public funding for our universities and third level colleges. The HEA has made resources available for the training of higher education Governing Bodies in good governance.