University College Dublin, the largest Irish university, yesterday appointed an internal candidate as its next president, despite considerable international competition for the post.
The new president is Dr Hugh Brady, Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Belfield campus. Aged 43, he will be the youngest university president in the State.
A distinguished academic, Prof Brady has shown a capacity to generate substantial funds for the college through his research work.
The decision means that UCD has for the eighth time in its history opted for an internal candidate.
Prof Brady, a former UCD student, played rugby and squash for the college.
More than 50 academics applied for the post, two-thirds of them from outside the Republic.
The post was advertised extensively in the international press, including a full-page advertisement in the Economist magazine. Several senior UCD academics also applied for the post.
The position of UCD president attracts a salary of about €170,000. A residence on the campus is one of the perks of the post.
Prof Brady takes up his new position next January 1st. He will succeed Dr Art Cosgrove, who has been in office for almost a decade.
The UCD Governing Authority yesterday accepted the recommendation of the selection committee. The committee described Prof Brady as "an outstanding scholar of established international reputation, whose appointment will ensure that UCD will remain committed to the attainment of the highest academic standards and demonstrate its commitment to attracting significant and sustainable funded research and, with it, young scholars and students of the highest quality".
There had been intense speculation during the past month that the selection committee might opt for an external candidate. Instead, the college - after an extensive search and selection procedure involving a team of distinguished academics - opted for an internal candidate.
Prof Brady is married to Dr Yvonne O'Meara, a nephrologist. They have three children: Daire, Oisan and Tristan.
Prof Brady was awarded undergraduate degrees in medicine (1982) and science (1984). He was subsequently awarded PhD and MD degrees for research in renal physiology and molecular medicine.
Prior to returning to UCD in 1996 as Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, he had worked at Harvard University for nine years, most recently as associate professor of medicine, and before that at the University of Toronto.
Following his appointment as head of the department of medicine at UCD, he spearheaded the reorganisation of the department's curriculum. He also led the development of the Catherine McAuley Education and Research Centre at the Mater University Hospital, which accommodates UCD's new Centre for Undergraduate Medical Education.
The president-designate has a strong track record in the research area and advised Dr Cosgrove on UCD's strategy.
Critically, he played a key role in the establishment of UCD's Conway Institute, a new centre of excellence in biosciences research involv- ing five UCD faculties, 16 departments, three teaching hospitals and more than 350 researchers.
As acting director, he was responsible for the management and administration of the institute, which was founded in 1999 and has generated substantial funding.
