University of Limerick

El University of Limerick
Ollscoil Luimnigh
Latin: Universitas Limericiae
Motto	Eagna Chun Gnímh
Motto in English	Wisdom in action
Established	1 January 1972
Chancellor	Peter Malone
President	Professor Don Barry
Academic staff	420
Students	17,000
Location	Limerick, Ireland
Colours
Affiliations	AUA EUA LAOTSE IUA UI
Website	www.ul.ie

The University of Limerick (UL) (Irish: Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989.^[1] The university was the first university established since the foundation of the State in 1922, followed later the same day by the establishment of Dublin City University.

The university is located along the River Shannon, on a 80 hectare (200 acre) site in the 240 hectare (600 acre) National Technological Park at Castletroy, 5 km from Limerick city centre. The university has currently in excess of 11,000 full-time undergraduate students^{[citation needed]} and 1,500 part-time students^{[citation needed]}. There are also over 800 research postgraduates^{[citation needed]} and 1,300 taught postgraduate students^{[citation needed]} at the university. The Co-Operative Education (commonly called Co-Op) programme allocates all students with an 8-month work placement as part of their degree. This was the first such programmes in the state.

The University is renowned for its "UL Experience", and the sheer sense of community on campus.

Professor Don Barry, a graduate of Yale University, is the current president of the university, having been appointed in 2007.^[2]

History

Plassey House is part of an estate that pre-dates the University. Robert Clive was created 1st Baron Clive of Plassey in 1762 having defeated the Nawab of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey (Palashi) in 1757. Today it houses the President's Office. The University's ceremonial mace is publicly displayed on the first floor of the main staircase.

The "twin tower" flags at the main entrance to the University campus

According to Dr Edward M Walsh, first President of the University of Limerick, the Mayor of Limerick applied to have a Queen's College^[3] located in the city in 1845, but instead Belfast, Cork and Galway were established.

The Limerick University Project Committee was founded in September 1959^[4] as a project of the 1957 Mayor of Limerick, Ted Russell. Another supporter, Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, was a High Court judge and later the first State Inspector General of Prisons and Places of Detention. Both Mr Russell and Mr Justice Kinlen were awarded honorary degrees by the university in 2002.

The state was reluctant to found more university-level institutions^{[citation needed]}, and in the late-1960s developed a policy of creating second-tier colleges which led to the foundation of the National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) at Limerick, with Dr Walsh appointed as Director of the Institute on 1 January 1972. The first students were enrolled in 1972 when the institute was opened by then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch. In the early years the billionaire philanthropist Chuck Feeney (through Atlantic Philanthropies) was a major donor to the University which has received millions in direct funding through the Atlantic Philanthropies foundation.^{[citation needed]} The Shannon Development Company was also an early supporter of the project and its influence led to the creation of the National Technological Park^[5] beside the Institute after its foundation.

In 1976 to 1977 degrees from the NIHE Limerick were awarded by the National University of Ireland and it was a recognised college of the University for this time, from 1978 onwards the National Council for Educational Awards(NCEA) was the degree-awarding authority for the NIHE Limerick.

The College of Education was created in 1991 from the dissolved Thomond College of Education, Limerick that shared a common campus with the university. Thomond College of Education was founded in 1973 as the National College of Physical Education, and now forms the Department of Educational and Professional Studies that focuses on secondary education programmes. Mary Immaculate College, Limerick currently functions under the College of Education and focuses on primary education and arts programmes.

The history of the university during the leadership of its founding president Edward M Walsh is profiled in Dr. Walsh's 2011 memoir "Upstart: Friends Foes and Founding a University".

"Ireland's American University"

The university, and previously as the institute, synthesised many American ideas in education, including a cooperative education programme and grade point average marking. During the 1970s the limited state of Government finances led Dr. Walsh and his team to attract European Investment Bank and World Bank funding in addition to private and alumni donors at a time when Irish universities depended heavily on the State for funds and did not aggressively seek other avenues of finance.

In 1989 before becoming a university, the name Technological University of Limerick was seriously considered as a title for the new university, this being probably considered as a complement to the strength of the institutes courses in technology, or a derivative name of the proposed federal National Technological University which instead lead to the University of Limerick in its own right. Until the mid-1990s it operated a trimesterised academic term, then changed to US-style semesterisation.

In 2005 the university introduced a new corporate logo.^{[citation needed]}

UL has been an active participant in the European Union's Erasmus programme since 1988 and now has a total of 207 partner institutions in 24 European countries. In addition, UL students may study at partner universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China and Singapore.

UL formed a strategic alliance with National University of Ireland, Galway in 2010, allowing for shared resources.^[6]

Organisation

The 1000-seater University Concert Hall^[7], seen from the northern end of a water fountain on the main campus.

Faculty

The university has four faculties, these are:

• Kemmy Business School
• Faculty of Education & Health Sciences (including the Graduate Medical School)
• Faculty of Science & Engineering
• Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Mary Immaculate College, Limerick is also linked to the University.

Students

Main article: University of Limerick Students' Union

The university has a Students' Union representing the student body. The Union is presided over by five sabbatical officers - the President, the Education Officer, the Welfare Officer, the CSO (Campaigns and Services Officer), and the Communications Officer. Policy decisions are made by the sabbatical officers and the Class Reps Council.

The university also has a Postgraduate Students' Association, with a full-time sabbatical postgraduate president, which represents the postgraduate student body. It is one of only two Irish universities with such a position.

Clubs and Societies

There are 60 student-run Clubs and Societies in the University, most of them are sporting clubs. The clubs are supported by the Students Union, the Sports Department and the Arts Office. More information regarding Clubs and Societies can be found here - UL Clubs and Societies.

Notable Alumni and Staff

The university has had a number of internationally notable Alumni and members of staff since its foundation

• Pat Cox, Irish politician, former President of the European Parliament
• David Parnas, Canadian software engineering pioneer
• Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Irish musician and pianist
• Nika Gilauri, Current Prime Minister of Georgia
• Jean Butler, co-choreographer and dancer of Riverdance fame
• Eddie O'Sullivan, former Ireland rugby coach
• Pat Spillane, GAA commentator and former Kerry football player
• Mary Lou McDonald, Vice President of Sinn Féin and TD for Dublin Central.
• Kieran O'Donnell, TD
• Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht
• Willie O'Dea, TD
• Breandán de Gallaí, Riverdance lead (Now principal dance instructor ) - External examiner for University
• John O’Grady, is Managing Director, Americas Region and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company
• Niall O’Connor, is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Apple Inc.
• Enda Dowling, journalist at the Laois Nationalist
• Mick Dore, star of mtv's Geordie Shore

Rankings

UL has one the highest employment rates for its students in Ireland,^{[citation needed]} perhaps due to the Co-operative Education programme. UL is ranked 4th for attracting students who attain over 500 points in the Leaving Certificate however in contrast it has one of the lowest rates of first class or 2.1 honours degrees of Irish universities.^[8] The University is the only college in Ireland awarded the maximum 5 stars for sports facilities.^[8]

UL is ranked 451-500 worldwide in the 2011 QS World University Rankings.^[9] UL's highest QS ranking of 394 was achieved in 2008; however, most Irish universities have also seen recent drops in the rankings due to the post 2008 economic difficulties.

UL is Ireland's only university to achieve 5 Stars for "Employability" of graduates and for "Teaching" in the 2011/12 QS Stars reports. It also received 5 Stars for "Infrastructure", "Internationalization", "Innovation", and "Engagement".

Science and Engineering

• Materials and Surface Science Institute (MSSI)

The MSSI was established in 1998 and is a national centre of excellence that generates state-of-the-art fundamental research on topics of industrial significance in the fields of surface science and materials. The research strengths and interests of MSSI reside in four areas: (i) Nanomaterials (ii) Biomaterials (iii) Composite and Glass Materials (iv) Bio/Catalysis and Clean Technology.^[10]

• Interaction Design Centre (IDC)

The Interaction Design Centre (IDC) was established in 1996 and is an interdisciplinary research group in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems focused on the design, use and evaluation of information and communications technologies. The focus is on human-centred design and work in the IDC covers a wide spectrum, from the design and evaluation of new media installations and interfaces to field studies of technology in use in different settings.

• Localisation Resources Centre (LRC)

The LRC was established in 1995 as the Localisation Resources Centre at University College Dublin (UCD) and moved to the University of Limerick (UL) in 1999 where it was re-constituted as the Localisation Research Centre (LRC) as the information, research and educational centre for the localisation industry in Ireland.

• Enterprise Research Centre (ERC)

The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) is a research centre committed to conducting leading edge research on the challenges facing current and next generation enterprises. Staff associated with the centre have considerable research and practical experience in the modelling, scheduling and resource management of enterprise optimisation, design and implementation of integrated systems, product innovation and project management, and quality, reliability and productivity improvement tools.

• Irish Software Engineering Research Centre (LERO)

The University hosts the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre (Lero).^[11]Lero was established in November 2005 with support from Science Foundation Ireland’s CSET (Centre for Science, Engineering and Technology) programme. It is a collaborative organisation, embracing the software engineering research activities in the University of Limerick (UL – lead partner), Dublin City University (DCU), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD).

• Stokes Institute

The Stokes Institute, originally founded by Cambridge graduate Prof. Mark Davies to work on thermofluids problems, is now a large mechanical engineering research group working not only in fluid mechanics, but also in areas such as reliability physics, microfluidic cancer diognostics and energy management. Applying its expertise to the engineering of ICT devices is a particular focus of the Institute. A spin-out from the institute, Stokes Bio, was sold to US company Life Technologies in 2010 for $44 million.

The arts

The University fosters the arts^{[citation needed]} and is currently home to the: • Irish World Academy of Music and Dance — an internationally acclaimed centre for innovation and research in music and dance performance and scholarship • Irish Chamber Orchestra — Ireland's leading international chamber orchestra, funded by An Chomhairle Ealaíon, The Irish Arts Council • Daghdha Dance Company — Ireland’s leading contemporary dance company funded by An Chomhairle Ealaíon, The Irish Arts Council All three bodies also engage in the commissioning and performance of new Irish music and dance.

The University is the permanent home of several Fine Art Collections. Some of its notable collections are:^{[citation needed]} The National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, The Watercolour Society of Ireland Collection, The Richard Wood Collection of Irish Landscape Paintings, The O'Malley Sculpture Collection, The Irish American Cultural Institute's O'Malley Collection, and The Armitage Collection.

The University Concert Hall (UCH) is the University's principal venue for the performing arts it is a 1,000 seat multi-purpose venue and was the first purpose built concert hall in the country.

The Bourn Vincent Gallery is the University's principal venue for temporary exhibitions with an ancillary programme of seminars, lectures and performances. The Gallery aims to enhance enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts of both Irish and international importance.^{[citation needed]} It is particularly interested in contemporary practices. Since its establishment, the Bourn Vincent Gallery has exhibited collections by August Sander, Barry and Philip Castle, a selection of pieces from Gordon Lambert’s collection and hosts the annual exhibition of new additions to the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland and ev+a each year.^{[citation needed]}

The University has an active policy of commissioning and acquiring exemplary works of art.^{[citation needed]} The University's own Arts Collection includes some fine outdoor sculpture by international artists including Michael Warren, Peter Logan, Alexandra Wejchert, James McKenna, Tom Fitzpatrick, Antony Gormley and most recently Sean Scully.^{[citation needed]} These sculptures have added significantly to the artistic and cultural ambience of the University.^{[citation needed]}

Accommodation

Many of the housing districts in close proximity to the University are in the majority populated by students, especially in the adjacent Castletroy area. In recent years, several large student apartment complexes have been built (about 15-20 mins walk from the University) under Section 50 tax incentives. The university is notable compared to other Irish universities in that a significant amount of accommodation is on-campus. There are five on-campus student villages, the most recently having been opened for residents in 2006.

The oldest is Plassey Village, situated opposite the university's main gate. This accommodates 424 students in terraced houses consisting of either four or eight bedrooms and a kitchen/living area. It is mostly occupied by first years. It was built between 1987 and 1992 in four phases. The village boasts a village hall and many small but beautiful gardens. During the summers of 2010 and 2011 the entirely of the village's residences have been renovated. The houses are now of modern standard, with refurbished kitchens with large comfortable couches and flat screen TV's.

Kilmurry Village is the second oldest student village and is located in the east of the campus. It accommodates 540 students in six or eight bedroomed, terraced houses. It is the closest village to the University Arena, which has an Olympic standard 50 metre swimming pool. It was built between 1994 and 1997, in two phases. Minor renovations were carried out in Kilmurry during Summer 2011, mostly to the Kitchens of the residences.

Dromroe Village was completed in 2001 and is located on the south bank of the River Shannon. The first with high rise accommodation, it houses 457 students in six, four or two bedroomed ensuite apartments.

Thomond Village was opened for the Autumn 2004 semester and comprised the first university buildings to be located on the north bank of the River Shannon, in County Clare. It has accommodation for 504 students in six, four, two or one bedroom apartments.

Cappavilla Village is the newest student village, opened in September 2006 on the North Bank, in close proximity to the new Health Sciences Building. An extension to Cappavilla opened in September 2007.

Accommodation for students of the medical school is under construction (albeit in a halted state). This is located next to the Health Sciences Building and the soon to be Medical School.

There are many off campus student accommodations ranging in distance from the campus. Elm Park, College Court, Briarfield and Oaklawns are popular estates with a large cohort of student residences. Troy Student Village, Courtyard and Brookfield Hall are three privately managed student residences located slightly further from the campus, however it is served by a shuttle bus service.

Ireland's Sporting Campus

University Arena

The University Arena, located on campus, is Ireland's largest indoor sports complex. [1]

Open since 2002, it consists of the National 50m Swimming Pool which is the only water facility in Ireland which has the approval of FINA, the international swimming body, and is the first in the country to be built to Olympic standards.

The Arena's Indoor Sports Hall comprises 3,600 square metres laid out with four wood-sprung courts, catering for a variety of sports, a sprint track, an international 400m athletics track, and a 200m three-lane suspended jogging track. The facility also has a state-of-the-art cardiovascular and strength training centre, a weight-training room, team rooms, an aerobics studio and classroom areas. The Arena is often used by the Munster rugby team.

The €28m development was made possible through Government grant assistance of €7.6m, donations through the University of Limerick Foundation amounting to €6.9m, some €4m in contributions from students and significant commercial funding. [2] Each year it caters for over 500,000 customers along with many international sports athletes and teams. [3]

The University Arena hosted the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games. The Games took place over four days from Thursday, June 9 to Sunday June 13. In what was one of the largest sporting events to take place in Ireland in 2010, 1,900 Special Olympics athletes from throughout the island of Ireland participated in the games.

All Weather Sports Complex

UL’s reputation as Ireland’s Sporting Campus was further enhanced with the development of a state-of-the-art, all-weather sports complex on the Clare Campus of the University. The new €9 million facility is the largest all-weather sports field complex in Europe. This multi-purpose, fully floodlit synthetic grass park contains third generation pitches including two soccer, one rugby and two GAA pitches. Third generation all-weather surfaces plays like natural grass and are designed for full contact. Each full-size pitch can be sub-divided to create smaller-sized playing areas for various sports. This is the largest artificial grass development in Ireland to date designed to IRB, GAA and FIFA specifications. Training and especially matches can now be accommodated in all weathers and at all times on the University of Limerick’s latest state of the art Sports facility.

Player comfort is a priority and this synthetic surface is unlike most others as it reduces the risk of injuries caused by other hard or uneven surfaces. In addition to new playing fields, the Sports Pavilion Building contains changing rooms, squad rooms and coaching rooms, together with bar, restaurant and conference facilities. The development which cost €9million, is being funded from a number of sources including income raised from the operation of the facility and from funding generated by campus based commercial activities.

The playing pitches opened in July 2011 with the Sports Pavilion expected to open in November 2011. This exciting new facility is available to the general public as well as the campus community. In addition to these developments, conventional playing fields; tennis courts; an astro-turf pitch, an outdoor athletics track, and the University Boathouse are situated on the Limerick side of the river. The boathouse facility includes Ireland's only indoor rowing tank, which can accommodate up to 8 rowers at a time. This unique feature has the capacity to simulate various water conditions providing varied training opportunities for rowers in order to achieve international standards. The building also includes a launch jetty to the river Shannon, pontoon and a café area.

Expansion

The Foundation Building, including the University Concert Hall (now home to the Irish Chamber Orchestra), and the new library and several other buildings were built in the 1990s. The years 2000–2004 saw the addition of the Materials & Surface Science Institute (MSSI) building, Dromroe Student Village, a large sports arena and, alongside that, Ireland's first Olympic-standard 50 metre swimming pool. In 2005 the Engineering Research Building and Millstream Courtyard buildings opened in a complex near the Foundation Building.

The university is constantly expanding, with the Kemmy Business School building completed alongside the Schuman Building. This will be the first business school in the world to have a live trading floor present. Several new buildings have opening on the north bank of the River Shannon. The "University Bridge", officially opened in late 2004, provides road and pedestrian access to what is planned as a complete second "North Bank" campus. Thomond Village was the first facility on the North Bank, opening in 2004, and was followed by the Health Sciences Building in 2005. A second, pedestrian-only bridge, known as "the Living Bridge", extends between the North and South Banks from the Millstream Courtyard to the Health Sciences Building. Cappavilla Village was completed mid-2006 on the North Bank, and a building for the Irish World Music Centre (formerly located in the Foundation Building basement) was completed in January 2010. Construction of this building started in May 2007. A building for the School of Medicine is currently being built on the North Bank and a building for Architecture is being built opposite the CSIS building. The university owns more land on the north bank of the Shannon and it hopes to expand the North Bank campus to the size of the original campus.

Notable campus developments

• 1972 – Physical Education and Sport Sciences Building (originally home to Thomond College of Education)
• 1974 – Main Building Phase 1A - Block A and B
• 1978 – Schrödinger Building
• 1984 – Main Building Phase 1B - Block C (extended in 1996), D and E
• 1985–99 – Student Centre (including the Students' Union building)
• 1992 – Robert Schuman Building
• 1993 – Foundation Building (containing the University Concert Hall)
• 1996 – Kathleen Lonsdale Building
• 1997 – Glucksman Library & Information Services Building
• 1999 – Computer Science Building
• 2000–01 – University Arena
• 2002 – MSSI Building
• 2005 – Engineering Research Building and Millstream Courtyard
• 2005 – Health Sciences Building
• 2007 – Pedestrian Living Bridge
• 2007 – Jim Kemmy Business School
• 2008 – University of Limerick Boathouse (Student-funded - storage and training space for Rowing, Kayak, Mountain Bike and Sub-aqua clubs)
• 2008 - The Irish Chamber Orchestra Building
• 2009 – Languages Building
• 2009 - Academy of World Music & Dance
• 2011 – School of Medicine (Graduate Entry)
• 2011 - Lero and IEC Building

See also

• University of Limerick Debating Union
• University of Limerick Students' Union
• Education in the Republic of Ireland
• List of universities in the Republic of Ireland

Footnotes

1. ^ University of Limerick Act 1989
2. ^ President's Inaugural Address
3. ^ The Early Years, Dr Edward M Walsh, President Emeritus
4. ^ UL25 - Origins
5. ^ Detached and Attached Universities: Developing the Dublin and Shannon Regions
6. ^ Universities form 'strategic alliance'. RTÉ. Thursday, 18 February 2010 20:06.
7. ^ "University Concert Hall". http://www.uch.ie/about_uch.html. 
8. ^ ^{a b} http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/good_university_guide/article4831979.ece
9. ^ "QS World Rankings". 2011. http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/university-limerick.html. Retrieved October 19, 2011. 
10. ^ http://www.ul.ie/mssi
11. ^ "Lero article". Irish Times. June 6, 2008. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0606/1212677071136.html. Retrieved April 15, 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Google Maps hybrid view (low resolution)
• UL Medical School
• Enterprise Research Centre
• Interaction Design Centre
• Lero
• Kemmy Business School
• Faculty of Education and Health Sciences
• Faculty of Science and Education
• Facutly of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Coordinates: 52°40′30.0″N 8°34′21.7″W / 52.675°N 8.572694°W / 52.675; -8.572694