Editing University of Limerick (section)

==History==

==={{anchor|Campaign for a University in Limerick}}University campaign===

[[File:Plassey House - University of Limerick.JPG|thumbnail|200px|alt=Two-story white building|Plassey House, built in the eighteenth century, now houses the President's Office and displays the university's [[ceremonial mace]].]]
According to founding president [[Edward M. Walsh]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edwalsh.ie |title=Ed Walsh |access-date=21 June 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621173109/http://www.edwalsh.ie/ |archive-date=21 June 2015 }}</ref> the [[Limerick City Council|mayor of Limerick]] applied for a college of the planned [[Queen's University of Ireland]] to be established in the city.<ref name="fn_1">[http://www.ul.ie/~alumni/The_Early_Years_EMW.htm The Early Years, Dr Edward M Walsh, President Emeritus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050916031644/http://www.ul.ie/~alumni/The_Early_Years_EMW.htm |date=16 September 2005 }}</ref> However, in 1850, [[Queen's College, Belfast]], [[Queen's College, Cork|Cork]] and [[Queen's College, Galway|Galway]] were established instead. In 1908 there was an attempt to link the [[National University of Ireland]] and [[Mungret College]], about five kilometres from Limerick. Mungret offered bachelor's- and master's-level courses in the faculty of arts, with degrees conferred by the [[Royal University of Ireland]], from 1888 to 1908. The university was dissolved in 1909 and replaced by the National University of Ireland, marking the end of tertiary education at Mungret. Degrees were awarded to students at Mungret College by the NUI from 1909 to 1912 to accommodate students who had matriculated at the Royal University.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/Media,4072,en.pdf |title=An Economic and Spatial Plan for Limerick - Executive Summary |access-date=2012-08-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216030923/http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/Media,4072,en.pdf |archive-date=16 December 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The campaign for a university in Limerick began in earnest by the late 1950s. The Limerick University Project Committee was founded in September 1959<ref name="fn_2">[http://www.ul.ie/~ul25/origins.html UL25 – Origins] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050211174139/http://www.ul.ie/~ul25/origins.html |date=11 February 2005 }}</ref> by the mayor of Limerick in 1957, [[Ted Russell (Irish politician)|Ted Russell]]. Another supporter, [[Dermot Kinlen]], was a [[High Court (Ireland)|High Court]] judge and the first state inspector general of prisons and places of detention. Russell and Kinlen received [[honorary degree]]s from the university in 2002.

===National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick===
The introduction in 1968 of Free Education in Ireland by Limerick Education Minister Donogh O'Malley - O'Malley actually bought the current 340 acre UL Plassey site for the State from the Bugler family in 1967 - and his plans for nine Institutes of Higher Education followed by successful economic-development policies during the 1960s led to an influx of foreign investment into Ireland and demand for expertise not met by the existing universities. Ireland established the [[National Institute for Higher Education]] (NIHE) at Limerick, modelled on the technological universities of continental Europe, and perhaps the [[Polytechnic (United Kingdom)|polytechnic]] approach being developed in the UK.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} Edward Walsh took office as chairman of the planning board and director of the institute on 1 January 1970.<ref>{{cite web|title=campus profile |url=http://www.ul.ie/ul-campus/campus-profile/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812230953/http://www.ul.ie/ul-campus/campus-profile |archive-date=12 August 2012 }}</ref>  This more twentieth-century and continental approach is illustrated by its use of funding from the [[World Bank]], [[European Investment Bank]] and philanthropists.{{clarify|date=August 2022}} Construction on phase one, for example, used financing from the World Bank. Faculty and staff were recruited internationally, and they — in addition to extensive teaching and research facilities — attracted foreign investment led by [[Analog Devices]] (which manufactured Ireland's first silicon chips).{{disputed-inline|date=August 2022}}

The first students were enrolled in 1972, when the institute was opened by [[Taoiseach]] [[Jack Lynch]]. The European Investment Bank financed the second phase of development. Billionaire philanthropist [[Chuck Feeney]] was a major donor to the university. [[Shannon Development]] was also an early supporter of the project, supporting the NIHE proposal to establish the National Technological Park<ref name="fn_3">[http://www.tcd.ie/ERC/observatorydownloads/Graduates.PDF Detached and Attached Universities: Developing the Dublin and Shannon Regions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051022160624/http://www.tcd.ie/ERC/observatorydownloads/Graduates.PDF |date=22 October 2005 }}</ref> as an integrated campus.

A change of government resulted in NIHE Limerick applying for recognition as a recognised college of the [[National University of Ireland]], which awarded degrees to its graduates in 1977. After strong opposition by students and others, NIHE Limerick withdrew from the NUI and was established as an independent institution. From 1978 to 1988, the [[National Council for Educational Awards]] (NCEA) was the degree-awarding authority for NIHE Limerick.

==={{anchor|University Status & the Establishment of the University of Limerick}}University status===
In 1989, NIHE Limerick was established by legislation as the University of Limerick<ref name="University of Limerick Act, 1989"/> and NIHE Dublin was established as [[Dublin City University]], each with the power to award its own degrees. These became the first institutes since Irish independence to be given the title "university".<ref>{{cite web|title=History |url=http://www.ul.ie/ul-campus/campus-profile/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812230953/http://www.ul.ie/ul-campus/campus-profile |archive-date=12 August 2012 }}</ref>

Expansion occurred in 1991, after the incorporation of [[Thomond College of Education, Limerick]]. Thomond, sharing a common campus, was founded in 1973 as the National College of Physical Education and became the department of educational and professional studies, focusing on [[secondary education]]. Since 1991, degrees from [[Mary Immaculate College]] have also been awarded by UL.<ref>[http://www.mic.ul.ie/visitors/history.htm MIC History, accessed 21 October 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723194413/http://www.mic.ul.ie/visitors/history.htm |date=23 July 2011 }}</ref> MIC degrees are offered in [[primary education]] and [[arts]] programmes, and degrees awarded at [[St. Patrick's College, Thurles]] have been conferred by UL since 2012.<ref name="ul">[http://www.ul.ie/news-centre/news/university-of-limerick-degrees-for-graduates-of-st-patricks-college-thurles University of Limerick Degrees for Graduates of St Patrick’s College, Thurles] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314141848/http://www.ul.ie/news-centre/news/university-of-limerick-degrees-for-graduates-of-st-patricks-college-thurles |date=14 March 2012 }} University of Limerick Website, Friday, 6 May 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.thurles.info/2011/05/05/st-patricks-college-thurles-offers-ul-teaching-degrees/ St Patrick’s College Thurles Offers UL Teaching Degrees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331151543/http://www.thurles.info/2011/05/05/st-patricks-college-thurles-offers-ul-teaching-degrees/ |date=31 March 2016 }} Thurles Information, 5 May 2011.</ref> University history under the leadership of founding president [[Edward M Walsh]] is profiled in Walsh's 2011 memoir, ''Upstart: Friends, Foes and Founding a University''.

{{anchor|Similarities with American Universities}}

Elements of the US university system were adopted, including [[cooperative education]], [[grade point average]] marking and the [[trimester system]]. During the 1970s, limited public financing led Walsh and his team to seek [[World Bank]] and [[European Investment Bank]] funding. Sophisticated private-sector fundraising programmes were later developed, based on US university models and guided by an international leadership board under founding chair [[Chuck Feeney]] and [[Lewis Glucksman]]. The campus developed primarily as a result of such fundraising activity.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

The university has been an active participant in the European Union's [[Erasmus Programme]] since 1988 and has 207 partner institutions in 24 European countries. In addition, UL students may study at partner universities in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China and Singapore.

UL allied with [[NUI Galway]] in 2010, sharing resources.<ref>[http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0218/education.html Universities form 'strategic alliance'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327175825/http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0218/education.html |date=27 March 2010 }}. RTÉ. Thursday, 18 February 2010 20:06.</ref>

==={{anchor|List of Presidents}}Presidents===
{{unsourced section|date=December 2020}}
* [[Edward M. Walsh]], founding president (1972–1998)
* [[Roger GH Downer|Roger Downer]] (1998–2006)
* John O'Connor (2006–2007)
* Don Barry (2007–2017)
* [[Desmond Fitzgerald (professor)|Desmond Fitzgerald]] (2017–2020)
* [[Kerstin Mey]] (interim from 2020, confirmed 2021-2024)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/university-of-limerick-appoints-prof-kestrin-mey-as-president-1.4695530|title = University of Limerick appoints Prof Kerstin Mey as president| newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref>
* Shane Kilcommins (acting from 2024)