Prof Kerstin Mey, former president of UL, who stepped down in June 2024
THE University of Limerick (UL) has advertised for a new president following the former president's resignation 16 months ago.
Professor Kerstin Mey stepped down from the presidency role in June 2024. She is now working at UL as a Professor of Visual Culture. The Sunday Independent reported on October 19 that Prof Mey lectures for three hours a week in an advanced history subject, earning a €175,000 salary. Her previous annual salary as president was about €225,000.
Prof Mey resigned after students and staff expressed no confidence in her leadership. She had gone on sick leave at the end of March 2024.
A spokesperson said the University of Limerick’s Governing Authority unanimously supported the appointment of Prof Shane Kilcommins as acting president of UL following the resignation of Prof Kerstin Mey.
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Representatives of the university appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in October 2024 to answer questions regarding significant overspending on a former Dunnes Stores site in the city centre, housing and a student portal. The PAC were told at that time that Prof Mey was on a paid twelve month sabbatical while also being internally investigated.
Members of the committee were also told that the former president was preparing to return to UL as Professor of Visual Culture of which no course or department existed at the time.
Prof Mey was appointed as interim president in July 2020. She was officially made president of UL and formally appointed at a meeting of the university's governing authority on July 8, 2021.
A spokesperson for the university issued the following statement to the Limerick Leader this Tuesday: “Professor Kerstin Mey was appointed vice president and Professor of Visual Culture when she came to UL in 2018. As is standard procedure in higher education, she returned to her role as full professor when she resigned as president.”
“Professor Mey has a background in visual culture and art history and her role as professor includes teaching commitments, research outputs and administrative contributions. Pay scales for these positions are a matter of public record and are available online. UL does not discuss individual employee details, teaching allocation or scheduling.”
According to the advertisement for the position of UL president, the successful candidate must hold extensive experience in governance and working with university councils or boards and have integrity, resilience, and a strong sense of public service.
The future president is described as a “visionary leader”. They must also be able to demonstrate strong meaningful evidence of a proven ability as an ethical and empathetic, effective, determined and enthusiastic leader and have experience in managing large-scale budgets.
Forvis Mazars, on behalf of UL, invites applications from suitably qualified candidates both nationally and internationally, and will be undertaking a comprehensive recruitment process as part of this recruitment campaign.
Applications should be submitted online and must include: a full CV and covering letter describing how candidates meet the criteria. The closing date for applications is December 1.
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