The School of Law at UCC- Reflecting on Change and Opportunity

• Author: Ursula Kilkelly
• Position: Head of the College of Business and Law, Dean of the School of Law, University College Cork
• Pages: 10-14

[2016]"COLR"

10"

"

THE SCHOOL OF LAW AT UCC- REFLECTING ON CHANGE AND

OPPORTUNITY

Professor Ursula Kilkelly1

I am grateful to the editorship of the Cork Online Law Review (COLR) for the invitation to

contribute to this, the 15th anniversary edition of this student-led journal, published under the

auspices of the Law Society of University College Cork. In my capacity as Dean of the

School of Law at UCC, it is timely to reflect on what we have achieved in that time and to

look ahead a little to what the next few years might bring.

By any standards, it is fair to say that since the first edition of the Cork Online Law Review

was launched in March 2002 by Justice Ronan Keane, the School of Law has changed

greatly. The staff and student population have increased in number and mix, programmes

have evolved at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, our international reach has

continued to extend outward and our graduates’ careers have taken on ever more diversity.

Despite the challenges of economic recession, the constants in this time have been our

commitment to excellence in what we do and our ability – both staff and students - to

compete with the best anywhere in the world. Among all of the uncertainty of the 21st

century, what is clear is that the next decade will bring even more challenge and opportunity

than the time that has gone before.

A SINCE 2002: A SNAPSHOT

The Law School has enjoyed great leadership - Professor Irene Lynch Fannon (1999-2002),

Professor Maeve McDonagh (2002-2003), Professor Caroline Fennell (2003-2009) and

Professor Steve Hedley (2009-2012) were Head of Department and Dean of Faculty before I

become Dean in 2012. It is unusual perhaps that most of our leaders have been women and it

is significant too that during that time women have made up the majority of the academic

staff. In 2016, the Law School has 37 full time staff, including nine professors (Professor

Caroline Fennell is now UCC’s Registrar and Senior Vice President (Academic)), five Senior

Lecturers, 11 Lecturers, three researchers and nine staff in managerial, administrative,

clinical and technical roles. Since COLR began, the total number of registered students of the

School of law has increased to 630; comprising 525 full-time and 105 part-time students;

with 526 taking undergraduate programmes, 77 postgraduates and 27 PhD students. We have

a large panel of adjunct or part-time staff who lecture and tutor across our programmes and

currently have four Adjunct Professors including Mr Justice Frank Clarke, Supreme Court;

Judge Anthony M Collins, Judge of the General Court of the European Union; Dr Vincent

Power, Partner in A&L Goodbody, and Teresa Doherty, former judge of the Special Court of

Sierra Leone.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

1 Head of the College of Business and Law, Dean of the School of Law, University College Cork.