Head of Insulins Manufacturing at Sanofi, Ruth Beadle & CEO of Glanbia Ireland, Jim Bergin announced as the first ordinary members
Ringfenced funding for campus expansion in Waterford
Waterford Fine Gael Senator John Cummins has described today’s announcement of the Chairperson and the first two ordinary members of the governing body by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris as a statement of intent.
Senator Cummins said “The announcement of Professor Patrick Prendergast, who served as Provost of Ireland’s leading university for the past decade as Chairperson of the new South East Technological University demonstrates the depth of ambition that exists to deliver a university of scale, grounded in research, innovation and teaching excellence.
“The addition of Ruth Beadle who is the head of insulins manufacturing and former site head at Sanofi brings a huge wealth of industry experience which I know will be invaluable to the new board. Ruth has made Waterford her home over the past twenty years and is a fantastic ambassador for the city, county and wider region.
“The Agri-food sector is of such importance to the South East and having the CEO of Glanbia Ireland as a member of the new governing authority is a welcome move. The amount of research, innovation and change which is happening across the sector is of the utmost importance and I believe the new SETU will have an instrumental role to play in creating synergies and opportunities for students, graduates and existing enterprises.
He added “I believe the calibre of individuals which expressed an interest in serving on this, the first governing body of the new South East Technological University is a statement of intent by all concerned. This core group have a very important role in populating the new university board, overseeing the election of academic/non academic staff, student representatives and of course appointing external members. I am sure that a number of other prominent industry representatives will add even further expertise to the new board.
“I am heartened by the over thirty expressions of interest received by the department from very prominent, experienced and capable individuals. The new governing body will be critical in ensuring our new university will enhance and further accelerate the sustainable development of the region.
Senator Cummins concluded by saying “I welcome the commitment of Minister Harris to ringfence funding within the new Technological University fund to expand our campus in Waterford. It has been a long-standing ambition of mine to get this project over the line and I know a huge amount of work has gone into the business case that was submitted to the department prior to Christmas. It is my hope and belief that because all the heavy lifting has been done at the front end of the process that we won’t see the usual delays that beset land acquisition on the back end of the process”.