Patrick Prendergast (academic)

Patrick J. Prendergast FIEI, MRIA, FREng is the Provost of Trinity College Dublin.[1]

Prendergast announcing the new Fellows and Scholars, 2018

Born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, Prendergast received his secondary education at St Peter's College, Wexford.[2] He then studied at Trinity College Dublin as an undergraduate, completing a degree in mechanical engineering in 1987 and a PhD in 1991.

After post-doctoral positions in Italy and the Netherlands, he became a lecturer at Trinity in 1995, and was elected a Fellow of the College in 1998. Together with colleagues from medicine and dentistry, he established the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering in 2002.

He served as Dean of Graduate Studies in Trinity from 2004 to 2007, and was appointed Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer in 2008. In 2009 he was awarded an ScD for published works in Bioengineering.[3] He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.[4]

In 2011, he was elected Provost of Trinity College.[5]

During his term, Prendergast has focused on the university's rankings[6] and on increasing sources of funding.[7] In September 2016 a "Provost's Council" was created. Consisting of alumni and benefactors of the university, it advises Prendergast on how to advance Trinity's position in the world by financing new projects and initiatives.[8] He was involved in several controversies, most notably over branding and "Take Back Trinity", a student movement to resist commercialisation within the university.[9]

In November 2016, it was announced that Trinity College Dublin would be joining the League of European Research Universities (LERU). It is the first and only university on the island of Ireland to become a member.[10]

In May 2018, Prendergast unveiled plans for a new €60 million Institute in Engineering, Environment and Emerging Technologies funded by an Irish philanthropic donation and Government funding.[11]

In April 2019, he gave a wide-ranging interview to the music magazine Hot Press.[12]

Prendergast was portrayed by Frank Smith in the 2020 miniseries Normal People.[13]

References
  1. TCD website; accessed 24 August 2014.
  2. Tucker, David (21 May 2013). "Provost of Trinity College returns to his alma mater". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. John, Prendergast, Patrick (13 November 2018). "Papers in Biomechanics and Bioengineering". hdl:2262/84968. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Dublin, Provost & President, Trinity College. "Biography - Provost & President : Trinity College Dublin". www.tcd.ie. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  5. News of Election Result, breakingnews.ie; accessed 24 August 2014.
  6. "Editorial: Rankings Could be What the Provost is Remembered For". www.universitytimes.ie.
  7. "Radical or Reactionary? After Five Years, the Provost's Legacy is Still Growing". www.universitytimes.ie.
  8. Dublin, Provost & President, Trinity College. "Provost's Council - Provost & President : Trinity College Dublin". www.tcd.ie.
  9. Foley, William. "Why we're 'taking back Trinity'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  10. "Trinity joins Oxford and Cambridge in European college network".
  11. "Trinity unveils plans for E3 Institute in Engineering, Energy and Environment". Trinity College Dublin. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  12. "The Full Hot Press Interview with Trinity Provost Patrick Prendergast". www.hotpress.com.
  13. "Full Cast & Crew: Normal People". www.imdb.com.
Academic offices
Preceded by
John Hegarty		 Provost of Trinity College Dublin
2011–		 Incumbent
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