UCD, the largest university in the State, will today appoint a new president after an extensive international search for the best candidate.More than 50 candidates - two- thirds from overseas - applied for the €170,000-a-year post.
Three candidates are said to be in contention. These include one foreign candidate, one from Northern Ireland and one internal candidate, thought to be Dr Hugh Brady from the college's medical faculty.
There was speculation last night that the post may, for the first time, go to an external candidate. But this could not be confirmed.
Last night, sources expressed delight at the strong international interest in the post. It was feared it would fail to attract interest from leading international academics because of the relatively poor salary level. A survey last year of 110 college heads from these islands found that those in the Republic were bottom of the pay league.
The new president cannot be named until the recommendation of the selection committee is formally agreed by the college's governing body at a meeting today. The successful candidate will succeed historian Dr Art Cosgrove, who has held the position for almost a decade.
The new president will be the first to be nominated under a radical new search-and-selection procedure. This was adopted after an internal report found the college's image may have been damaged by the impression that the process was seen as a "closed shop" and "overly political". Under the old system, the president was elected by members of the governing body after consultation with staff.
The new selection procedure - drawn up by a committee chaired by Dr Maurice Manning - sees the new president nominated on the recommendation of a search-and-selection committee chaired by a distinguished external figure.
The selection committee included the senior Trinity College figure Prof David McConnell, chairman of The Irish Times Trust, who is the non-voting chair; Prof Niamh Brennan, a senior academic from the commerce department; Cllr Colm Wiley; Prof Thomas Brazil; Senator Maurice Manning; Mr Dermot Gallagher, secretary-general of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Dr Onora O'Neill from Cambridge.
In theory, the governing body could reject whoever is nominated today, but it cannot appoint someone else. Instead, the procedure would be reactivated.