Madam, - The Provost of TCD is quoted in your paper (Oct 28th) as defending his plans for the university and stressing that a meeting last week was "part of a bottom-up series of meetings" on the plans.
In fact the plans to abolish most of TCD's departments and faculties and to replace elected heads of departments and deans by three executive vice-provosts and several directors of teaching and directors of research came "top down" from a group of college officers and bureaucrats. The proposals have seriously undermined morale here and are highly unpopular.
In a body corporate of the Provost, Fellows and Scholars, the only component to support the proposals to date is the Provost himself.
I believe that the proposal to abolish the department of economics is unjustified on either academic or economic grounds. I asked at the launch of the plans that the data on which the plans are based should be published but this was refused. At the meeting reported on the refusal to publish the data was repeated by the Provost. These are sad times indeed. - Yours, etc.,
SEAN D. BARRETT FTCD,
Trinity College,
Dublin.