The Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, Prof Patrick Johnston, has died suddenly aged 58.
Appointed vice-chancellor of Queen’s in March 2014, Johnston, the former Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology in Queen’s, had led Queen’s through a period of decline in higher education funding in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast Telegraph reported today that the news of his death came in an email to staff from Queen’s Registrar, James O’Kane, this afternoon.
Born in Derry in 1958, Johnston was educated at St Columb’s Derry, before going to University College Dublin (UCD), where he gained a degree in medicine. He had joined Queen’s in 1996 as Professor of Oncology before taking on the role of Dean of the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences. In 2012, he received a Diamond Jubilee Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Queen’s reorganisation of cancer care in Northern Ireland through the university’s cancer research centre.
Johnston was also preparing to lead the university through the UK’s exit from the EU. In an open letter to the Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, signed by Johnston alongside other Northern Irish leaders of higher education and commerce, he had called for a “strong and cohesive political voice” in London, Dublin and Brussels as Brexit negotiations begin to get the best deal for Northern Ireland.
Johnston had also overseen the university as it implemented its Vision 2020 strategy, which aimed to increase the number of international students in the university and to increase its research income.
A Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union (QUBSU) statement on Twitter said: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of our Vice-Chancellor earlier today. Our thoughts & condolences are with his family.”
At an event in Belfast City Hall last month, celebrating the links between the city and Queen’st, Johnston had emphasised the important role higher education had to play in the future of Northern Ireland.
One of the more recent highlights of Johnston’s tenure was Queen’s decision to commit to a divestment from fossil fuels by 2025, a move that drew support from QUBSU. This was in contrast to the criticism the university received from students for its call for an increase in tuition fees in response to the funding crisis in the North.
Johnston, who was the 12th vice-chancellor of the university, was married with four sons.
Correction: 20:37, May 4th, 2017
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Prof Patrick Johnston had presided over a period of decline in higher education funding in Northern Ireland. In fact, Johnston had led Queen’s University Belfast through the decline in funding, rather than presiding over the decline.
