Prof Shane Allwright, fellow emeritus and former College Registrar, has been appointed a Pro-Chancellor of Trinity.
Allwright is an associate professor of epidemiology in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care in Trinity and an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of Ireland.
Known for her firm grasp of the labyrinthine College statutes, as Registrar Allwright was a widely respected figure who was often drafted in to resolve Trinity’s many internal disputes.
In 2014, Allwright successfully led a working group that was tasked with developing a new logo for the College. An earlier attempt at revising Trinity’s logo, known as the Identity Initiative, collapsed amid ferocious opposition from the Fellows and other internal groups, who felt they had not been sufficiently consulted on the change.
Her research work includes health effects of active and passive smoking and of alcohol misuse, evaluation of tobacco and alcohol control policies, and prisoner health.
Allwright was also the lead investigator on a study of the impact of the smoking ban on the respiratory health of bar workers.
A maximum of six Pro-Chancellors are appointed within the College. Pro-Chancellors act in the place of the Chancellor of the University of Dublin, when the Chancellor is unable to attend events such as graduation ceremonies.
The current Chancellor, former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, was appointed in November, taking over from her predecessor Mary Robinson, another former president of Ireland.
McAleese, who became the youngest-ever person appointed Trinity’s Reid Professor of Criminal Law in 1975, was the only person whose name was put forward for the chancellorship after nominations closed.
She became the official head of the University of Dublin at an inauguration last year. As Chancellor, she presides over the University Senate as well as attending conferral ceremonies, where degrees are awarded.
While the designations “Trinity College” and “University of Dublin” are usually synonymous for practical purposes, Trinity is technically a constituent college of the university.
