At a discussion chaired by Prof Aoife McLysaght today, provostial candidate Linda Hogan showed a more personal side of her campaign, talking about what her provostship’s legacy would be and the difficulties of navigating politics in the field of theology.
Beginning the event – which was organised by her campaign – Hogan received a number of questions from one of her supporters McLysaght who not only delved into Hogan’s plans for her time as Provost but also questioned Hogan’s experience as a theologian. Detailing the motivations behind her choice to enter the field, she revealed her “fascination with the role of religion in society”.
Hogan spoke of pursuing her PhD in “feminist ethics” and a time in which she laid out the case for why a religious person could support a woman’s right to choose at this time. She noted how she was later told by a professor that she would never get a job in theology after writing the article in question.
When asked if that comment had worried her, Hogan pointed out that although she “was concerned” at the time, she explained how she thought it was important “to be true to your own interests”. Going on to point out that she believed staying true to your own values is “the starting point for any career”.
Hogan also spoke about an op-ed she had written in the Irish Times in support of the marriage equality referendum. She said that coming out of secondary school she was interested in politics and the role religion played in society at the time.
When asked about what she would like her legacy to be if she is elected provost, Hogan said that she wanted Trinity’s campus to consist of “ecological spaces for creativity and solutions to the climate crisis”. Aside from infrastructural change Hogan emphasised that by then she would like Trinity to be ranked in the top-50 universities in the world and the College community to be one with a “diversity of voice”.
Hogan detailed her plan for her first 100 days in office promising dramatic changes to Trinity’s promotions system, culture and other “broken” systems such as Academic Registry.
Vowing to “make in-roads immediately” if elected, Hogan detailed an ambitious and busy start to her tenure as Provost centred around tackling problems with promotions, creating cultural change and fixing broken systems.
Pinpointing the promotions system as an area that she has pledged to fix, Hogan gave a breakdown of the failings of the current system referencing her previous experience sitting on promotions committees.
Saying that she learned from speaking to “hundreds of people” on a wide range of issues, Hogan expressed her shock in hearing from one individual that “Trinity is broken” admitting that she at first “didn’t understand the depth of concern”.
She also underlined her desire to foster “a culture of participation” within the College. Hogan stated how “profound change is needed in the culture of inclusion” in Trinity pointing to herself as the person who can set the tone for this.
Noting that a specific concern regarding Trinity’s culture that she aims to deal with the “serious issue” of bullying and harassment within the College. Hogan set out her plans for tackling the matter, drawing attention to the model that higher education institutions in Australia and New Zealand use while supplementing it with reviews from an independent body to note the progress Trinity has made on the issue.
Cormac Watson also contributed reporting to this piece.
