Provostial candidate Prof Jane Ohlmeyer addressed philanthropy, the Trinity Education Project, her much-discussed pledge to hold two Trinity Balls next year, among a range of other issues that could define her provostship, if elected, in an interview with The University Times today. Ohlmeyer has repeatedly pledged to “get the basics right” in College, and she spoke at length to the paper’s deputy editor Emer Moreau over Instagram about what changes should and should not be made throughout Trinity. Here are the top five takeaways from the interview.
In Tackling Funding Crisis, Philanthropy is Key
Tapping into Trinity’s “friends and donors” as well as the alumni network to secure philanthropic funding was emphasised by Ohlmeyer in the interview as a crucial yet underutilised means of tackling College’s financial difficulties.
Ohlmeyer hammered home the importance of philanthropy as a source of much-needed funding for Trinity and underlined how her wide network of relationships across the globe make her uniquely placed to tap into this resource. “Philanthropy is part of my DNA”, Ohlmeyer offered after revealing that she has had to engage with it throughout her academic career while at the University of Yale and the University of Aberdeen.
Indeed, philanthropy has been a theme of Ohlmeyer’s campaign and something she sees as key to overcoming Trinity’s financial struggles. She added that Trinity gets tremendous value out of investing in efforts to secure philanthropic funding citing the statistic that for every €1 invested Trinity gets €17 in return which is among the highest in Europe – Oxford, she noted, only sees a one to €15 return. Furthermore, she said that Trinity’s current philanthropic campaign, Inspiring Generations, is only “a drop in the ocean” of what the College could bring in from donations.
Giving Back to Students with Two Trinity Balls
Of course, a proposal by Ohlmeyer which caught the eye of many – two Trinity Balls in 2022 – was brought up in today’s Instagram Q&A. Quizzed on how she would deliver this, Ohlmeyer admitted she had not thought much about the logistical details but said it was the spirit of giving back to students – having now missed out on two Trinity Balls – which she wanted to emphasise.
Ohlmeyer explained how she saw this as “an opportunity to celebrate” for students who have been through such a difficult time in the past year due to the pandemic. She added that this was a way to somewhat compensate students for what they have missed out on over the last year.
On the question of how this second Ball would be funded, Ohlmeyer again went to philanthropy, which she said would help ensure the costs for students are “minimal”. She added that it would not be an “either/or” when asked how likely it is that donors would give funds to a Trinity Ball as opposed to more essential academic areas. Ohlmeyer was confident that Trinity’s alumni – whom she said are aware of and passionate about the student experience – would be willing to donate funds to contribute to a second Trinity Ball.
Not Happy with “Tone” of Trinity Futures Group
Ohlmeyer was heavily critical of plans drawn up by the Trinity Futures Group to scrap large in-person lectures permanently in favour of online one. “I had a real issue with both the tone and the timing with the Trinity Future’s recommendations”, she said, adding that such plans need to wait until after the pandemic before making that kind of evaluation.
However, Ohlmeyer struck a more balanced tone on the issue of the potential for hybrid learning more generally. She underlined her preference for in-person teaching saying that she is a “real believer” in face-to-face small group teaching but that for larger lectures a hybrid system going forward is potentially on the table.
Ohlmeyer said she would survey students and colleagues before making any drastic decisions on this front but did point out that online teaching has been a great leveller, and we shouldn’t “throw the baby out with the bath water” going forward.
She also added that our increasing comfort with technology due to the pandemic means Trinity can engage with their partners in the US and Singapore more easily, for example, and cut down on flights abroad.
TEP: “Too Big to Fail” but Reforms Necessary
On the Trinity Education Project (TEP), Ohlmeyer struck a critical tone, remarking that it has done “real damage” to the education experience and the exact opposite of its intentions in making things less flexible for students.
Ohlmeyer added that from listening to colleagues, it has caused the most harm for students in the arts and humanities but also in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), while consequences were less severe for the more professionally oriented subjects.
She said there has been “a whole series of unintended consequences”. Ohlmeyer did add, however, that “a bit like the banks in 2008, it is too big to fail, and we need to look at how we can reform TEP”.
Ohlmeyer avoided outlining any concrete ideas for reforms, however, simply saying that it is “critically important” to maximise the benefits of TEP and, upon doing a review, she said, “we need to be 100 per cent sure we get it right”.
Tangible Change Through a VP for Environment
Ohlmeyer has lauded her plans for tackling climate change by creating a Vice Provost position for the environment, but she was pressed today on what meaningful change would come about as a result. Incorporating students into her response – she has also pledged to incorporate climate change into College curricula – she said that “employers want our graduates to be environmentally literate”. Knowledge of issues such as biodiversity will make graduates “super competitive in the marketplace”.
She added that her approach to tackling the climate crisis would go beyond the classroom: It would be woven into “the fabric of the university” from buildings to food available on campus. “It has to run across everything”, Ohlmeyer remarked, and a “professional team in place”, she said, would be the best way to achieve this.
