The new president of University College Cork, Prof Gerry Wrixon, has spelt out what will be the three guiding principles of his presidency - to ensure that UCC becomes known for the quality of its undergraduate education; that students enjoy their time at the college; and that the existing research ethos will become even stronger.
"Ultimately," he says, "students will vote with their feet. We must take care to see to it that UCC is up there with the best.
"I'm not saying that we can be good at everything but we have strengths in the sciences, engineering - well I would say that - commerce, the food area and the law department. I see myself as a facilitator, helping the departments and the faculties to grow and expand."
New senior management team members are about to be appointed by the president to the existing team in the areas of human resources, planning and development and communications. He is concerned that UCC must explain itself properly to the people of the region and remove perceived mysteries as to what it does.
"Academics are good at explaining to their colleagues about the excellent work they do. Sometimes, though, they are not so good at explaining it to the general public. I'd like to see more of that. We must be accessible and a natural, vibrant part of the community because UCC has a great relevance to the economic, social and cultural development not only of the city, but the greater Cork area." In the immediate future, the various departments at UCC will be asked to submit proposals as part of a strategic development plan that will be brought together within the next nine months. It will identify where the university needs to go in the years ahead and will be a rolling plan subject to revision as the need arises. When finalised, it will be made public and put on the Internet.
He is also keen that in the information technology age, the humanities should not be forgotten. UCC, under his stewardship, he says, will reflect this and help the humanities to flourish.
UCC is going to need more space, and acquisitions have already been made to meet this need.
One of his other ambitions is to explore avenues of even greater co-operation with Cork Institute of Technology, an institution he greatly admires.
Prof Wrixon, who has taken over as president of UCC from Prof Michael Mortell, comes to the post from an engineering background. A UCC engineering graduate, he pursued postgraduate studies at the California Institute of Technology and the University of Berkeley, where he was awarded a PhD.
He also taught at the University of Loyola and worked at the Fokker aircraft factory in Amsterdam before joining the staff of UCC in 1974.
He is perhaps best known for establishing the highly successful National Microelectronics Re search Centre, Cork, in 1981.
He serves on the boards of the DII Group Inc of Boulder, Colorado, General Semiconductor Inc, New York and Telecom Eireann. He has been chairman of Eolas, the science and technology agency, and has been elected to the boards of a number of EU research projects.
He has an abiding interest in the arts and is chairman of the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork as well as a board member of the Cork Opera House.