In a radical break with tradition, all newly appointed heads of departments at UCD have been given one-year appointments. The decision, endorsed by the new president, Dr Hugh Brady, has enraged some senior academic staff.
One accused the new leadership in UCD of running what he called a "Thatcherite agenda where everything is about the bottom line".
But UCD says the new short-term appointments make sense as a major review of all academic structures in the college will begin shortly.
Dr Brady, a former Harvard professor of medicine, has introduced a series of sweeping changes since his appointment in January. In one move, 22 committees which reported to the governing authority were abolished.
Dr Brady, who has said the college was operating within a "comfort zone", has also made key changes to the management team, appointing four new vice-presidents.
UCD has been under pressure to secure more funding from the key research group, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), while other colleges like UCC and Trinity have performed strongly.
The newly-appointed registrar, Dr Philip Nolan, will begin the review of the college's academic structures shortly.
UCD has over 100 separate academic departments/centres and eleven separate faculties. There is intense speculation that the number of both will be cut dramatically as part of the new reform plan.
The TCD provost, Dr John Hegarty, has recently announced plans to cut the number of academic departments in the college from 61 to around 20 and to halve the number of faculties.
These changes are being proposed as the universities come to terms with a dramatic reduction in State support.
The estimates for the universities have been cut by about 14 per cent in the past two years, as the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, has diverted funds to the primary schools.
Meanwhile, UCD has defended the refurbishment of listed buildings, including the lodge occupied by the president at Belfield. The college says the buildings, which date from the 19th century, require urgent renovation.
In an interview with The Irish Times earlier this year, Dr Brady said: "I want to raise the ambition level [at UCD] ... there will be bumps on the road but this is not a popularity contest."
