Papers of James Meenan – Move of UCD to Belfield

22 U.C.D. and the Future

£5,000,000, cannot the College solve its accommodation problems by expansion from its existing buildings? We urge that the total cost of the various complex operations, including the reshuffle of College and Government property and the various alternatives, should each be calculated in full.

Total Cost of Current Proposals in Dublin

Those most in favour of the Stillorgan Road scheme claim that the sum involved is only £5,200,000. However, the proposals of the Commission should be viewed in the context of the total capital expenditure involved in all the proposals (and their consequences) now being considered in Dublin, if all proceed independently as at present projected.

£ New buildings for U.C.D. at Stillorgan Road site ... 6,700,000 Furniture and equipment for same ... at least 1,000,000 Buildings at Kevin Street and Bolton Street ... 1,350,000 Furniture and equipment for same ... say 700,000 Total £11,936,000

Faculty of Agriculture, U.C.D. ... ? Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, U.C.D. & T.C.D. ... ? Provision for T.C.D.'s other accommodation needs ... ? Provision for new University Church for U.C.D. ... ? Provision for student hostels at new site ... ? ?????

Of course, not all of these monies would have to be provided directly by way of parliamentary grants, but all of them would have to come from the pockets of the community.

2. PROVISION FOR STAFF INCREASE

A College on the proposed scale, whether it be built at Stillorgan Road or elsewhere, provides a level of accommodation for staff and students of the standard required by a modern university. It is well to realise just what is implied in this raising of U.C.D. to such a standard.

The memorandum from the Science departments states (p.2 of Appendix VI F, to Chapter I of the Report) that what is being planned for is 'staff on the levels normally provided in British universities' and the Commission in its final chapter (p.128), says that 'Our standards in this age must be international.' This implies first and foremost a great increase in teaching and technical staff.

Problems in the Proposed Move 23

It implies that the ratio of full-time teaching staff to full-time students be improved to something approaching the level in operation elsewhere. In British universities in 1956-57 the ratio stood at 1:7.2 students (a few years earlier it was better at 1:7) and the British University Grants Committee are not yet satisfied with the position. The ratio in U.C.D. was 1:19 students for the year 1952-53 and 1:20 for 1953-54 (the most recent years for which figures have been published).

Taking a more conservative view than that reigning in Britian the target might be set at a ratio of 1:8. This is approximately the ratio advocated in the memorandum of the Engineering faculty on its requirements (Appendix VI E to Chapter I of the Report). This means that in the new College the number of full-time teaching staff is to be increased by a factor of 2.4 from the 1953 figure of 157 staff for 3,046 students to a figure of 380 for the same student body (or to 625 for 5,000 students).

3. INCREASED RUNNING COSTS

Having regard to the total of new buildings contemplated and the increase in staff, an effort may be made to calculate the probable annual running costs of the new College.

To do this, one can take the published expenditure accounts for a recent year and multiply each item by a factor thought to be appropriate to the new situation. This has been done in a table set out below to which a series of notes on the various items is appended.

Comparative Table of Present and Estimated Future Annual Expenses

26 U.C.D. and the Future

(x) We realise that the above table may be criticised on matters of detail. This has not, however, deterred us from making the calculation, as our main point in so doing has been to show that such a forecast of future running costs can be made. We urge that a more accurate forecast on the above lines be made and published by those who have at their disposal more detailed and more recent data than we had.

No account is taken in these attempts to estimate future running costs, of any interest or other annual charges on the capital required for the new buildings. As one estimate makes the capital sum as high as £10,000,000, the annual charges could be of the order of £500,000 if the sum were raised as a loan. Of course if the cost of building were to be paid out of current revenue over, say a period of 10 years, an annual sum of the order of £1,000,000 would have to be raised in addition to running costs.

4. THE NEED FOR ECONOMY

The attempt at estimating running costs set out above, is not to be taken as an attempt to throw cold water on the scheme for expansion of U.C.D. on the grounds of costs. We accept that university expansion must take place, that it will be expensive, and that greatly increased annual sums will be needed by our universities and colleges for their running costs. We welcome the Government's decision to accept the Commission's recommendations in so far as that decision implies the acceptance of the necessity to spend many millions on the universities.

But we think that the Government should be told the full magnitude of the sums involved, and that the proposed scheme for U.C.D. expansion involves greatly increased running costs as well as capital expenditure. We suggest that the following points deserve careful attention:

(i) If the project is undertaken, funds must be available for its completion within a reasonably short period. Should the building be stopped or delayed the College would be dismembered. On the other hand expansion on the present site affords the advantages —(a) the College remains a unity at all stages and (b) the necessary expenditure could be spread over a longer period.

(ii) Money must be found to staff and equip adequately a College on this scale, while at the same time badly needed help must be given to other institutions of higher education. To build a larger College than could be staffed adequately, or to build it to the neglect of existing institutions, would be wasteful.

(iii) It is important that every opportunity for economising by sharing buildings, staff, equipment, and other resources between the institutions of higher education in Dublin be examined at the present time. There is undoubtedly a great deal of duplication and some of it could be avoided. Such economies would become much more difficult if U.C.D. were to move to the suburbs.

(iv) It is necessary to consider what effect the U.C.D. project would have on the Colleges at Cork and Galway and whether it would be possible or desirable to effect economies by eliminating some of the existing duplication within the N.U.I.

Problems in the Proposed Move 27

We believe that by an examination of these questions considerable savings could be made. It is important, however, that opportunities for the expansion of U.C.D. on its present site do not disappear while such problems are being studied. Too many such opportunities have been lost in the past. We suggest that the areas which we deal with later, in the vicinity of the College, should be acquired or at least an option on them secured immediately.

Economies for the College by Expansion near Present Sites

1. A saving of the capital cost of replacing existing sound buildings, and their fixed furniture and fittings. 2. Avoidance of the need for duplicate teaching space within the city for evening, part-time and extra-mural students. 3. A saving of the cost of provision of roads and services already available in the city, but which would have to be provided on the Stillorgan Road site. 4. Avoidance of the maintenance costs of these roads and services. 5. Possibilities of saving by co-ordination, and sharing facilities (space, equipment and staff) with other institutions. 6. The possibility of providing the facilities of the 'clinical institute' in existing city hospitals, and thus avoiding heavy additional building costs. 7. The continued use of part-time staff. 8. The possibility of spreading the cost of building over a longer period while maintaining the physical unity of the College. 9. The possibility of developing the Stillorgan estates as a capital asset.

E. THE OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN DUBLIN

1. THE INSTITUTES OF TECHNOLOGY

The College of Technology, Bolton Street, provides courses to primary degree standard in Architecture and Engineering. The College of Technology Kevin Street, provides similar courses in Electrical Engineering and in Science. The City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee has long maintained that it is necessary to provide these courses (a) as an incentive to the mass of students and (b) as an outlet for the small number of students who possess the requisite talents.

With these motives we thoroughly agree. We think, however, that the provision of these courses, side by side with similar courses in the universities, is wasteful of resources. Further, the cost borne by the community for each student who qualifies as an engineer or architect through the institutes of technology is much higher, due to the small numbers involved, than the cost borne in producing a university trainined engineer or architect.

Some of the news expressed by a deputation from the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee as reported by the Commission (Report, p.42) appear, in our view, to be self-contradictory. They are stated to have assured the Commission that there would be no duplication of expensive facilities. But we do not see how professional courses, exactly similar to technical degree

28 U.C.D. and the Future

courses can be run without such duplication. Also they are reported as stating that the Vocational Education Committee had in Kevin Street and Bolton Bolton Street a building problem which would cost 'up to £1,000,000 in the long run.'* They were interested in the Commission's Report from the point of view of knowing what accommodation would be provided by the University, to enable them to form their plans.

The problem involved is not peculiar to our circumstances. It has arisen years ago in the more advanced countries. In many countries it has been solved by integrating the technological courses in the institutes with their counterparts in the universities. We have in mind the kind of collaboration or integration that exists in various forms at Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and elsewhere. Some of these examples we outline below.

The Belfast College of Technology. Part of the teaching for the degree in Engineering of Queen's University is done at the College of Technology by staff recognised by the University. The whole of the teaching for university degrees in Chemical Technology, Pharmaceutics, Textile Industries and Naval Architecture is done there by recognised teachers.

The College of Technology and Commerce, Cardiff. Through its affiliation to the University of Wales this College offers courses leading to the degrees of B.Arch. and B.Pharm.

The Royal Technical College, Glasgow. In 1913 this College became affiliated to the University of Glasgow and in 1919 it was recognised as a University College and became eligible for grants from the University Grants Committee. The College has an independent Board of Governors and comes directly under the Scottish Education Department. Through its affiliation with the University of Glasgow the College offers courses of study leading to the Degree of B.Sc. in a variety of subjects. It also offers courses leading to its own Associateship (A.R.T.C.).

The Manchester College of Science and Technology. The Faculty of Technology of the University of Manchester was instituted within the above College in 1905. The Principal of the College is Dean of the University Faculty and heads of departments are professors of the University. The College offers courses which lead either to the University Degrees of Bachelor or Master of Technical Science or to its own Associateship (A.M.C.T.). The M.Sc. Tech. and the Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees of the University may be conferred on those who have pursued research in the College.

In passing it is well to remember that until 1926 the Royal College of Science for Ireland, an independent non-university institution, offered courses

* In point of fact we understand that the cost of the Bolton Street project is approx. £350,000 and that the sum required for Kevin Street alone will not be less than £1,000,000. These are building costs and do not include furniture or equipment. We understand that the extra equipment for Engineering and Architecture at Bolton Street will cost over two hundred thousand pounds. For Kevin Street it will cost considerably more.

Problems in the Proposed Move 29

that led to its own Associateship (A.R.C.Sc.I.). It co-operated with the University by permitting U.C.D. students to take their workshop courses in Merrion Street. A previous Irish Government, rather than finance the duplication of expensive faculties, compelled its amalgamation with the University. It was handed over to U.C.D. by the University Education (Agriculture and Dairy Science) Act, 1926. University College, Dublin, which has already absorbed the College of Science, might well consider at least co-operation with the newer expanding institutes of technology.

Elsewhere, when technological institutes have grown up in a university city, the time came when they had developed in status and in standards to the stage of providing courses to full professional level. At that point co-ordination with, and even integration into, the technological faculties of the university followed as a natural course. We believe that the same course should be followed in Dublin and indeed that eventually it will follow, but we are concerned that meanwhile U.C.D. may have been transferred to Stillorgan Road instead of remaining on its present sites which are more conveniently situated for cooperation with the institutes.

We urge that serious consideration be given to the above point of view. Apart from the economic advantages of such collaboration we believe that in this way the best interests of higher technological education would be served.

Further, we believe that in view of the continued growth of heavy industry in Cork (steel, shipbuilding, oil refining) a very good case can be made for siting an advanced technological faculty or college in that city and that the establishment of a multiplicity of such faculties in Dublin will militate against adequate provision being made for the needs of the south.

As an example of the position that is arising because of the lack of cooperation between the institutes and the universities, we deal below in some detail with the provision of professional training in Architecture.

The Dublin Schools of Architecture

The Commission's Report accepts the College authorities' estimate of space required for the new school of Architecture: 22,000 sq. ft. nett or 29,730 sq. ft. gross to be built at a cost of approximately £250,000. It is to be noted that this estimate was prepared in 1952 when the numbers in the school were at an abnormal maximum, and the requirements would seem to be excessive for what might be taken to be the average number of students. The records of recent years show a decline in numbers from 150 to 110 (a 27% decrease). The reason for this decline is undoubtedly a 'settling down' of the profession to 'normal' conditions following the post-war building boom when the profession offered very attractive prospects.

If we take the average student number at 110, then the estimate of approx. £250,000 would provide for the ecertion of a first-class school with all facilities. Such a provision is very desirable and would we fully justified were it not for the fact that a second school of Architecture with first-class standards of accommodation is already nearing completion in Dublin. We refer to the school of Architecture at the College of Technology, Bolton Street. When complete (September 1960) this school will have the great advantage of being associated

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economies in staff and equipment and, more important still, from the point of view of providing the best possible teaching for the students and of facilitating research. In any moves towards closer ties with the universities, however, it would be important to preserve the essentially research character of the Institute's appointments.

Now that our universities are about to achieve a consider expansion, it might be an opportune time to review the functions and constitution of the Institute.

3. TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN -- THE COMMISSION'S MINORITY REPORT We have concerned ourselves almost entirely with examining the Majority Report of the Commission, but we feel that some comment must be made on the Minority Report, signed by Mr. Aodhogan O'Rahilly. Whereas the majority, working within their rigidly interpreted terms of reference, make no reference to T.C.D., Mr. O'Rahilly goes to the other extreme and find a solution in a complete amalgamation of U.C.D. and T.C.D. We believe that his solution is too facile. Further, the danger in his Report is that, when it is read in conjunction with the Majority Report, it would seem to imply that his solution is the only alternative to the majority's solution, that Trinity, so to speak, is the alternative to Belfield. Now here we shall be emphatic: We are making a case for keeping U.C.D. where it is, and our case would stand even if T.C.D. did not exist.

The logical alternative to the Belfield proposal is not that contained in the Minority Report but the case that we are making: It is both undesirable and unnecessary, for the reasons outlined, to remove U.C.D. from the city centre.

But we cannot leave the question of Trinity College without asking whether its existence is quite irrelevant to the desirability of keeping U.C.D. at Earlsfort Terrace. Is the present proximity of U.C.D. to Trinity of no significance beyond the fact that they are the major parts of a cultural and educational complex? We are persuaded that whatever the significance may be now, it will grown with time if only through considerations of economy. We note the new position in veterinary education, where the two schools of Veterinary Medicine will use the same buildings and equipment provided by the Government though functioning as separate schools. Co-opertaion has existed between the two Colleges in the faculties of Agriculture and of Engineering. T.C.D. students attended at the Albert College and were granted engineering workshop facilities at U.C.D. We believe that sharing of space and equipment could be extended to other departments, notably in science and technology. We have already discussed the imminence of a technological university in Kevin Street and Bolton Street, its probable impact on U.C.D., and the need for rationalisation. We recognise that the case of T.C.D. is different in many respects, but not in this matter of sharing specialised facilities.

The possibility, then, of sharing accommodation and equipment in certain departments with T.C.D. presents us with yet another argument for keeping U.C.D. on its present sites. Any such sharing of facilities would result in further economies, and this saving would become more and more pronounced in future years as it becomes increasingly imperative to avoid duplication in

U.C.D. Accommodation Needs 35

the provision of the costly equipment that will be required if this country is to keep abreast of the latest developments in scientific and technological education. We believe that to move U.C.D. would certainly minimise the possibility of making such arrangements and perhaps preclude them for all time.

IV. U.C.D. ACCOMMODATION NEEDS

Introduction The Commission accepted the U.C.D. authorities' own estimate of the College's total accommodation needs, based on the then current student numbers plus an increase of 20%. It did not make any attempt to relate student numbers 'to the national need,' excusing itself by the highly contentious statement (Report, p.43) that 'freedom of entry is a university tradition and is specifically an Irish tradition.' This ignores the fact that freedom of entry is unreal as far as the majority of Irish people are concerned because of the cost of university education and the paucity of scholarships.

We do not see that limitation of student numbers by the raising of entrance standards would necessarily be unjustifiable.

Further, the Commission's narrow view of its terms of reference prevented it from considering 'co-ordination within the University or over a wider field.' If this was done, it says, 'other solutions might present themselves.' It is probable, for example, that if the Colleges in Cork and Galway were expanded and improved the numbers wishing to attend U.C.D. would be reduced.

However, for the purpose of this Section, we will follow the Commission and accept the College's estimates.

A. SPACE AND CONSEQUENT SITE REQUIREMENTS

We set out below, with what we hope is greater clarity than was employed by the Commission, an analysis of the space and consequent site requirements of U.C.D.

Nett requirements for a complete new College, assuming surrender of all present buildings at Earlsfort Terrace and Merrion Street . . . 610,630 sq. ft. nett Add 33.3% for circulation etc . . . . . . 203,540 sq. ft. nett Hence, total requirements . . . . . . . . . 814,170 sq. ft. gross

This includes provision for a 20% expansion above immediate needs. Subtracting amount required for future expansion (1/6th of above) --

For future expansion . . . . . . . . . 135,700 sq. ft. gross Requirements for immediate needs . . . . . . 678,470 sq. ft. gross

Accepting, for the moment, the 'rule of thumb' used by the Commission, that one acre of ground is required to erect one acre of floor space (irrespective

72 U.C.D. and the Future

Part of the accommodation trouble at U.C.D. is that students who take a course that involves the study of science have not touched the subject previously. These students should not be accepted by the university authorities until they have undergone a satisfactory course. It would hardly be fair to require from Irish students the high standard in scientific subjects that is necessary to gain admission to an English or Scottish university. To get the best results from university education involves a much higher standard of technical and secondary education, a considerable increase in scholarships to attend these schools, and far more generous provision in the matter of university scholarships than is at present available.

More technological institutes, such as those provided at Bolton Street and Kevin Street (Dublin) will have to be erected. The provision of such a college in Limerick where a demand exists for the establishment of a constituent college of the N.U.I may be an acceptable solution. The writer would suggest that any institute established at Limerick should provide for the needs of the higher management in the building industry and for the large numbers who engage in estate dealings and management without any technical qualification (at present not more than a dozen or so of the firms in the Republic who engage in this work possess staff who hold professional qualifications). The recognition of course outside the college as acceptable to it would, of course, require an alteration in the College statutes.

One proposal in the Commission's report that interests the present writer particularly is that to establish a school of geography at U.C.D. It is hoped that the proposed school will include a course in advanced land surveying similar to that at Bristol and other universities. U.C.D. also requires, as a matter of urgency, better facilities for hydraulic research, and this should be met regardless of what decision is come to on the Commission's report.

The Commission consider that, for the proposed buildings at Stillorgan Road, an open architectural competition is desirable and that the scheme should include a great hall to serve, as required, as a concert hall. It is estimated that the college would take up to ten years to build, and in the view of one member of the Commission the proposal would cost nearly £10,000,000 to build.

Appendix J

SOME OTHER VIEWS

(i) An Article from 'The Tablet' (4th July, 1958)

"To Dublin to Study" -- by Dermot F. T. Engelfield

There were moments of peacefulness, a solitary figure brushing leaves in the College Park at Trinity or the gardens of University College, quietness set in the middle of the city's bustle. The tensions of life then were lowered as they should be in a university city, and having reached this new equilibrium, mind and feeling started to work. No one could truly reveal this personality of Dublin, important as it is when assessing it as a university centre, but I was soon to find there were more tangible riches to be found there.

Very little has been written about the most satisfactory urban setting for

Appendices 73

universities, but if some budding Ph.D. is at this moment discussing it with his tutor he might seriously consider making a start with Dublin. What first struck me was the almost ideal balance there was between City and Universities. Beyond academic walls the busy life of an industrial centre, a port, a capital with an active parliamentary government, all linked to the world through an international airport, dealt with the ever passing problems of balancing supply and demand-- the essence of practical living. It treated the universities with quiet approval, it seldom strayed through their gates. I was reminded how unbalanced in one way are Oxford and Cambridge, where the many university buildings predominate, or how unbalanced in the other way are Manchester or London where the university is an intellectual island set in a sea of commerce. But in Dublin, if at Trinity, one led a fully residential life, and even if living in hostels or rooms students were accepted as part of the life of the city without being allowed to push the citizens off the pavements. There were no self-conscious students' quarters; the whole city was there to enrich one's background. Let me turn then to the more practical advantages of Dublin a university city.

There were the theatres which enlivened the study of drama, especially that of the eighteenth century. The tradition of the 'little theatres' kept one abreast of modern movements in a way that only London could surpass in Britain. Musical life too was rich, above all for those who enjoyed choral music, and there were visiting groups, such as the Hamburg State Opera, whose performance of Mozart were, at the time, superior to anything heard in Britain since before the war. The resident symphony orchestra could be visited twice a week with the smallest of formalities, and there were a dozen or more first-rate chamber recitals and song recitals during the winter months. There was a National Gallery which was a very good introduction to the history of painting, being one of the best balanced of the smaller European collections and unusually strong in the Dutch and English schools. Public lectures by eminent speakers were promoted by the Royal Dublin Society and other bodies, and these were advertised in the Press and were open to the public. This cross-fertilisation was carried to a high degree. If one ideal for a university setting is to have a small society of students living in beneficial contact with a large urban society, then Dublin went a long way towards succeeding. Finally, though this does not apply to Dublin alone, for anyone from Britain to live outside England for a few years and to look at her from a bastion of independence was really quite an education in itself.

As a small capital with a relatively large number of students, Dublin offers a wholeness in its university life that few centres can rival.

(ii) Professor Stanford's Views

In the course of a eulogy of Trinity College which appears in the 'Trinity Handbook--1959' Senator Professor Stanford wrote the following:--

'No other ancient, residential university in Ireland or Great Britain lies in the heart of a sovereign metropolis, within a few minutes' walk of the parliament, the government departments, the courts of justice, and all the main nerve-centres of an independent state. Inside the walls of the College we have a precinct dedicated to learning and teaching; but even the most dedicated learner and even the most absorbed teacher must