The first female leader of the Republic of Ireland¡¯s most celebrated university is happy to?admit that the backdrop chosen for one of her official photographs was no?accident.

¡°We thought we¡¯d have a bit of a laugh,¡± Linda Doyle said of being pictured in front of the statue of George Salmon, the former provost who infamously declared that women would be admitted to Trinity College Dublin ¡°over my dead body¡±.

¡°I¡¯ve been told that he might not have actually said ¡®no?women at Trinity¡¯, but it¡¯s reported that he died on the Friday and women were admitted to the college on Monday,¡± said Professor Doyle, whose tenure as provost since August has ended a 429-year stretch of all-male leadership at Ireland¡¯s oldest university. ¡°Students today will find it hard to imagine that there was ever a question that women should go to university or not ¨C or that women should have a?vote.¡±

The landmark significance of Professor Doyle¡¯s appointment is not lost on many in Ireland, yet it did not feature heavily in her election campaign ¨C for all three candidates were women. ¡°That was fantastic because it took the issue out of the conversation ¨C I¡¯m glad that it wasn¡¯t a big discussion point,¡± she said.

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Her election was also the latest milestone in a remarkable transformation of?Ireland¡¯s historically all-male sector leadership, which saw the country¡¯s first female university president appointed only last year. Now four of Ireland¡¯s 10?universities are led by a?woman.

¡°It was a ridiculous situation,¡± says Professor Doyle. ¡°We had all these institutions in Ireland talking about inclusivity and diversity ¨C and it¡¯s proven that you get better productivity and decision-making if you have a diverse team ¨C so it was a natural move.¡±

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That influx may herald a shift in leadership practices, she said, stating that she ¡°brings a different way of leading ¨C some of which is personality-driven, but some also comes from my gender¡±.

¡°I have a very collaborative approach to leadership. Sometimes people think about power in a very particular way, which involves seeming to be strong or not ever losing face. I?have a very different way about going about things,¡± she explained.

That may stem from her engineering background, for she enjoys ¡°dealing with large, complex issues, joining the dots and making connections¡±, Professor Doyle reflected. ¡°But where I¡¯ve led before, people have commented on this style and said that it is maybe connected more to a woman¡¯s approach to things.¡±

Her sets out her intention to create a more inclusive and listening administration. It pledges to devolve power, including a?promise to tackle an ¡°increased concentration of power at the centre¡± of the university by ensuring that ¡°diverse voices are heard¡± via ¡°true and real consultation¡­that results in?action.¡±

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¡°Our schools have a certain amount of determination, but they tend to have a lot of responsibility without any authority to make changes,¡± explained Professor Doyle. She said was keen to keep the ¡°rich variation¡± of cultures between schools but also to ensure that ¡°people have a voice that is real rather than us pretending that we are doing consultation¡±.

Other promised changes are perhaps even more challenging, such as addressing precarious employment practices and reforming promotions to reflect different types of excellence. ¡°I?don¡¯t have the full answers yet,¡± admitted Professor Doyle, who added that because ¡°we do not have a sustainable funding model in Ireland¡±, with only 40?per cent of funding coming from the government, it?was difficult to enact radical change.

¡°But often we do not recognise some of the key work that keeps the university going ¨C such as teaching, or the different types of leadership at school or faculty level ¨C [and] sometimes we don¡¯t have the balance right in recognising research [as well as] the different tasks and leadership that we need,¡± said Professor Doyle.

Trinity¡¯s prominence in last year¡¯s BBC television adaptation of Sally Rooney¡¯s wildly popular novel Normal People ¨C detailing the emotional lives of two Trinity students ¨C has also brought renewed focus on the university¡¯s elitist reputation, given the struggles and alienation of the working-class protagonist, Connell. ¡°That perception of being ¡®elitist¡¯ is a conundrum as some people find that to be attractive and others unattractive,¡± said Professor Doyle, who added that Trinity did not receive enough credit for its efforts to be inclusive.

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¡°We have done amazing work in terms of access, and our model has now been copied by Oxford,¡± she said, adding that it has gone further on, for instance, offering certificates of education for people with intellectual disabilities.

¡°We had a visit from Emmanuel Macron recently, and he met many of these students ¨C he was really impressed by them, but also that a research-intensive university had made efforts to include people from every walk of life. All these things are so important in changing what people perceive as an excellent university.¡±

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com

Linda Doyle will be speaking at , being held in London on 24-25 November. .