Head diplomat for the universities

Tom Boland, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, has a fine line to straddle between universities and the State – and with the agency's fate yet to be decided, his stance is more in question than ever before, writes Louise Holden

SINCE THE Higher Education Authority (HEA) was put on death row by Colm McCarthy, it has waged no public war for survival. Dim public knowledge of its function means that no one is calling Joe Duffy about it either.

Its chief executive, Tom Boland, has kept a low profile – refusing, for example, to make an appearance on Prime Time in May to defend the agency against accusations of poor value for money. Boland cannot afford to puncture any egos, either in the Department of Education or in the university sector. By staying under the radar, he has managed to remain in the middle of the no-man’s land that separates the Department from higher education.

If there was ever a job that befit a diplomatic candidate, Tom Boland has it. Known in the sector as the Department of Schools, Education has never been regarded as a friend to the universities. The establishment of the HEA saved university heads the indignity of dealing with a department more interested in crayons than petri dishes, and gave the sector an advocate at last.

When Boland took up the position of chief executive five years ago, there were some who wondered if he was too much the public servant to represent the interests of a sector that is increasingly competitive, corporatist and global in outlook.

“When Tom came to the HEA there was some apprehension about him,” says an insider. “ The former chairman, Don Thornhill, had left a huge footprint with his vision and candour. Boland was seen as a technocrat. It made for an uneasy first impression.”

Trained as an engineer, Boland is a career civil servant and a qualified barrister who has had a significant impact on education legislation through his involvement in the drafting of the education and universities acts. He has worked in the Departments of Justice and Revenue and has a wide knowledge of the structure of the education system. At one point he nearly left public service to become a barrister but was reputedly talked out of it by Don Thornhill.

There were internal speed bumps to be negotiated on arrival – Michael Kelly had been “parachuted” in from the Department of Health as executive chairman and his stature in the civil service meant he and Boland were vying for position in the HEA. Boland’s energy was initially taken up with getting the HEA house in order.

“Over time, however, Boland developed a more active and increasingly sure-footed approach in his dealings with the universities,” says an education leader. “He earned the respect of the sector and is at a point now where the university presidents want him on-side.”

Boland’s dry wit, non-confrontational approach and open mind endeared him to a sector that had long felt unloved by the Department. “He comes across as quite austere at first, perhaps due to his legal training,”says a former colleague. “He tries to uphold a persona. However, he’s ultimately a very jovial and funny guy.”

Since Boland took up the position, the role of the HEA has changed in two significant ways. The 14 institutes of technology have come under its rubric and the agency has been charged with distributing research funding through the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) and the Strategic Innovation Fund. The authority now manages €1.6 billion transferred from the State to higher education.

There have been rumblings in the Department, however, about the agency’s independence. There are those who would like to bring the universities to heel and see the HEA as an obstacle.

“The HEA is a buffer body between higher education and the Department, it helps universities retain autonomy,” says a HEA insider. “This autonomy is critical. Ireland now has two universities in the top 100, unlike Germany, where the state retains tight control of higher education. In the US, where there is a distinctly light touch, the universities are topping global rankings.”

Boland has considerable expertise on the chess board of Irish education. In his work on the Education Act he repositioned private actors such as the churches and the unions in their relation to the State, at the time when such a game was considered too dangerous. He has shown the same skill in negotiating the territory between the state and the universities, say those who work with him.

“The Department told higher education to stop hiring, regardless of where the money was coming from. The HEA has been able to negotiate universities out of that headlock, in a way the HSE has not been able to for the health sector,” says a source.

“The HEA has been an invaluable mediator for the sector. Boland will never win more money for the universities from the State, but he has worked to loosen the bonds that have traditionally prevented them getting money elsewhere.”

Even if the HEA survives the next Budget, it is still in danger of losing control of research funding. There is a drive to centralise research money into a super agency.

There is disagreement in education circles about where Boland stands on the issue of State regulation of the university sector. “He strongly believes in the public service remit . . . I think he’s more inclined to the concept of control than autonomy,” says a leading figure. “If I’m right, he’s on a collision course with universities. The independence of the sector will define its future – I think Boland is on the wrong side of the issue.”

Those closer to Boland hold a different view. “He has fought hard for the autonomy of the institutions and he recognises it is crucial to the development of the sector. However, he also knows that the buy-in of the Department is essential and he is well placed to keep everybody on board.”

Boland is said to be close to Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe, but not to his predecessor, Mary Hanafin. “O’Keeffe is regarded as having a better empathy for higher education than Hanafin had,” says a source. “The relationship with the department has been better since she left.”

Years in the public service have honed Boland’s deskside manner. Described by a colleague as a “Sir Humphrey character”, this Galway opera buff is extremely diplomatic and chooses his words carefully. “Like Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister, Tom knows when to defer to the minister,” says a colleague.

He’s the man most likely to win a ministerial pardon for the HEA, but many in the sector say it won’t make much difference in practical terms if he doesn’t. “If the HEA is abolished, the job of distributing funds will still have to be done.

“The Department doesn’t have the people to take over the role, despite accusations of duplication. The plaque will be taken down and letterheads will go out of print but the work of the HEA will have to continue.”

There won’t be much money saved, but the abolition of the HEA would mark a change of policy and a new relationship between the Department and higher education. If Boland retains a role, higher education will at least have a friend on the inside.

Days of reckoning for the HEA

The report of An Bord Snip Nua has recommended axing the Higher Education Authority (HEA). It takes money from the Department of Education and gives it to universities and institutes of technology; from the outside it looks like a gratuitous bureaucratic tier.

THE VITAL STATISTICS

Budget:€1.6 billion, primarily higher education staffing costs and research funding

Staffing:60

Sector size:seven universities, 14 institutes of technology, 140,000 full-time students, 30,000 part-time, 25,000 staff

Roles:distributing the State higher education budget; advocating on behalf of the higher education sector; bringing higher education into line with State policy; mediating between the Department of Education and the sector; informing state policy on higher education; distributing the bursaries of the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions and the Strategic Innovation Fund Policy reports/Publications, such as The Future of Arts, Social Science and Humanities; The Cost of Living for Students; First Destination of Graduates; and Flexible Learning Initiatives

Challenges:if the HEA survives the next Budget it could lose its research purse to a proposed "super agency". The continuing battle of the universities to gain autonomy from the state will see the HEA in an increasingly tense position. The notion of centres of excellence in education will involve the HEA in a drive to close down and amalgamate many academic departments across Ireland.