Downer down from the ivory tower

Professor Roger Downer (left), UL's new president, surprised the audience at his inauguration last Tuesday when he spoke in Irish. His pronunciation was a tad laboured and phonetic, but his efforts were much appreciated. Downer argued that the university should serve as "the intellectual equivalent of the village pub - a place where people gather to discuss and explore ideas, discover new truths and insights and from which new and creative ideas flow out into the community to enrich and enhance the world in which we live". Downer, born in Belfast, comes to UL from the Thailand-based Asian Institute of Technology, where he was president. The institute is an international postgraduate university, funded by more than 20 countries and some 200 agencies and corporations. A graduate of Queen's University Belfast, Downer pursued postgraduate studies in Canada. He has spent most of his academic career at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he was chair of the department of biology, acting dean of science and, for seven years, vice president for university relations.