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Dr Louise Richardson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of St Andrews, was conferred with the honorary fellowship of Waterford Institute of Technology on Monday 10th May.

Originally from Tramore, Co Waterford, Dr Richardson has been leading St Andrews, Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world, since early 2009 having previously held leadership positions at Harvard University.

With a student population of over 7,000 – more than 1,300 of whom are postgraduates – St Andrews is one of the most highly regarded universities in Europe and attracts students from more than 100 countries.

Previously Executive Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, Dr Richardson is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities in her academic specialism, the study of terrorism and political violence.

At St Andrews, she has responsibility for the overall running of the institution. She also presides over Senate, the university’s supreme academic body and confers degrees in the absence of the Chancellor, Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP.

Conferring the Institute’s 13th Honorary Fellow, Prof Kieran R Byrne, President, Waterford Institute of Technology, who read the citation said: “Dr Richardson has excelled and continues to do so at the pinnacle of international higher education and is one of the very highest achievers of the Irish diaspora in this generation.

“She has held several prestigious roles at Harvard and is now at the helm of St Andrews, a university with an almost 600-year tradition of excellence. Indeed, while it was 1413 when Pope Benedict XIII authorised the new university, it had in fact operated since 1410 so it is arguably already entering its seventh century! In any case, Dr Richardson now leads this exceptional institution forward at a time of challenge and opportunity across higher education globally.”

Redmond O’Donoghue, Chairman, Waterford Institute of Technology, added: “Dr Richardson’s achievements in her hugely important field of research and, more recently, in higher education leadership are of the highest order and it is entirely fitting that she be recognised in her native country.

“As Ireland works towards sustainable economic recovery and a wider renewal, we are fortunate to have proud ambassadors such as Dr Richardson in key international thought leadership roles where they influence on our behalf. If any evidence were needed, the ties Dr Richardson has retained to her home place are underlined in the naming of her and Dr Thomas Jevon’s children - Ciara, Fiona and Rory!”

Responding, Dr Richardson said: “I am both flattered and delighted to receive this honour from WIT, an institution that has been a major education force in the southeast of Ireland for more than a generation.

“The power of education to transform lives is evident in the range of opportunities provided by this dynamic Institute of Technology.

“I spent most of my professional life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a city dominated by Harvard at one end and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the other. I’m delighted to bring a little of Cambridge back home to Waterford today.”

Dr Louise Richardson joins previously conferred honorary fellows Michael Ryan; Beatrice Barry-Murphy; Ken Bond; Sister Consilio; Sahar Hashemi; Redmond O’Donoghue; Alan G Hassenfeld; Frank O’Conor; Pádraig Ó Fainín (deceased); John Treacy; The Hon Danny Williams and Brendan Rowe (deceased).

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