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CONTENTS 3 COVID-19 Law and Human Rights Observatory 4 COVID-19 Impact on Young Children 5 Taking Brain Health Research out of the Lab and into Your Smartphone 6 7 8 Help us Archive the Pandemic 9 10 Newgrange Mystery 11 Trinity Business School 1st Anniversary 12 13 Leo Francis Goodstadt 14 15 16 18 19
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EDINQIVCUELAURLSSIIITTOYYN All of us have become more aware of the importance of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in recent years. Societal response to EDI is significantly affected by how universities pursue their education and research activities. In November Trinity appointed Professor Clodagh Brook to be the university’s first Associate Vice-Provost for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In the autumn she will launch the University’s new Equality Office - its focus will be on making Trinity an inclusive place that gets ever better at celebrating diverse voices. A new and robust EDI strategy will tackle structural issues of race, gender and ethnicity. change. Last year the Board approved special provision for those in Direct Provision to come to Trinity as students and we will continue to deepen our culture of welcome towards refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants. The university is also engaging deeply with the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI), launched by Minister for Higher Education Mary Mitchell-O’Connor when she was in office last year. It will accelerate gender balance at senior positions in Irish higher education institutions. Two Senior Academic Leadership Initiative (SALI) posts have been approved for Trinity: the SALI Chair of Mathematics and the SALI Chair of Political Economy – the new professors will take up their posts in the coming academic year. We recognise the need for an EDI office and strategy to bring about real structural change. The Black Lives Matter protests this summer in the US and around the world, as well as the xenophobia faced by Chinese and Asian minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, were revelatory of the extent that racism, prejudice and injustice still plague our societies. The university takes this opportunity to commit to putting resources, time and energy into renewing our institutional commitment to address these issues. Concrete action is needed to bring about structural And following an online student petition launched this summer, Trinity has committed to creating a Black Studies elective module. Professor Brooks is beginning work on developing and staffing the elective, which will be rolled out in 2021. Best wishes, Patrick Prendergast PROVOST 3
