Change, Growth & Inspiration The Provost looks forward to the year ahead Entering into the last year of my provostship feels quite surreal. Provost of Trinity is a ten-year term, and previously I was Vice-Provost for three years so I can hardly recall a time when I wasn’t doing some kind of leadership role in Trinity, but – as I keep saying to students – change is a good thing and I’m looking forward to testing myself in new areas. That’s for this time next year. For now, my focus remains firmly on Trinity and on achieving the ambitious and realistic goals we’ve set ourselves, so that my final year keeps up the momentum leading into the next provostship. There’s always a huge amount involved in creating change in Trinity, but with the pandemic and social distancing continuing to impact on education and research, we are facing into an academic year unlike any we can remember. In a crisis, you seize opportunities for change, but you also double down on values and reaffirm true purpose and mission. Let me share with you some of our plans for this academic year. Two important residential building projects are central to my final year as Provost. A new square on the site between the Printing House and Pearse Street – we will call it Printing House Square – will be completed in the spring. Designed by McCullough Mulvin Architects, it will provide 250 student rooms, a new College Health Centre, and much needed new sports facilities. This piece of ground hasn’t previously been incorporated into the college – its deployment now is a reaffirmation of our belief in a living campus. Meanwhile, we’re also determined to halt the slow decline in the Rubrics, the oldest building in the college, so it’s getting a complete renovation, returning the generously proportioned and well-appointed rooms to much-needed staff accommodation, with student rooms on the top floor. Visiting professors will be accommodated here, and in the refurbished Chief Steward’s House, off Front Square. Financing is in place and planning submission to Dublin City Council (DCC) will be completed in August. In a city of high rents like Dublin, student accommodation is always a priority and particularly so in the current situation. This academic year, exceptionally, we’ll be providing rooms to first year students, particularly international students, because they will need somewhere to self-isolate as soon as they arrive.