University of Limerick
The University of Limerick (UL) (Irish: Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a university in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989. It was the first university established since Irish independence in 1922, and was followed by the establishment of Dublin City University later the same day in 1989.
The university is along the River Shannon, on a 137.5-hectare (340-acre) campus with 46 hectares (110 acres) on the north bank and 91.5 hectares (226 acres) on the south bank, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre. It has over 11,000 full-time undergraduate students, including over 2,400 international students, and 1,500 part-time students. There are over 800 research postgraduates and 1,300 postgraduate students receiving instruction at the university. Its co-operative education ("co-op") programme gives all students an eight-month work placement as part of their degree, Ireland's first such programme.
Statistician Don Barry, a graduate of University College Cork (UCC) and Yale University, was president of UL from 2007 to April 2017. He was succeeded by Desmond Fitzgerald, who had been vice-president of research at University College Dublin from 2004 to 2014.
