MIC academic, Dr Rosemary Day, was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD.
Dr Day, who is the Head of the Department of Media & Communications Studies at MIC, has nearly 30 years of experience as a senior lecturer and manager in third level education. She has previously served as a member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and a Coordinating Director of the national Audio Research Centre. A passionate advocate for community radio in Ireland, Dr Day founded Raidió na Life, a station for Irish speakers in Dublin, and Wired 99.9FM—Limerick’s fully-licensed student radio station. She is an active member of CRAOL, the Community Radio Forum of Ireland, and a former council member of AMARC-Europe, the world association of community broadcasters.
Speaking after her appointment to the Board of the HEA, Dr Day said: “I am delighted to be appointed to the Board by Minister Harris and I am keen to get started. As an academic in a smaller institution outside of Dublin, I will bring the concerns and needs of students and staff beyond the Pale to the table. I am particularly keen to promote alternative routes to education for individuals who are marginalised by geography, age, gender, socio-economic background, race, language and the many other difficulties that are often grouped together under the banner of ‘Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism’. I believe in education for all and I also believe in developing the wider range of intelligences that we have as humans, beyond the traditional academic university courses we currently offer.”
Dr Day will serve on the Board’s Student Engagement and Learning Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee. According to Dr Day: “I believe the quality of teaching and the educational experiences of students in their time in third level are crucial in ensuring the capacity and the desire for lifelong learning that enrich them as individuals and that build a resilient, responsible, democratic and wealthy nation.”
Dr Day’s research interests include community media, minority media, and media participation and democracy. Much of her research deals with Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism (EDII) issues and she is a lifelong activist in the areas of Irish language promotion; gender equality and community development. She is currently writing a book on the history of Irish radio and collaborating with universities across Europe in mapping the role of media in democracy and investigating ways of future proofing pathways to strengthen democracy.
For further information on the Department of Media & Communications at MIC and their programme offerings please see www.mic.ie/media
