In a poll conducted by Trinity News, students have indicated that their preference for the upcoming provost election will lie with Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, favoured by 62.7% of those who expressed a preference.
Professor Linda Doyle followed second in the poll with 21.8%, with Professor Linda Hogan receiving 15.6% of the votes.
However, the student preference vote may very well change as the provost election campaign period continues, with nearly half of students polled indicating that they are undecided in the upcoming election.
Students are not eligible to vote in the provost election appointment, as the electorate is made up of around 850 academics and staff. Student representatives, such as TCDSU, have a vote within this electorate.
Trinity College Dublin’s Students’ Union (TCDSU) has previously mandated to vote in accordance with student’s preference, which will be upheld by holding a vote of the student body to see which candidate they would prefer. With 48.1% of students undecided, the student representative votes could vote for any candidate.
17.9% of students polled said they had no preference for who is appointed as provost.
All nominations for the position this year are women. In the more than four centuries of Trinity’s history, the role of provost has exclusively been held by men.
The campaign period for the position officially begins on February 5, and will run until April 7.
Voting for the provostial position will be held online this year through an “e-voting” format. Only members of the electorate can vote in the Provost elections.
Voting will take place on Saturday April 10, with the eligible electorate expected to be around 850 people.
The electorate is made up of full-time academic staff who have been in post for at least 12 months on the date of the election. Certain part-time members of academic staff are also eligible to be members of the electorate along with some student representatives.
The new provost will take office on August 1.
