Pictured L-R: Professor Lorraine McIlrath, Director of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism (EDII) at MIC; Professor Dermot Nestor, President at MIC; Dr Ailbhe Kenny, Associate Professor in Arts Education and Physical Education at MIC; Dr Dorothy Morrissey, Lecturer in Arts Education and Physical Education at MIC; Dr Mary Moloney, Associate Professor in Reflective Pedagogy & Early Childhood Studies at MIC; Karen Fisher, Executive Officer in the Arts Office at MIC; Dr Angela Canny, Assistant Dean of Education at MIC; and Professor Emer Ring, Dean of Education at MIC.
Mary Immaculate College’s (MIC) Faculty of Education has been awarded the Bronze Athena SWAN award, recognising its wider commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion across the College Community. This is the third Bronze Athena award that MIC has achieved as an institution.
The Athena SWAN Charter was introduced to Ireland in 2015 with support from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and is now a key pillar of the National Strategy for Gender Equality, with progress linked to institutional funding. The revised 2021 framework helps higher education institutions to sustain meaningful equality work and build capacity for evidence-based initiatives across equality grounds in Irish legislation.
As part of the application process for the award, the Faculty of Education established a Self-Assessment Team (STAT) comprising representatives from across the faculty and professional services staff. The team was chaired by Dr Dorothy Morrissey, lecturer in Arts Education and Physical Education at MIC.
MIC became a member of the Athena SWAN Charter in 2018, achieving its first Bronze Institutional Award in March 2020, followed by a Bronze award for the Faculty of Arts in August 2022. The Faculty of Education’s recent Bronze award now marks the College’s third Athena SWAN success, each made possible through the dedicated support of Professor Lorraine McIlrath, Director of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Interculturalism (EDII) at MIC and the EDII Office.
Reflecting on the significance of the award, Prof. Emer Ring, Dean of Education at MIC, said: "I am delighted that the Faculty of Education has been recognised with an Athena SWAN Bronze award. This achievement is the result of an outstanding collective effort by colleagues across the faculty, whose commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion has been unwavering. The award acknowledges the progress we have made, but it also challenges us to continue embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion into every aspect of our work. I wish to thank my colleagues for their leadership and dedication in developing our application and action plan, which will guide the next stage of our journey towards creating a truly inclusive environment at MIC."
Congratulating MIC’s Faculty of Education, Sarah Fink, Head of Athena SWAN Ireland, said:
“This Bronze Athena SWAN award highlights the fantastic commitment of Mary Immaculate College’s Faculty of Education in bringing about change through impactful and sustainable gender equality initiatives in higher education across Ireland. Congratulations to all those who work so hard to achieve and sustain this recognition.”
For more information on MIC’s work with Athena SWAN Charter, click here.
