Principal player majored in academia and banking

PROFESSOR Ferdinand von Prondzynski, who will chair the latest review on universities, became principal of Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen earlier this year.

Born in Germany, his family moved to Ireland in the early sixties, returning to West Germany in 1969.

He was educated at schools in both Ireland and Germany and after working in the banking industry in Germany from 1972 to 1974, returned to Ireland, and became an Irish citizen in 1976.

After graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, with a BA and an LLB in 1978, he attained a PhD in law at the University of Cambridge in 1983.

He began his academic career in 1980 as a lecturer in the School of Business Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, becoming a fellow in 1987.

A move to the University of Hull in 1991 saw him take up posts as professor of law, dean of the law school, and dean of the faculty of social sciences before taking up the presidency of Dublin City University (DCU) in 2000.

At DCU, he oversaw significant growth of research income (from about 3 million in 2000 to nearly 40m in 2009), major campus investment and development, and saw the university rise 21 places in the world rankings.

Prof von Prondzynski has published widely in the field of industrial relations and employment law, co-authoring the first academic textbook on Irish employment law.

Education secretary Mike Russell last night said the panel would include a trade union representative and a university chair of court. Students are keen to have a seat on the committee.