Managerialism in Irish Universities

Managerialism is a term often used in relation to modern universities, sometimes as a neutral description of certain organisational techniques, sometimes as a pejorative expression. This article has three goals. Firstly, I suggest a reasonably precise definition of managerialism in this context. Secondly, against this definition I search for managerialism in modern Irish university law and practice, from the Universities Act, 1997, to the present; in which it will appear that managerialism has made considerable gains, though it has by no means conquered the field. And thirdly, I sketch some of the implications for the management of Irish universities.