Minister Simon Harris Announces Progression of Incorporation of St. Angela’s College, Sligo

Dr Edel McSharry, Acting President, St Angela’s College, and Dr Brendan McCormack, President, IT Sligo.

St. Angela’s College has a strong reputation of third-level education in the west and north-west. The college’s focus and expertise in delivering professionally accredited programmes of Home Economics, Teacher Education, Nursing and related disciplines will enhance the TU’s brand and portfolio in the region. The college had previously been working to incorporate into NUI Galway, but now that a new TU is being established in the west and north-west, the focus has moved to incorporating within a university campus in Sligo. Minister Harris said: “St. Angela’s College, Sligo has long been an important provider of initial teacher education and home economics, both in the west and north-west and nationally. It provides higher education across a range of other disciplines, too, including food and nutrition, health sciences, nursing, disability studies, textiles, fashion and design, science, biology and business. As such, it makes a lot of sense for the college to incorporate into the other higher education powerhouse emerging now in the west and north-west in the form of the new TU.” He added: “My officials are working closely with both higher education institutions to advise and ensure that relevant issues around the legislative and other processes required for incorporation are observed. Of course, ultimately, incorporation into the new TU will be a matter for the university’s governing body upon establishment”. Acting President at St. Angela’s College, Dr Edel McSharry welcomed the announcement and said: “For seventy years, St. Angela’s has grown and developed beyond what was ever imagined, pioneering through challenges and embracing opportunities. It’s through these opportunities that we can grow stronger and continue to deliver education at exceptional standards. We look forward to sharing our ideas and our vision and intensifying our collaborative efforts to progress this incorporation into the Sligo campuses of the new TU, together making Sligo, Ireland’s next university town.”