TOM DUFF, BORN 1945, FORMER ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

Tom Duff was initially a lecturer in Bolton Street and served as Academic Registrar of the Institute from 1985 until his retirement in 2009. He is a native of Belfast, and in the recording he discusses his background and early education. Having attended the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth for three years as an apprentice, he returned to Belfast and worked as a draughtsman for some years. He then began his studies in Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University, and from 1972 he worked with Harland and Wolff where he remained for three years. He then lectured and was later appointed Head of the Engineering Department at the Regional Technical College in Dundalk. He discusses his work as Academic Registrar in great detail in this interview. His responsibilities included the co-ordination and management of the Academic Council as well as involvement with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. He discusses the transition from the City of Dublin VEC to the DIT and the challenges this entailed. The changes which came about in his post over the years, and the highs and lows experienced during his career as he sees them, are all examined in this recording.