In late 2015 I sent my provost a short email (one evening after a couple glasses of wine, to be honest) expressing frustration with our byzantine general education program and asking why we couldn’t have a radically simpler, more streamlined, comprehensible design. A few short months later I found myself appointed interim associate dean in Undergraduate Studies, spearheading a general education review and enhancement. No good deed, indeed!
Beyond Programs: Leadership Lessons from Ireland’s Inclusive Universities
During a recent sabbatical studying inclusive postsecondary education in Ireland, I visited four universities—University College Cork, Trinity College Dublin, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and Mary Immaculate
Ashley Rodrigues
July 20, 2026
