Alumni engagement and philanthropy



QUEEN’S AWARDS HONORARY PROFESSORSHIP TO FORMER SPEAKER OF THE NI ASSEMBLY, MITCHEL MCLAUGHLIN

22 May 2018

Queen’s University Belfast has awarded the former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mitchel McLaughlin an Honorary Professorship in Peace Studies at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

Involved in politics for over 50 years, Mr McLaughlin served as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly from January 2015 until May 2016, Principal Deputy Speaker from 2013 until 2015, Assembly Private Secretary to the Minister for Education 2011- 2013 and as an MLA for Foyle from 1998 - 2003 and South Antrim from 2007 until his retirement in 2016.

Mr McLaughlin was also Chairman and later General Secretary of Sinn Féin.

Welcoming the appointment Professor Richard English, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation and Engagement at Queen’s, said: “Mitchel McLaughlin has played a key role in local politics for over 50 years, and in his work as Assembly Speaker he was widely respected.

"His significant breadth of experience will complement the work of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and I look forward very much to his contribution over the next three years." 

In his role as Honorary Professor (which will run from 2018-21, is part-time and not remunerated), Mr McLaughlin will take part in workshops and masterclasses with students and will participate in events at the University.

Mr McLaughlin will give his first public lecture as part of the Queen’s Policy Engagement (QPol) series on Tuesday, 26 June 2018, entitled: ‘Hope and History’.

The lecture will be free and open to the public. Details regarding registration will be released in due course via Queen's social media channels.

The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice is one of the University’s Global Research Institutes (GRI), and is a flagship for interdisciplinary research in areas of major societal challenge.

The Institute brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines to tackle some of the greatest global issues of our age and offers a range of courses, from an interdisciplinary Master’s programme to short courses, including International summer and winter schools.

Media enquiries to Queen’s Communications Office on +44 (0)28 9097 3091.

Photo credit: Sinn Féin/Wikipedia  

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