The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway will host its 8th annual 'Minority Rights, Indigenous People and Human Rights Law Summer School' from 15-20 June, 2008. Almost 50 attendees will travel to Galway for the summer school from 15 countries to receive an overview of the legal, political and philosophical issues pertaining to international human rights law. Relationships between those issues, minority rights, and the rights of indigenous peoples, will then be explored and debated during the course of the five days. Attendees of the school will be addressed by a host of notable speakers led by Professor Joshua Castellino, Professor of Law and Head of the Law Department at London's Middlesex University, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Professor Patrick Thornberry, a member of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, will also teach at the school. Commenting on the upcoming event, Dr. Ray Murphy, of the Irish Centre for Human Rights said, "This summer school has grown in reputation over the years to become an important annual event for those interested in global affairs and human rights. This year we look forward to learning from each others experiences, whether it's that of Travellers in Ireland, aboriginal Canadians, or indigenous peoples in Chile." Other prominent lecturers include Martin Collins, who is a member of the Irish Human Rights Committee and a founding member and current Assistant Director of Pavee Point Travellers Centre. Two speakers will travel from South America specifically to join the faculty of the summer school, Dr. César Rodríguez Garavito from Colombia, and Dr. Nicolas Espejo from Chile, both of whose participation is being funded by the Latin American European American Human Rights Network (LAEHR). The Irish Centre of Human Rights at NUI Galway supports the study and promotion of human rights and humanitarian law at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral level. Since its establishment in January 2000, the Centre has developed a global reputation for excellence in the field of human rights teaching, research and advocacy. -ends-

The Alumni Association Board is pleased to announce New England as the winner of the inaugural 2008 Alumni Club Award. The Award provides recognition and financial support to alumni groups who are considered to have best represented NUI Galway in alumni club activity. The presentation to New England was made in Boston by Vice-President for Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs, Professor Gerard Hurley, and announced during the recent Alumni Reunion 2008 in Galway. Three alumni clubs were short listed for the 2008 Alumni Club Award: Arts-Media (Dublin), Beijing and New England. The Award aims to encourage new ideas from NUI Galway alumni to create positive change for the University and its constituents. It also seeks to encourage existing NUI Galway alumni groups to increase the scale of their activities and supports the University's strategic priorities through increased alumni participation Alumni Clubs reflect regional, faculty and special interest groups within the graduate population and affords individuals the opportunity to stay connected with fellow graduates and the University. Clubs are the heart of the Association, bringing together communities of graduates throughout Ireland and the world. Active Regional Clubs are currently located in the USA (New England and the Tri-State area), Ireland, Japan, Korea, London and in China. Affinity Clubs in Ireland include: (Arts & Media – Dublin Club, and the Law Club - Dublin).

John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has announced the appointment of Conor Newman as Chairman of the Heritage Council. Conor is a lecturer with NUI Galway's Archaeology Department and will continue to teach there while undertaking the new chairing role. The Heritage Council is an advisory body to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Minister Gormley congratulated Conor Newman, commenting that he has a "very considerable wealth of heritage experience and expertise which will greatly benefit the State in the role of Chairman of the Heritage Council". Newman's research interests include the archaeology of the 4th-6th century transition from Pagan to Christian Ireland and later prehistoric 'royal' centres, in particular the archaeology and landscape of Tara. He was director of the Discovery Programme Tara Survey and his work has been extensively published. According to Professor John Waddell, Head of NUI Galway's Department of Archaeology, "Conor Newman is a strong advocate of best practice and a dedicated professional archaeologist. His appointment to this important position is an acknowledgement of his undoubted expertise in heritage matters and is also recognition of the principled stand he and others took in opposing the present route of the M3 motorway and its incalculable damage to the landscape of Tara." Along with NUI Galway's Dr Mark Stansbury, Conor Newman is co-Director of a research project 'Columbanus: Life and Legacy'. Funded under the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI-4), this project is investigating the textual and visual evidence of the life and work of the medieval Irish missionary Columbanus, whose striking impact on European culture is still insufficiently documented and understood. The project will result, among other things, in the creation of new digital editions and archaeological surveys. Newman has pursued postgraduate research in Britain, France and Italy and was visiting professor of Celtic Archaeology at the University of Toronto. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Irish Archaeology. Conor Newman teaches late prehistoric and early medieval archaeology at NUI Galway. At the University, archaeology is offered as an option to undergraduate Bachelor of Arts students, covering theoretical aspects and including field trips and practical learning. Four postgraduate study programmes are available, as well as part-time diplomas for adult learners, taught in Galway and Roscommon. -ends-

NUI Galway's Department of Surgery will hold an inaugural International Breast Cancer Conference on 19–21 June. The main theme of the conference is multidisciplinary breast cancer care, which will be of interest to all professionals involved in breast cancer management including Surgeons, Medical Oncologists, Radiation Oncologists, Radiologists, Pathologists and Breast Care Nurses. Several of the key speakers are well-known internationally and include Professor Joe Ragaz, from McGill University in Canada, and Professor Carsten Rose, from Lund University Hospital in Sweden. From the UK, speakers include Professor Carlos Caldas, University of Cambridge; Mike Dixon, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh; and Professor Ian Ellis, NHS Trust City Hospital, Nottingham. Professor Roger Blamey, Emeritus Professor (Surgery) and Consultant Surgeon, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, will deliver a keynote lecture entitled 'Lifetime Experience of Breast Cancer Management: Changing Times'. According to Professor Michael Kerin, Professor of Surgery, NUI Galway and Conference Convener, "Breast cancer therapy is entering into a new era of individualised, patient-centered care. Each cancer has particular characteristics requiring individual approaches to therapy whether it is local surgery, radiotherapy, or newer biological targeted treatment. Some particular cancers pose major difficulties for diagnosis and some occur in patients who have a genetic predisposition or family history." Professor Kerin continued, "All of these issues will be discussed at the conference and we will also have an overview of changes in therapy from Roger Blamey and Joe Ragaz, two well established international experts. The University is proud to be associated with this meeting and is delighted that this prestigious international conference of this magnitude is bringing so much expertise to the city." National delegates and speakers features a 'Who's Who' of Irish Breast Cancer Management including Professor John Crown, St. Vincent's University Hospital; Dr. Ann O'Doherty, BreastCheck; Dr Fidelma Flanagan, Mater Hospital; Professor Tom Gorey, Mater Hospital; Dr. John Kennedy, St James's Hospital; and Professor Paul Redmond, Cork University Hospital. Local Galway contributors, apart from Professor Kerin, include Dr. Irene Sweeney, Dr. Maccon Keane, Mr Ray McLaughlin, Dr. Maeve Pomeroy, Mr Karl Sweeney and Professor Grace Callagy. The conference is being held in conjunction with the Nottingham series of meetings which take place on alternate years. For 20 years, the Nottingham meeting has been the best attended and most influential breast cancer meeting on these islands and the Galway meeting aims to ensure that these meetings are now annual events. The three-day conference takes place in the Arts Millennium Building on the NUI Galway campus. For further information on the International Breast Cancer Conference, please contact Grace Clarke at 091-524390 or grace.clarke@nuigalway.ie -ends-

Former President of NUI Galway, Professor Pat Fottrell, has been honoured by the National University of Ireland during a ceremony to confer honorary doctorates at University College Cork. Professor Fottrell was President of NUI Galway from 1996 to 2000, leading the University through a period of major change. Prior to becoming President he was Registrar and Deputy President of NUI Galway, having served as a Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Established Professor of Biochemistry with the University. Under his research leadership, NUI Galway developed a widely recognised expertise in rapid diagnostic technology, which in turn led to the creation of one of the first campus companies, Noctech, which later became Cambridge Diagnostics. Speaking at the Honorary Conferring Ceremony, Dr. James Browne, President of NUI Galway, commented, "Pat Fottrell has a tremendous record of achievement and innovation across a range of activities including teaching and research, the commercialization of research, university management and leadership and the development and implementation of public policy. Under his innovative and energetic direction, NUI Galway developed its first strategic plan, defined and agreed its research priorities, created major research institutes including the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science and the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and increased student intake by over 30%." Dr. Browne added, "It is entirely appropriate that the National University of Ireland, in this its centenary year, should honour Pat Fottrell. Nobody better embodies the spirit and the achievement of the National University of Ireland." Following his retirement from the Presidency of NUI Galway, Pat Fotrell was invited to Chair the Board of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Under his leadership SFI has allocated almost €1 billion in research funding and has created a series of innovative programmes to support the highest quality research in universities. Professor Fottrell also serves on the Board of Teagasc and chairs its Research Committee. He is a member of the Board of Curators and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland and of the Galway Hospice Foundation. -ends-