Caroline Elinor Hussey (3 December 1941 – 11 May 2017) was an Irish microbiologist and academic. She served as president of the

Irish Federation of University Teachers The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT; ga, Cónaidhm Éireannach na Múinteoirí Ollscoile) is a trade union representing university staff in Ireland. The union originated among a group of teachers at Maynooth College, who met infor ...

(IFUT) from 1989 to 1992. In 1994 she sat on the Expert Group investigating the circumstances of the 1977 contamination with Hepatitis C of the Blood Transfusion Service Board's Anti-D product. In the same year she was appointed the first female registrar and deputy president of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD) and remained in that post until her retirement in 2004. She was Chairperson of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment from 1995 to 2000.

Birth and education

Caroline Hussey was born on 3 December 1941 to Frank and Aileen Hussey. Frank Hussey was lecturer and housemaster at Albert College, the UCD agricultural school in Glasnevin (now DCU), and the family lived on campus for a time. She completed her primary and secondary education at the St. Mary's Holy Faith Convent in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

. Graduating from UCD in 1962 with a degree in Biochemistry, Hussey went on to complete a PhD at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1966. She continued her research at TCD and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. In 1973 she returned to UCD, where she was appointed as lecturer in

industrial microbiology Industrial microbiology is a branch of biotechnology that applies microbial sciences to create industrial products in mass quantities, often using microbial cell factories. There are multiple ways to manipulate a microorganism in order to increase ...

Academic career

During her time as lecturer in industrial microbiology, Hussey served as a member of the Governing Body of UCD and was also a member of the Senate of the National University of Ireland (NUI). She had a particular interest in the area of health and safety. This interest led to the initiation of a Diploma in Health and Safety, a multidisciplinary programme that was taught in a number of Irish Universities. Ultimately, this contributed to the passage of the first Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act in Ireland, in 1989.

Senior academic administration

In 1994, Hussey was appointed Registrar and Deputy President of UCD, a position she held until her retirement in 2004 She was known for her rigorous defense of academic standards and addressing quality of teaching at UCD. In 1996, she became chair woman of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment making her, according to a profile in the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', "arguably the second most influential woman in Irish education".

Niamh Bhreathnach Niamh Síle Bhreathnach (; born 1 June 1945) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education from 1993 to 1994 and 1994 to 1997. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1992 to ...

was the Minister for Education at the time, and Caroline Hussey strongly supported her decision to abolish third level fees.

Political activism

Having joined the Labour Party in the 1970s, when the late Frank Cluskey was in the ascendant, she became the first female director of elections in the country, performing this role for Ruairí Quinn through the 1970s and 1980s, a decade of political turbulence with five general elections, two of which were in 1982.

Public Service

Together with her UCD colleagues, Peter Start and deputy-president Tom Walsh, she established the National Centre for Safety and Health in Ireland and contributed to the first Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act 1989, under the auspices of her friend and political comrade, the then Minister for Labour, Ruairí Quinn which established the Health and Safety Authority. In March 1994, Minister for Health,

Brendan Howlin Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 1987. He previously served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expendit ...

T.D. appointed Dr. Hussey along with Dr. Miriam Hederman O'Brien and Dr. Alistair Bellingham to the Expert Group investigating the circumstances of the 1977 contamination with Hepatitis C of the Blood Transfusion Service Board's Anti-D product administered in maternity hospitals. On January 27, 1995, the Expert Group delivered their report to the new Minister for Health, Michael Noonan T.D. who subsequently had it published. In 2011, Hussey was appointed by the Minister for Education

Ruairi Quinn Ruairi Quinn (born 2 April 1946) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 1997 to 2002, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1989 to 1997, ...

as part of an advisory group to convene the forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Irish primary education sector. The group published their report the following year.

Crime Fiction

Under the pseudonym H.J. Forrest, Hussey published two crime novels; ''Publish or Perish'' (1991) and ''Murder by the Book'' (1992). Both novels were set in the familiar surrounds of UCD and South Dublin suburbs, which gave rise to great speculation in academic circles as to the author's true identity. The mystery was eventually solved by Dr Tony Scott, Dean of the Science Faculty who unmasked Dr. Hussey.

Later life and death

Although she retired from academia in 2004, Dr. Hussey kept in touch with the UCD Centre for Safety and Health and never missed their annual Breakfast Seminars. Having been vice-president of UCD football club for more than 20 years, she continued to be a regular at UCD soccer matches and other events, such as the UCD Strictly Come Dancing event. She died in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

on 11 May 2017 after a short illness.

Publications

Academic

* NEWELL, MARTINA & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN & HUSSEY, CAROLINE. (1987). The relationship between copy number and stability of recombinant plasmids in Bacillus subtilis. Biochemical Society Transactions. 15. 281.2-282. 10.1042/bst0150281a. * LICKEN, BRIAN & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN & HUSSEY, CAROLINE. (1987). The effect of the growth environment on the stability of recombinant plasmids in Bacillus subtilis. Biochemical Society Transactions. 15. 282-283. 10.1042/bst0150282. * LICKEN, BRIAN & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN & HUSSEY, CAROLINE. (1988). Factors influencing the expression and maintenance of recombinant plasmids in Bacillus subtilis. Biochemical Society Transactions. 16. 194-195. 10.1042/bst0160194. * BYRNE, DENIS & HUSSEY, CAROLINE & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN. (1988). The effect of reactor configuration on plasmid loss. Biochemical Society Transactions. 16. 193-194. 10.1042/bst0160193. * NEWELL, MARTINA & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN & HUSSEY, CAROLINE. (1988). The effect of gene expression on copy number and heritable stability of recombinant plasmids in Bacillus subtilis. Biochemical Society Transactions. 16. 192.2-193. 10.1042/bst0160192a. * BYRNE, DENIS & McLOUGHLIN, AIDEN & HUSSEY, CAROLINE. (1991). Plasmid maintenance alters substrate affinity. Biochemical Society transactions. 19. 32S. 10.1042/bst019032s.

Fiction

* *

Sources

UCD News & Opinion: Dr. Caroline Elinor Hussey: 1941 - 2017

NUI chancellor expresses sympathy on the death of Dr Caroline Hussey (15.05.2017)

University College Dublin: Dr Caroline Hussey CSHW Obituary

Irish Federation of University Teachers: Death of Dr Caroline Hussey

Irish Times Obituary: Dr. Caroline Hussey, Consummate scientist and mathematician with well-honed political instincts

Ireland's second mistress

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Caroline Irish women scientists Irish biologists 1941 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Academics of University College Dublin Women microbiologists Scientists from Dublin (city)