DEVELOPMENT
‘There are moments in the life of every
great institution when reason and
boldness come together’
was driven more by exam results than by inspiring and Her commitment to her new role and to UCD is borne out by
motivating her students, she soon decided on an entirely her relocation from Belfast to Dublin. “I thought very carefully
different calling. about leaving Queen’s because I had invested so much of my
Looking for an alternative, she applied for a fundraising post life there, and was privileged to work for amazing people like
in the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Professor Sir George Bain (Vice Chancellor) and Sir Allen McClay
She got the job and quickly progressed upwards to regional (Chairman of the Queen’s Foundation),” she explains. “I think it
appeals manager of Northern Ireland, and eventually to head is a great university and I had a wonderful career there. But I
of fundraising. The latter role took her to London and into the also had a strong sense of more to give and more to do. I was
organisation’s national fundraising programmes. “That was my clear that in moving to Dublin I wouldn’t have one eye over my
first exposure to big campaign fundraising and the very shoulder, looking back and being pulled north.”
particular dynamic that makes it work,” she says.
From there she moved to the Northern Irish division of UK New challenge
learning disability charity Mencap, to lead its 50th anniversary And so she finds herself embarking on the planning for UCD’s
Blue Sky Appeal. The Northern Ireland campaign rapidly biggest campaign yet, one that might well be the largest
reached its goal and Gibbons was put in charge of national fundraising drive in the history of Irish higher education. “The
fundraising to help bring the campaigns in the rest of the UK to One Billion Euro Campaign for UCD is all about creating the
conclusion. In 1998, she was named Professional Fundraiser of platform for Ireland to move further forward into the 21st-
the Year by the Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers for century,” she says. “There are moments in the life of every
her work on the campaign. great institution when reason and boldness come together to
create a singular vision of transformation. Such is the moment
Queen’s campaign at UCD and we are breaking all the rules in the race to prepare
She chose to move to Queen’s at a time when she could have for a launch later this year.
relocated to London to develop her career with a national “The campaign priorities are: the Science Centre; the new
charity. “But I was attracted to the job at Queen’s, which Sutherland School of Law; the redevelopment of the Michael
involved establishing fundraising at the institution and taking Smurfit School of Business; completion of the UCD Sport and
it into campaign,” she explains. “I was also intrigued by the Recreation facilities; and Gateway – the Gateway Project will be
need for a university to fundraise. In the voluntary sector, need the physical manifestation of our vision for global engagement,
was all around you: disaster relief, homelessness, illness. In the as magnificent as the idea it represents.
recesses of my mind was an understanding that education and “The UCD of the future is not only about the five million
medical research were the top two things most people give people in Ireland,” Gibbons continues. “It’s also about the 75
their money to. When you come into a third-level institution, million people of Irish descent who have the opportunity to
you very quickly find out that the scale and range of the connect with UCD. That is the challenge for the university.”
funding possibilities are enormous: from leading medical and Gibbons is passionate in her enthusiasm for both the future
scientific R&D to laboratories, buildings and scholarships and so of UCD and the job at hand, namely finding the funding to
much more. There is no more exciting place to work than a fast- finance it all. “I’m delighted that graduates are keen to get
paced university like UCD.” involved and support what we are doing. I want to harness the
As the campaign for Queen’s was coming to a close and with strength of an incredible network for the good of UCD to
most of the objectives achieved, Gibbons opted to move on to enable future generations of students to have a global
the next challenge, rather than remaining for the second impact.”
campaign. “I felt I had one more big campaign in me,” she says So what will keep her going? She has two guiding principles:
“which inevitably means a bigger financial goal. I was drawn to “Live a big life” and “No is a deferred yes” – truly!
UCD for many of the same reasons I was drawn to Queen’s,
which included charismatic leadership, an inspirational vision Grainne Rothery (BA ’86) is a senior editor at Whitespace
and the courage to deliver ambitious plans.” Publishing Group.
UCD CONNECTIONS PAGE TWENTY ONE
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