The board of the financially-troubled National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is due to meet on Friday to discuss the recruitment of a new director after the resignation of Prof Declan McGonagle.
Prof McGonagle said he had decided for personal reasons to leave the post at the end of 2015, a year of major student and staff protests against overcrowding and college restructuring.
NCAD has also been strongly criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) for failing to keep proper accounts, and last month the Public Accounts Committee heard the art college was one of five higher education institutions in a "vulnerable" financial position.
The NCAD told The Irish Times that draft financial statements for its 2013 accounts were expected to be submitted to the C&AG before the end of this month, with the full audit to commence in early November.
It said: “2014 financial statements are currently being prepared and will be submitted to the C&AG as soon as they are completed.”
In his resignation statement, posted on the NCAD website on September 11th, Prof McGonagle said: “I am glad that, over seven years, with a mandate from the board at the time, I was able to initiate a programme of necessary change on which NCAD can build for the future, including new curriculum developments, expansion of courses and student numbers, additional studio spaces, an innovation strategy and enhanced relations with peer institutions and local communities.”
He said he looked forward to making other contributions to the cultural sector in the future.
The board thanked Prof McGonagle for “his dedication, commitment and his hard work in achieving considerable change for the college during very challenging times”.
It said transitional arrangements would be put in place to ensure there was no disruption to the college’s work.
Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan made six new appointments to the board last summer, including Niamh Brennan, academic director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance; and UCD deputy president Prof Mark Rogers.
