MACKAREL

n 21st December UCD extended a formal apology to Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin for the harassment she experienced from another member of staff while lecturing here at the college.

An assistant professor in the school of Mathematics and Statistics at UCD, Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin went public with what happened to her in September 2020. She revealed the workplace stalking and harassment another colleague subjected her to in the years between May 2015 and July 2017.

The colleague in question was Professor Hans-Benjamin Braun. Throughout those 2 years his harassment included repeatedly asking Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin on dates, sending her unsolicited emails and phone calls, and arriving unannounced to meetings she held.

At one point during those 2 years, he was removed by gardaí from a hotel in Cork after turning up there – having seen Dr. Ní Shuilleabháin was on the premises via social media. Despite reporting incidents to the University from the beginning, the harassment was allowed to continue.

In late 2019, under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, Braun was charged with harassment and issued with an order barring him from contacting Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin for 5 years.

In December 2022, Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin received a formal apology from the university which she shared on social media. The apology from acting UCD president, Mark Rogers, was dated December 21st and acknowledged the fact that “university policies at the time were inadequate to address the situation” and that “it was clear [Ní Shúilleabáin] was not supported appropri-