Ferdinand von Prondzynski (born 30 June 1954) is a German-born Irish citizen who was a former university leader in Ireland and Scotland, a lawyer and legal academic, a high-profile public commentator, and latterly a member of the clergy of the Scottish Episcopal Church (Anglican).
[citation needed] After the war, he lost his lands in what became part of Poland and moved to the new West Germany,[1] where he worked in the cement-making business Dyckerhoff AG.
The move, according to von Prondzynski, was due to his father's poor health, lack of funds to maintain Breese im Bruche, and a desire for a less stressful lifestyle.
Ingman became adjunct professor of English at Trinity,[7] having previously worked at the University of Hull; she is also an academic author and novelist, and has been an occasional writer in the Irish Times.
[10][11][12] The von Prondzynski family home was for many years Knockdrin Castle and estate, near Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland; this was placed on the market in 2017 and sold in January 2021 for €10m.
[12] In his early work he argued for a disengagement of the law from industrial relations, taking the position that problems and disputes were better resolved through bargaining than through litigation.
[15] However, from the later 1980s onwards his views began to change, and he argued for a framework of employment regulation that took account of economic pressures and the need to maintain competitive conditions.
[5] He focused on interdisciplinary 'Academic Themes' in his time as the president of the DCU[22] and introduced in the university's initial strategic plan during his term, Leading Change.
[23] The university's achievements were recognised internationally when, in 2007, DCU moved into the "Top 400" table of the Times Higher Education World Rankings, at 300, up from 441st place in 2006.
[36] Von Prondzynski became Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Robert Gordon University (commonly called RGU) in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the end of March 2011.
[citation needed] In June 2011 the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP, appointed von Prondzynski to chair a national review of university governance.
[37] In 2012 he also became associated with the proposal, prompted by the university's billionaire Chancellor, philanthropist Sir Ian Wood, to redevelop the area around Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens.
In early 2013, von Prondzynski took a leading role in a high-profile local campaign by the university to prompt the regeneration of the Aberdeen city centre.
[53] Although von Prondzynski had a contractual obligation to disclose it, the information had in fact been in the public domain since 2009,[54] and was accessible to anyone by a free search in the Irish register of companies.
[56] He acknowledged that the outcome of the investigation "has caused division and therefore had a damaging impact on the university’s reputation, which I personally hugely regret",[57] and stated that his primary reason for resigning his post was "to allow RGU to recover", adding that he was "confident it will do so quickly.
"[excessive quote] while the UCU Scotland official Mary Senior commented "It is disappointing to learn of Prof von Prondzynski's resignation."
[61] He has argued for a 're-think' on the numbers of lawyers educated and trained at Irish universities contending that there are too many,[62] although during his time DCU approved a new BCL law degree.
[63] He made similar comments about the number of law graduates in Scotland when giving evidence in March 2012 before the Scottish Parliament's Education and Culture Committee.
[citation needed] He was also a director of the Irish Universities Quality Board, the US-Ireland R&D Partnership and, for two years, chair of the Research Advisory Committee of Ireland's National Disability Authority.