Professor Colin Scott has been appointed by University College Dublin (UCD) to be the next Deputy President, Registrar, and Vice-President for Academic Affairs in UCD.
Professor Scott is currently the Principal of the School of Social Sciences and Law and Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCD. Professor Scott said that he envisions a rich student life as one that balances “excellence, inclusion, and connectedness,” with learning.
The Deputy-President-Elect said he hopes to develop “structures which support both employees and students to adapt to our changing world and to flourish.”
UCD President, Orla Feely highlighted his “strong focus on students” at UCD and said she was is greatly looking forward to working with him in his new role. The UCD President described Scott as a “creative and dynamic academic leader,” who has already “transformed” the school of social sciences and contributed to the development of policy to foster a more inclusive culture for students and employees.
President Feely said, “I greatly look forward to working closely with Colin to deliver on our shared ambitions for UCD.”
Professor Colin Scott has worked behind the scenes to create a more equal, diverse, and inclusive environment for students in UCD as the Dean of law, says President Feely. He is currently the first-ever Vice-President of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion at UCD, and has been credited with diversifying the Law School’s pathways to learning, with a more “experimental and clinical” approach to learning.
Prior to working at UCD, Professor Colin Scott was a senior research fellow at Australia National University and a professor at the College of Europe. He was a research associate at the London School of Economics, and also a co-author of the Irish State Administration Database.
The new Deputy President has had an extensive career as an academic within UCD, starting as a professor of EU regulation and governance at the Sutherland School of Law in 2006. He was the Principal of Law and social sciences since 2017, along with Vice president for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.
He has had success outside of academics in relation to public governance and economics. He has been a Council member of the Irish Research Council of Ireland since October 2021, and a council member of the National Economic and Social Council in Dublin since June 2022.
In addition to his work at UCD, Scott is a member of the Irish Research Council and Board of The Conversation UK – a British newspaper that aims to tackle issues with “Academic rigour” combined with “journalistic flair”.
Professor Colin Scott will take up his new position on 01 December 2023. His predecessor, and current Deputy President, Professor Barbara Dooley will continue as Acting Registrar, Deputy President and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at University College Dublin until 30 November 2023.
Katie Cribbon McNamee – Copy Editor
