John O’Halloran
John O’Halloran is President of University College Cork (UCC).
He was formerly Deputy President & Registrar (2018 - 2020), Vice-President for Teaching & Learning (2014 – 2018), Founding Head of School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (2010 – 2014) and Vice-Head of the College of Science, Engineering & Food Science (2006 – 2010). He currently holds the Chair in Zoology at UCC and previously held academic posts at Colby College in the USA and at the University of Wales. He was elected as a member of the RIA in 2024 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2025.
John is Co-chair of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Ireland, member of the Advance HE Board and Chair of the Advance HE Ireland Strategic Advisory Board. He is a member of the Board of the Ludgate Hub, Glucksman Gallery and the NUI Senate, and is a judging panel chair for the BT Young Scientist Competition. He is Co-chair of UCC’s Green Campus Forum and Founding Director of UCC's Quercus Talented Students' Programme. In 2022 he completed the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents Leadership Programme. He was Chair of the Board of Fota Wildlife Park from 2018 - 2023 (Board Member since 2013), and was a judge for the UNESCO-L’Oreal-Royal Society Women in Science Scholarship between 2011 and 2021.
During his academic career he has published over 250 papers, several book chapters and edited a number of books and research journals. The focus of his research has been to develop a deeper understanding of the impacts of global ecological change on biodiversity and ecosystems.