Prof Alma McCarthy has been appointed Executive Dean of the University of Galway's College of Business, Public Policy and Law on a four-year term.

Prof McCarthy will become the first female academic to hold the role at the head of the faculty when she starts work in March, replacing Prof Geraint Howells.

The College comprises the School of Law, JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics, and Shannon College of Hotel Management.

Prof Peter McHugh, interim president of the University of Galway, said he had no doubt that Prof McCarthy would provide excellent leadership as Executive Dean, working with colleagues on campus and beyond to promote excellent and impactful education and research in alignment with the university's strategic ambitions.

“I also thank Prof Geraint Howells, the outgoing Executive Dean, for his service to the University and leadership over the last four years.

"He has made an outstanding contribution to our development. All of us wish him the very best for the future," he added.

Prof McCarthy is a professor of Public Sector Management and her research interests include public sector leadership and human resource development, training, work-life balance, and remote working.

McCarthy spearheaded the remote working surveys during the pandemic, with the support of the Western Development Commission, generating the first and earliest insights into employee attitudes to the sudden and large-scale shift to working from home and out of the office.

Her research has influenced national civil service talent development policy and the government's national remote working strategy.

Prof McCarthy has extensive experience in designing, delivering and evaluating leadership and management development training programmes aimed at improving managerial competence, with particular expertise in public and civil service management development.

“I am honoured to be appointed to the Executive Dean role and look forward to building on the long-established success of the three Schools in the College of Business Public Policy & Law at University of Galway," said Prof McCarthy.

"Working with a strong team of colleagues in the College, we will continue to adapt to the changing needs of the economy and society to design and deliver excellent education in business, law and hotel management and continue to engage in relevant and impactful research.

"External stakeholder engagement and impact on policy will also be a key priority for the College in its new strategic plan.”

Prof McCarthy is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the American Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology, and served as elected Vice-Chair and Chair of the Irish Academy of Management (IAM).

She was conferred a Fellow of the IAM for her service to the academy.

She is an accredited member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and certified to administer a broad range of cognitive ability, personality and occupational interest psychometric assessments.

Photo: Prof Alma McCarthy. (Pic: Aengus McMahon)