The Registrar works closely with senior academic leaders

Professor Colin Scott

Professor Scott was appointed Registrar, Deputy President and Vice President for Academic Affairs for a ten year term commencing 1 December 2023. Professor Scott was originally appointed to UCD as Professor of EU Regulation and Governance in 2006 and subsequently has served as Vice Principal for Research and Innovation in UCD College of Business and Law (2006-2009), Dean of Law (2011-2014), Principal of UCD College of Social Sciences and Law (2014-2023), Dean of Social Sciences (2017-2023) and Vice President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (2017-2024). Professor Scott has previously held academic posts at the London School of Economics (where he completed his undergraduate education in law followed by graduate study at Osoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto), the University of Warwick, the Australian National University and the College of Europe Bruges.  

Throughout his career Professor Scott has been an innovator in education and research. He was a core member of the Law Courseware Consortium which built early versions of interactive digital learning materials across the core law curriculum in England and Wales (subsequently extended to Australia) in 1993-4. He was the first director of the innovative interdisciplinary MSc Regulation programme at LSE in 1995 and the first director of the structured PhD programme in Law at UCD in 2006. He led on curriculum reforms in Law, introducing wide ranging experiential learning and clinical themes to legal education at UCD from 2011 and was Dean of Law at the time of completing fundraising, building and opening the new Sutherland School of Law building in 2013. In social sciences Professor Scott initiated the reform of undergraduate education and the establishment of the general entry Social Sciences programme in 2018, with its emphasis on students as partners, internship and exchange opportunities, interdisciplinarity, methods and research skills. He has sponsored wider reforms and diversification of education in social sciences and law at undergraduate, taught graduate and research levels.

The main focus of Professor Scott’s research has been on themes of fragmentation and accountability in regulatory governance across domains as diverse as regulation of business, regulation of the public sector, EU, international, transnational and private regulation. He has led and co-led projects on the regulation of telecommunications, regulation of the public sector (including prisons, higher education and the civil service), meta-regulation, transnational private regulation and the regulatory state in Ireland. He is a co-creator of the (opens in a new window)(opens in a new window)Irish State Administration Database, published in 2008, and which is now the longest time series database detailing changes in central state administrations in the world, updated to cover the whole first century of the Irish state.

Professor Barbara Dooley - Dean of Graduate Studies

Professor Barbara Dooley is Dean of Graduate Studies and Deputy Registrar and was appointed in 2014. She has served as Acting Registrar and Deputy President of UCD (2022-23) and was also Vice-Principal for Teaching and Learning in the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law (2009-2014) and Head of the UCD School of Psychology (2005-2009). She is a member of the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention Evaluation Advisory Group, Vice-President of the International Association for Youth Mental Health, and a member of the HRB National Drugs Strategy Research Subcommittee.

Professor Dooley holds a PhD in Psychology from UCD and is an (opens in a new window)active researcher in youth mental health with a particular interest in student mental health. In collaboration with the UCD School of Psychology and Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health, she was the Principal Investigator for the (opens in a new window)My World Survey (MWS). Two large scale studies (MWS1 published in 2012, and MSW2 published in 2019) assessed how different elements and experiences in the life of a young person may be related to their mental health. The MSW received combined responses from over 34,000 young people in Ireland and is Ireland’s largest and most comprehensive study of young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

As a psychologist, educator, and researcher, Professor Dooley believes strongly in the role wellbeing plays in allowing a student to achieve their potential. As leader of the implementation of the UCD Education and Student Success Strategy, her current priorities also include developing a framework for academic advice for students, faculty development, and leveraging the VLE to enhance student learning and engagement.

Professor Jason Last - Dean of Students

‌Professor Jason Last is a medical graduate and began teaching in the UCD School of Medicine in 2000. In 2008, he was appointed Director of Pre-clinical Education, leading the development of the UCD Graduate Entry to Medicine programme before becoming Associate Dean for Programmes & Educational Innovation.  In 2014, he was appointed School Director of Educational Development & Academic Affairs and chaired sequentially the Global Engagement Group and Education Group at a College level.

Having led the University Continuing Professional Development Board of Studies, successfully introducing a framework for Schools to develop credit and non-credit bearing CPD offerings, Professor Last was asked to lead the development of the UCD Student Mental and Wellbeing Policy which was launched in 2015.  Nationally, he has worked closely with agencies and organisations on professional accreditation and quality review processes associated with higher education and training, and was the Minister for Education’s nominee to the Radiographers Registration Board which he subsequently chaired.  He is also active in patient education and advocacy and recently joined the Board of the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI). 

Internationally, Professor Last has led UCD initiatives in China and Malaysia and is a director representing UCD on the Board of Penang Medical College, Malaysia. He co-chairs a Universitas 21 international education research group, based on a membership of staff-student pairings from eight universities in seven countries, focussing on social media in health education.

Appointed Dean of Students in January 2017, Professor Last has responsibility for the student experience in UCD, and is committed to the continued enhancement of UCD’s programmes and educational environment so that every student may be fully supported in reaching their potential. As Dean of Students, Professor Last also acts as the University Child Protection Officer. Please refer to the UCD Child Safeguarding Statement.

Professor Marie Clarke - Dean of Undergraduate Studies

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Professor Marie Clarke is currently Dean of Undergraduate Studies in UCD. She also lectures in the School of Education and is Director of the UCD Centre for the Study of Higher Education.  In her current role as Dean of Undergraduate Studies she has specific responsibility for overseeing undergraduate educational programmes, and is a member of UCD Academic Council Executive Committee.

Professor Clarke is leading at university level on the implementation of the Student Feedback System, Academic Advising, Academic Integrity and Ethical Practice, Online Assessment and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Standards. She oversees the UCD Teaching and Learning Unit which supports faculty in the promotion and implementation of best practice in teaching and learning, facilitates the organisation of the University Teaching and Learning Awards, supports the University Teaching Fellowships Awards and develops institution wide funding calls to support faculty in developing strategic initiatives in teaching and learning.

Professor Clarke is Chair of the Advisory Board for the UCD Annual Employer Fora. In recognition of her achievements in student learning and teaching she is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) Advance HE UK. She also served as a member of Universitas 21 Educational Innovation Steering Group and is Deputy Chair of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. She is a lead Investigator on a number of funded research projects in the areas of higher education, the promotion of female teachers as leaders in the Global South and in teacher education. She also conducts research in the areas of history of education and education policy and is published in leading peer reviewed education journals and presses. She is Chair of the Global and Higher Education Research Steering Group (GHEAR) in the Worldwide Universities Network. 

She served as an elected member of UCD Governing Authority from 2009-2019 and served on the University Finance, Remuneration and Asset Management Committee from 2014-19. She was elected President of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) for a two-year term from 2011-13 and served as a member of the Student Grant Appeals Board from 2011 to 2021. She currently serves on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Disability Committee for the period 2021-2023.