June University of Galway appoints Deputy President and Registrar

University of Galway has today announced Professor Becky Whay has been appointed Deputy President and Registrar.

Professor Whay takes on the role on a permanent basis having served in an interim position since September 2024.

The appointment was confirmed by the University’s Governing Authority - Údarás na hOllscoile.

President of University of Galway, Professor David Burn, said: “Professor Whay brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role of Deputy President and Registrar, along with a deep commitment to University of Galway’s mission and values, having acted in an Interim capacity since September 2024.

“Professor Whay has a distinguished academic record as a researcher and educator and having served previously as Vice President International, her understanding of the higher education landscape at home and abroad will be of great benefit.”

Deputy President and Registrar, Professor Whay, said: “It is a genuine privilege to be appointed as Deputy President and Registrar here at University of Galway. I look forward to the opportunities as well as the challenges ahead as we work to deliver on our strategy ‘Of Galway – for the World’. I’m absolutely committed to supporting our academics and ensuring the highest standards for our students, as well as being instrumental in the continuing development of our university for the public good.”   

Bio of Professor Whay

As Deputy President and Registrar, Professor Whay is a member of the University Management Team and Academic Council; deputises for the President in his absence; and has overarching responsibility for academic strategy and quality, academic promotions, complex organisational transformation projects and is the University’s sustainability champion. 

Professor Becky Whay joined University of Galway in 2019 when appointed Vice-President International. In May 2024, she was reappointed to that role for a second term, with much of the focus on leading out on our International Strategy, which is central to the University of Galway Strategy 2030 and on the second phase of the European University Alliance- ENLIGHT. 

In September 2024, Professor Whay was appointed to the role of Deputy President and Registrar on an interim basis.  In this interim role Professor Whay has provided continuity through a period of significant change, has provided leadership for a number of complex projects and has set the direction for the ongoing delivery of flagship successes including maintaining the university’s leading position in sustainability, the building of the new Dr Karen Guinee Library and establishing an Organisational Transformation Office.

Professor Becky Whay previously worked at the University of Bristol, which is part of the prestigious Russell Group of universities and is ranked 57^th in the world under the QS World Rankings and 5^th in the UK for Research. She also held the post of Director of Internationalisation for the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Bristol, a large, research-intensive faculty supporting the University’s medical, dental and veterinary schools. At the same time, she shared the Head of School responsibilities for Bristol Veterinary School and led the School through a period of substantial change culminating in a successful bid for American Veterinary Medical Association accreditation.

Professor Whay has an international reputation for her research into dairy cattle and working equine welfare and works in areas of the world where human animal interdependency is critical to family livelihoods. She was the inaugural President of the International Society for the Study of Lameness in Ruminants and has Chaired the Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association. In 2015, she was recipient of the CEVA Farm Animal Welfare of the Year award.

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