James Alexander McWha (born 28 May 1947) is a botanist whose professional career was devoted to teaching, research and educational administration in New Zealand, Northern Ireland and Australia. He retired as Vice-Chancellor and President of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

on 30 June 2012. In October 2013 he was appointed as Vice Chancellor of the newly created

University of Rwanda University of Rwanda is a public collegiate, multi campus university based in Kigali, Rwanda. Formed in 2013 through the merger of previously independent education institutions, the University of Rwanda is the largest education institution in R ...

. He retired from the University of Rwanda in October 2015.

Early life and family

McWha was born in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland, on 28 May 1947, the son of Sarah Isabel McWha (née Caughey) and David McWha. He graduated with a BSc and BAgr (with honours in agricultural botany) from

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in 1969 and 1970. McWha received his PhD in plant physiology from

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1973. In 1970, McWha married Jean Lindsay Farries and, after migrating to New Zealand in 1973, the couple went on to have three children.

Career

After his PhD, he took up an appointment at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in New Zealand, where a period as a lecturer in the Department of Botany was followed by a term as Head of the Department of Plant and Microbial Sciences. In 1985 he returned to Northern Ireland to take up a joint appointment as Professor and Head of Agricultural Botany at Queen's University Belfast, and Deputy Chief Scientific Officer in the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture. In 1989 he was appointed Director of DSIR Fruit and Trees in the New Zealand

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

, and in 1992 became foundation Chief Executive Officer of

HortResearch HortResearch (Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Limited; Māori: ''Rangahau Ahumāra'') was a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. The focus of research in this company was mainly in the development of new fruit varieties ...

(the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd). He was appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

in New Zealand in 1996, and Vice-Chancellor and President of the

, Australia, in 2002. In October 2013 he was appointed as Vice Chancellor of the newly created

. He retired from the University of Rwanda in October 2015, returning to Australia. In March 2018, McWha was appointed Vice Chancellor of Lincoln University in New Zealand, on a fixed-term contract until December 2018.

Honours

McWha was recognised in 2003 by the award of the Australian

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for his services to education. In May 2004, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from

in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Massey and his advocacy for New Zealand's education system. He was made an honorary officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) for services to higher education in December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McWha, James 1947 births Living people 20th-century British botanists Scientists from Adelaide Northern Ireland emigrants to New Zealand University of Adelaide faculty Recipients of the Centenary Medal Honorary Officers of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian botanists Vice-Chancellors of Massey University Vice-Chancellors of the University of Adelaide Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Queen's University Belfast People from County Down