College EDI Committees

B&L EDI Committee

Co-Chairs:

Prof. Frank Crowley, Vice-Dean for EDI, College of Business & Law and Dr Fiona Donson, Vice-Dean for EDI, School of Law

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Co-Chair Bios:

As the first Vice Dean of Cork University Business School (CUBS) and Vice Dean for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the College of Business and Law, Professor Frank Crowley is responsible for establishing the structures, principles, and culture to guide the EDI agenda across both the School and the College. His leadership focuses on fostering a culture of mutual respect and collaboration among staff and students, and promoting inclusive approaches to how we work, engage, and support recruitment, development, and retention. His current focus is on embedding EDI into the fabric of CUBS, ensuring alignment with the broader goals of UCC, and building a strong foundation that enables all stakeholders to thrive.

Dr Fiona Donson was appointed Vice Dean for EDI in the School of Law at the start of 2025. In this role she is currently leading the Law School’s Athena Swan Bronze Renewal Application in close collaboration with colleagues. To fully mainstream EDI principles through this process, Fiona is developing core systems of reporting, implementation and communication to ensure that the culture of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are embedded in practice across all aspects of life within the school. Fiona’s work overall is rooted in equality and social justice issues. She is the Co-Director of the Traveller Equality and Justice Project researching on questions of access to justice, administrative justice and human rights.

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CACSSS EDI Committee

Chair

Dr. Rachel MagShamhrain, Vice-Dean for EDI, College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences

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Administrator

Ms. Ching Keane

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Bios

Rachel MagShamhráin is a senior lecturer and Head of the Department of German whose research and teaching interests include translation and adaptation. She is an advocate for greater access and accessibility in higher education for under-represented staff and student groups, and for staff and student carers in higher education. Full professional biography at https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6270-165X

Ching Keane has been with UCC since 2005 and joined the College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences as a Project Officer in 2023. In this role, she supports Athena SWAN applications across the Schools within the College in collaboration with the UCC EDI Unit, alongside her work in the College office and various committee responsibilities. She serves as Secretary of the CACSSS EDI Committee and is also a member of the University Athena SWAN Steering Group. Before joining CACSSS, she held various roles as a School Manager and Project Officer in different Schools. Ching holds an MBA in Strategy, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies, and a Diploma in Business Administration from MTU.

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M&H EDI Committee

Chair

Professor Abina Crean

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SEFS EDI Committee

Chair

Professor Jennifer Mahony

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Deputy Chair

Dr Therese Uniacke

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Bios

Jennifer Mahony has worked in the School of Microbiology at UCC for 17 years in a variety of roles including research assistant, post-doctoral researcher, researcher fellow, lecturer and is now Professor of Molecular Food Microbiology. These experiences have allowed her to view UCC through the lens of staff at different levels and to understand the complexities of progression. Jennifer has mentored many researchers and particularly female researchers through the Odyssey programme and the mentoring scheme piloted in APC Microbiome Ireland. She was the chair of the School of Microbiology Athena SWAN committee who successfully secured their first bronze Athena SWAN award in 2022 and is currently chair of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science EDI committee who are piloting the university's first joint School application (BEES, Microbiology and Biochemistry).

Therese Uniacke-Lowe has been a technical staff member in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences for 35 years and was promoted to Chief Technical Officer in 2021. During her career she attained a PhD in 2011 and a Masters in Teaching and Learning in 2019 and is a member of the Institute of Leadership, UK. She has been involved with Athena SWAN since 2016 and chaired the successful School Bronze and Silver application in 2019, 2024. She is chair of the School Wellbeing, Inclusion, Diversity & Equality (WIDE) committee and deputy-chair of the College of SEFS EDI committee. She has a keen interest in advancing the School’s EDI agenda through fostering an inclusive environment where all voices are valued, staff and student wellbeing is paramount and career progression of all staff, especially non-academic staff, continues to improve.

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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit

An tAonad Comhionnanais, Éagsúlachta agus Ionchuimsithe

South Lodge, College Road, University College, Cork, T12 RXA9