DCU Office of the COO header
Office of the Chief Operations Officer

Role of President

The President / Chief Officer

The role of the Chief Officer is governed particularly by Section 24 and by the Fourth Schedule of the Universities Act (1997):

Section 24 – the Chief Officer

  1. A Governing Authority shall, in accordance with procedures specified in a statute, appoint in a whole-time capacity a person to be chief officer of the university, who shall be called the President or Provost or by such other title as the governing authority determines, and the person so appointed shall be the accounting officer of the University.
  2. For the purposes of section 19 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993, the expression “accounting officer” shall include a chief officer of a university to which this Act applies.
  3. The Fourth Schedule shall apply to the chief officer

The President has overall responsibility for the executive management of the institution, and is accountable to the Governing Authority for the exercise of these responsibilities. He/she is responsible for ensuring that the institution is well connected to its stakeholders. He/she is identified as the designated officer of the institution. As such, he/she is responsible for ensuring that the institution complies with the terms and conditions specified by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for the use of HEA funds, and may be called to give evidence before the Public Accounts Committee. The President also chairs Academic Council.

The President, working with the Secretary to the Governing Authority, must ensure that Governing Authority receives proper and appropriately timed information to fulfil its responsibilities.

Universities Act, 1997, Section 24.