Karina Pierce on education’s role in creating agri leaders

Colleges around the country are preparing to welcome agricultural students to their campuses as the autumn semester nears.

The upcoming term will mark a new beginning in many academic careers – and not just for students.

Prof. Karina Pierce has recently been appointed as dean of agriculture and head of the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin (UCD).

Prof. Pierce will take up her new role from September 1, 2026.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege to take on the role and following in the footsteps of many fantastic people before me,” she told Agriland .

Prof. Pierce graduated from UCD with a bachelor of agricultural science (BAgrSc) in 2001 and a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in animal nutrition in 2005.

A love of agriculture

“I’m from a farming background. I grew up on a small sheep and beef farm in Roundwood, Co. Wicklow,” she said.

She has “always had a love of agriculture”, and was on the farm with her father since she was small, and the interest stayed with her through school.

Prof. Karina Pierce, dean of agriculture and head of UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science

“Agriculture in UCD was kind of an obvious route for me to take,” Prof. Pierce said.

“I’m 19 years in UCD, and my role up to now has been lecturer and researcher in dairy production.”

She has also served as programme director of the BAgrSc dairy business programme since its inception, along with holding the role of director of external relations within the school.

Now in her new role, which runs for a five-year term, she will be leaving some of her teaching and research work behind her for the moment as she embarks on this leadership role, something she described as “quite a big change” for her.

“The School of Agriculture and Food Science… it’s a large school and the role of dean and head of school is multifaceted,” she said.

She is ready however for the “exciting” academic year ahead.

Women in agriculture

Prof. Pierce’s appointment marks a significant milestone as she becomes the first woman to hold the position in the school’s history.

“I see that as a reflection of how agriculture and agri-education have evolved over the last 100 years,” she said, with the school this year commemorating the centenary of the establishment of the Faculty of Agriculture at UCD.

“While it’s an important milestone for me personally, I think again it really symbolises the opportunities that are open to women now across agriculture, science, higher education,” she said.

UCD Agriculture and Food Science Centre

2026 has been declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer by the United Nations (UN).

This year is spotlighting the essential roles women play across agri-food systems, from production to trade, while often going unrecognised.

Positive

Prof. Pierce said the numbers are “really positive” when it comes to students coming into the school, with an approximate 50:50 ratio of men and women.

“If you take a closer look at that and break it down into individual programmes, some of them might have a stronger leaning towards male or female,” she explained.

“For example, dairy business that I’ve been programme director for is predominantly male. Human nutrition would be predominantly female.

“So that’s something we need to continue to work on, that it’s not seen that one is for males and the other is for females. But, we are definitely making progress.

“On the staff in the school here, it’s basically 50:50 as well.”

Strong leadership roles

Prof. Pierce said there has been “huge development” in this area during her time in the school.

“That’s something that I have found really encouraging over my career is seeing women in leadership roles here in UCD,” she added.

“Our president is a woman, so that’s been very inspiring to me to see women in those strong leadership roles.”

Prof. Pierce said there has been a lot of focus on encouraging women into farming in recent years which has had an impact.

While the statistics show