Paul Wellings

Paul William Wellings CBE DL FRSN FRSA (born 1 November 1953) is an English ecologist and academic administrator. He is the current Vice-Chancellor of University of Wollongongtaking over on 1 January 2012 having previously been Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, Chair of the now defunct 1994 Group of smaller research-intensive universities and is a member of the Board of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Born in Nottingham, Wellings was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School, King's College London (BSc Hons), Durham University (MSc) and the University of East Anglia (PhD, 1980).

In 1981 he moved to Australia as a research ecologist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), becoming Chief of the Entomology Division in 1995. In 1997 he was seconded to the Australian Commonwealth Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources as Head of the Science and Innovation Division and returned to CSIRO in 1999 as Deputy Chief Executive. He has also been of Director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Cumbrian Rural Regenaration Company.

Wellings became Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University in 2002. During his appointment, he controversially co-operated with a police prosecution of the "George Fox Six", a group of students and alumni involved in a protest about a conference at the university. Wellings was reproached by several academic and civil liberties groups for his involvement. He is a Board member of Universities UK and chair of UUK's International and European Policy Committee, and a Board member of Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Chair of HEFCE's Research Committee.

Wellings is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong as of 1 January 2012, where he took over from Gerard Sutton.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to higher education. and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.

In 2018 Professor Wellings was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (Est 1821) and was gazetted as such in January 2019 by the then Governor His Excellency, the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC(Rtd) in the NSW Government Gazette.