James Alexander McWha AO (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.

[citation needed] 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.

[citation needed] In 1989 he was appointed Director of DSIR Fruit and Trees in the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and in 1992 became foundation Chief Executive Officer of HortResearch (the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd).

[3] In March 2018, McWha was appointed Vice Chancellor of Lincoln University in New Zealand, on a fixed-term contract until December 2018.

[citation needed] He was made an honorary officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to higher education in December 2011.