As the first president of UArctic Lars has had the pleasure to take part in the journey of developing UArctic since May 2002. Uarctic is based on the Arctic Council Ministerial declaration in 1998 which were followed by a thorough planning phase and official launch of the University of the Arctic in 2001. UArctic has grown into a comprehensive network of over 200 members, including all northern higher education institutions in the circumpolar north. The members of UArctic carry out concrete cooperation in Education and Research in and for the Arctic through UArctic’s more than 50 Thematic Networks and Institutes.

Before joining the UArctic team, Lars Kullerud was the Polar Programme Manager for GRID-Arendal which is the UN-Environment (UNEP) Key Polar Centre. He has also been central in building up the UN-Environment Shelf program at GRID-Arendal which has assisted over 60 developing countries and small island states to document their extended continental shelf according to the UN Law of the Seas. His academic background is in Precambrian Geology and Isotope Geochemistry, geostatistics, petroleum resource assessments, as well as assessments of the Arctic environment.

Lars has authored or co-authored more than 20 peer reviewed academic publications on Arctic issues, in environmental sciences, and geosciences, including papers published in prestigious journals like Science and Nature, as well as numerous other articles. Lars Kullerud is Honorary Professor at North Eastern Federal University (Yakutsk) and Honorary Doctor at Northern Arctic Federal University (Arkhangelsk).