Graham John Hills


Sir Graham Hills was a physical chemist, principal of the University of Strathclyde, and a governor of the BBC. He was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and educated at Westcliff High School for Boys and Birkbeck College, London. He was knighted in 1988 for his services to education.

Academic career

Hills served as a professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Southampton for 18 years, until 1980, when he became principal at Strathclyde University, succeeding Samuel Curran who had held the post since 1959. There, his early foci were accommodating cuts to government funding by the University Grants Committee, and dealing with the school's other financial difficulties. He found alternative sources of income, restructured the university to reduce its nine schools to four, and introduced early retirement for faculty members.
With these financial challenges stabilized, Hill turned to expanding the university. Purchases were made in 1981 and 1987, respectively, of the Barony Church and Marland House. New student residences were built on campus.
After Sir Graham's retirement, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the University of the Highlands and Islands. He moved to Inverness to be a full-time advisor to the nascent university. In 2004 he coauthored, with Robin Lingard, the book UHI: The Making of a University, a comprehensive account of the university's creation.

Professional posts

A list of Obituaries available online and accessed 3/8/2015: