21 Feb 2014
We are sad to share the news that Prof Sir Graham Hills passed away on 9 February 2014.
Sir Graham was an active member of SCI for over 20 years during which time he served as President from 1991 to 1993. He was also a past President on the Council, the precursor to the Board of Trustees.
Hailed as a pioneer of Scotland's higher education sector, Sir Graham's career began in 1941 as a junior laboratory assistant at May & Baker's plant in Dagenham for the equivalent of 75p per week. He became an accomplished analytical chemist before switching to organic chemistry. Two senior colleagues persuaded him to attend part-time classes at Birkbeck College (IC) in London, where he took his BSc and PhD. He joined the University of Southampton in 1962 and rose to the post of Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor before being appointed Principal at the University of Strathclyde. He was knighted in 1988.
Following his retirement from Strathclyde, Sir Graham was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Development Board to conduct a feasibility study on a University for the region. His report formed the basis of the UHI Millennium Institute, now the University of the Highlands and Islands, and he went on to become Honorary President of the University's Development Trust. In 2002, he was one of the first two recipients of a Fellowship of the UHI Millennium Institute.
Our thoughts are with his family.
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