# Graham John Hills > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Graham_John_Hills > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Graham_John_Hills.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_John_Hills > Source revision: 1345892009 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Sir Graham John Hills Sir Graham Hills and Lady Mary Hills at their Inverness home (March 2000) Born (1926-04-09)9 April 1926 Southend-on-Sea, Essex, U.K. Died 9 February 2014(2014-02-09) (aged 87) Occupation University Principal, Physical chemist, Educationalist Nationality English Spouse Brenda Stubbington (d. 1974) Mary Jane McNaughton (1980-2013; her death) Children 4 **Sir Graham Hills** [FRSE](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh) (9 April 1926 – 9 February 2014) was a [physical chemist](/source/Physical_chemist), principal of the [University of Strathclyde](/source/University_of_Strathclyde), and a governor of the [BBC](/source/BBC). He was born in [Southend-on-Sea](/source/Southend-on-Sea), [Essex](/source/Essex) and educated at [Westcliff High School for Boys](/source/Westcliff_High_School_for_Boys) and [Birkbeck College, London](/source/Birkbeck_College%2C_London) (BSc 1946, PhD 1950). He was knighted in 1988 for his services to education.[1] ## Academic career This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Graham John Hills" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Hills served as a professor of [Physical Chemistry](/source/Physical_Chemistry) at the [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton) for 18 years, until 1980, when he became [principal](/source/Principal_(academia)) at [Strathclyde University](/source/Strathclyde_University), succeeding [Samuel Curran](/source/Samuel_Curran) who had held the post since 1959. There, his early foci were accommodating cuts to government funding by the [University Grants Committee (UK)](/source/University_Grants_Committee_(UK)), and dealing with the school's other financial difficulties. He found alternative sources of income, restructured the university (in 1982) to reduce its nine schools to four, and introduced [early retirement](/source/Early_retirement) for faculty members. Hills also changed the academic year to the two-term semester structure.[2] With the financial challenges stabilized, Hills turned to expanding the university. Purchases were made in 1983 and 1986, respectively, of the [Ramshorn Church](/source/The_Ramshorn) and [Barony Church](/source/Barony_Church) - the latter restored in 1989 and converted into a graduation hall) - and in 1987 the acquisition of [Marland House](/source/Graham_Hills_Building) (a former [British Telecom](/source/British_Telecom) office block, which was renamed for Hills on his retirement). The "student village" on the eastern third of the campus was further expanded from the mid-1980s onwards.[3] After Sir Graham's retirement, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the [University of the Highlands and Islands](/source/UHI_Millenium_Institute). He moved to [Inverness](/source/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.[4] ## Professional posts - [Imperial College, London](/source/Imperial_College%2C_London): Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, 1949–1962 - [University of Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton): Professor of Physical Chemistry, 1962–1980 - [University of Western Ontario](/source/University_of_Western_Ontario): Visiting professor, 1968 - [Case Western Reserve University](/source/Case_Western_Reserve_University): Visiting professor, 1969 - [University of Buenos Aires](/source/University_of_Buenos_Aires), Visiting professor, 1977 - [University of Strathclyde](/source/University_of_Strathclyde), Glasgow: Principal and Vice-Chancellor, 1980–1991 ## Professional committee work - President of [International Society of Electrochemistry](/source/International_Society_of_Electrochemistry), 1983–1985 - Non-Executive Director: Scottish Post Office Bd, 1986–1999 - Member: [Council for Science and Technology](/source/Council_for_Science_and_Technology), 1987–1993 - [Scottish Development Agency](/source/Scottish_Development_Agency), 1988–1990 - Member: [Council for National Academic Awards](/source/Council_for_National_Academic_Awards), 1988–1993 - Glasgow Action Partnership, 1989–1990 - Scottish governor of the [BBC](/source/Audience_Council_Scotland), 1989–1994 - [Design Council](/source/Design_Council), 1989–1990 - [Society of Chemical Industry](/source/Society_of_Chemical_Industry), 1991–1993 - [Scottish Enterprise](/source/Scottish_Enterprise), 1991–1993 - [Design and Industries Association](/source/Design_and_Industries_Association), 1992–1996 - Chairman of the Council of [Quarrier's Homes](/source/Quarriers), 1992–1997 - Chairman of the [Ness Foundation](/source/Ness_Foundation) (formerly Highland Psychiatric Res.), 1998–2003 ## Professional fellowships - Fellow of the [Royal Society of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh), 1990 - Fellow of [Scottish Vocational Education Council](/source/Scottish_Vocational_Education_Council), 1989 - Fellow of the [Royal Society of Arts](/source/Royal_Society_of_Arts), 1978 - Fellow of the [Royal Society of Chemistry](/source/Royal_Society_of_Chemistry), 1950 ## Professional honours - Hon. DSc: [Southampton](/source/University_of_Southampton), 1984; [Lisbon](/source/University_of_Lisbon), 1994 - Hon. ScD: [Technical University of Lodz](/source/Technical_University_of_Lodz), Poland, 1984 - Commander, [Polish Order of Merit](/source/Polish_awards_and_decorations), 1984 - Hon. LLD: [Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow), 1985; [Waterloo, Canada](/source/University_of_Waterloo), 1991; [Strathclyde](/source/University_of_Strathclyde), 1991 - [Royal Norwegian Order of Merit](/source/Royal_Norwegian_Order_of_Merit), 1986 - Hon. Fellow of the [Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama](/source/Royal_Scottish_Academy_of_Music_and_Drama), 1988 - Hon. Medal, [University of Pavia](/source/University_of_Pavia), Italy, 1988 - Hon. Fellow of the [Polytechnic of East London](/source/University_of_East_London), 1991 - Hon. Fellow of the [Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow](/source/Royal_College_of_Physicians_and_Surgeons_of_Glasgow), 1992 - DUniv: [Paisley](/source/University_of_the_West_of_Scotland), 1993 - Hon. Fellow of the [Chartered Society of Designers](/source/Chartered_Society_of_Designers), 1996 - Hon. DEd [University of Abertay Dundee](/source/University_of_Abertay_Dundee), 1999 ## Publications - Hills, G. J. *Reference Electrodes*, 1961 - Hills, G. J., *Inheritance of Michael Faraday*, (University of Southampton), 1964 - Hills, G. J., *Polarography*, (Macmillan), 1964 - Hills, G. J. (ed.) *Electrochemistry: A Review of Chemical Literature*: vols 1-3 (Specialist Periodical Reports), (Royal Society of Chemistry), 1970, 71, 73 - Hills, G. J., *Transactions of the Faraday Society Articles* (Royal Society of Chemistry) (numerous contributions on electrochemistry - Hills, Graham & Lingard, Robin, *UHI: The Making of a University*, (Dunedin Academic Press), 2004 ## Honors - Honorary degree, [University of Pavia](/source/University_of_Pavia), 1988 ## Obituaries A list of obituaries available online and accessed 3/8/2015: - [The Royal Society](https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/obits_alpha/hills_graham.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160106065535/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/obits_alpha/hills_graham.pdf) 6 January 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) - [The Scotsman](http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-professor-sir-graham-hills-principal-and-vice-chancellor-university-of-strathclyde-1-3305739). A photograph of Sir Graham is given here - [The Daily Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10658228/Professor-Sir-Graham-Hills-obituary.html). A photograph is also given here - [The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-graham-hills-9147855.html). This obituary was written by [Tam Dalyell](/source/Tam_Dalyell)), with photograph - [The Herald](http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13145881.Sir_Graham_Hills__legacy_to_Strathclyde_University/). This is a letter written to the newspaper - [The Times Higher Education Supplement](https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/people/sir-graham-hills-1926-2014/2012328.article) - [The Royal Society of Chemistry](http://www.rsc.org/Membership/AboutRscMembership/Obituaries/graham-hills.asp) - [The Strathclyde Telegraph](http://www.strathclydetelegraph.com/2014/03/obituary-professor-sir-graham-hills/). This is the university student newspaper ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Hills, Sir Graham (John)"](https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U20215). *[Who's Who](/source/Who's_Who_(UK))*. A & C Black. (Subscription or [UK public library membership](https://www.ukwhoswho.com/page/subscribe#public) required.) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Cf. The Glasgow Story website: [http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSS00032](http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSS00032) *Accessed 2012-08-05*. The information on this site was reproduced with the permission of Strathclyde University Archives. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cf. The Glasgow Story website: [http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSS00032](http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSS00032) *Accessed 2012-08-05*. The information on this site was reproduced with the permission of Strathclyde University Archives. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Graham Hills and Robin Lingard, *UHI: The Making of a University*, Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press, 2004. ISBN 1903765420 ## External links - Papers of Sir Graham Hills available at [Strathclyde University Archives. Collection OM/274](http://strathclyde.ica-atom.org/graham-hills-papers) Academic offices Preceded by Samuel Curran Principal and Vice-chancellor University of Strathclyde 1980-1991 Succeeded by John Arbuthnott Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States France BnF data Israel Other IdRef Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Graham John Hills](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_John_Hills) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_John_Hills?action=history)). 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