William Hill

Professor

“Celebrating each day and making life wrest up its secrets…that’s what teaching is all about!”

William Hill, born and raised in England, is “an opinionated Yorkshireman. We’re a fierce breed. Terribly independent,” he says. “We’re much akin to Texans in America. Very earthy.” And just as in love with telling a good story, which accounts for William’s desire to teach having its roots in nothing less than the landscape of WW II.

“I was an infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army,” he recalls, “and I did the classic tour of Europe, fighting across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Czechoslovakia before meeting the Russians at the Elbe. We had crossed six countries and it took us four hours by train when they sent us back. Of course,” he adds with a chuckle, “it had taken us considerably longer on the way in, with everyone shooting at us.” His “miraculous” survival had decided William on the path he would take. “I decided that I would make the most of every day for the rest of my life. And that’s what I’ve done.”

William has had careers with “big industry” and in “big universities.” “But I decided that I wanted to be in a place where teaching, and instructors themselves, are terribly important. So I came to SMC, which I feel has the unique distinction of allowing everyone a chance to find their own way to a life of significance. It’s the best job I’ve had in my life.”

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