Hector Hetherington

Sir Hector James Wright Hetherington (21 July 1888 – 15 January 1965) was a Scottish philosopher, who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1927 to 1936, and Principal of the University of Glasgow until 1961.

Early life Hetherington was born in Cowdenbeath, Fife, and educated at Dollar Academy where he was school dux 1904 and 1905.

He studied at the University of Glasgow and at Merton College, Oxford.

Career He was appointed Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at Glasgow in 1910,

He returned to Glasgow in 1924 as Professor of Moral Philosophy. In 1927, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool,

In 1942, he visited the US as a British visiting adviser to American universities on wartime academic policy. In 1943 he became Chairman of the Committee of British Vice-Chancellors and remained as Chairman or Deputy Chairman until 1952.

From 1940 to 1948, he was a member of the National Arbitration Tribunal and from 1951 to 1959 he was a member of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal.

Personal life Hetherington married Mary Ethel Alison Reid (1886–1966) in 1914, with whom he had two sons. He retired in 1961 to Edinburgh.

He was a member of the Athenæum, the Royal Scottish Automobile Club and Glasgow Golf Club. He was knighted in the 1936 New Years Honours List, and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1948 King's Birthday Honours List and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1962 New Years Honours List. However, due to financial difficulties, the club was forced to close, leading to the 2011 Hetherington House Occupation - organised by students who opposed the closure as well as proposed cuts and redundancies at the university. On Glasgow’s campus, there is also another building called Hetherington Building, which has teaching spaces.

Published works With J. H. Muirhead. Social Purpose. George Allen & Unwin, 1918. The Life and Letters of Sir Henry Jones. Hodder and Stoughton. 1924. Letters to Graduates 1946-61. University of Glasgow. 1965.