By Abbey Cannan
University of the Sunshine Coast Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill has announced he will retire next year after leading USC through a decade of rapid expansion.
Professor Hill, who has transformed USC from a single campus on the Sunshine Coast with 9,000 students in 2011 to a multi-campus institution that will have more than 18,000 students in total this year, will finish work in late 2020.
“When I was appointed Vice-Chancellor, I made a commitment to grow the university by broadening its footprint,” Professor Hill said.
“That’s what the USC Council wanted me to do – and I’ve pretty much done that.
“Since I’ve been here, there hasn’t been a year that we haven’t opened a new building, and that includes new campuses at Gympie in 2013, Fraser Coast in 2016 and Caboolture last year.”
Add to that the establishment of the Sunshine Coast Health Institute (of which USC is a partner), the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience – Thompson Institute, Clinical Trials Centre and expansion of USC’s sporting precinct to accommodate three elite national sporting teams, and you get some idea of how busy he’s been.
Professor Hill said with the USC Moreton Bay campus opening at Petrie next year, the time was right to hand over the role to another leader.
And he has no regrets: “While I’ve been doing the things I believe were important, there were obviously some things I’ve neglected – but you can’t do everything.
“As well as growing the campus footprint, I’m proud to have maintained the inclusive culture we’ve got at USC, and that includes doing our bit for Indigenous Australians and for disadvantaged people in the community.”
While guiding USC through the Federal funding freeze of recent years, Professor Hill has also chaired the Regional Universities Network – an organisation he says has convinced both sides of politics that different funding models are needed for metropolitan and regional unis.
While his retirement is still 18 months away, Professor Hill said he was looking forward to spending more time with his family, enjoying some fishing and seeking out some new intellectual pursuits.
