Sir Robert Stanford Wood (5 July 1886 – 18 May 1963) was a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and educational administrator. He was the last Principal of Southampton University College and the first

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of its successor, the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, in 1952.David Crook: ''Wood, Sir Robert Stanford (1886–1963)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 17 Aug 2013
/ref>

Early life

He was born is

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, the son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Minister. He attended the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and then

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he took the classical tripos and then historical tripos.

Career

He spent two years at Nottingham High School for Boys. Later he joined the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 1911 as a school inspector and later became Principal Private Secretary to the President of the Board of Education, Lord Eustace Percy. He continued in the Civil Service rising through the ranks.and remained in London during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Part of his key work was incorporated into the

1944 Education Act Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Six ...

working closely with R A Butler who introduced the Act in August 1944. He also developed an initiative that produced 35,000 additional teachers between 1945 and 1951, regarded as a considerable achievement. By the 1944 act the Board of Education became the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. It was expected that Wood would become permanent secretary, but this did not happen probably due to objections from

Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her career, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow, s ...

, the Labour minister of education. Wood then left the ministry in 1946 succeeding Kenneth Vickers as Principal of Southampton University College. He led the University College to full university status in 1952, becoming its first Vice Chancellor. Acquisition of new buildings and equipment was a priority made difficult by considerable damage to the port of Southampton during the war. Halls of residence were provided for students and by 1952 student numbers had almost doubled. An institute of education was also established. He worked closely with

Lillian Penson Dame Lillian Margery Penson, DBE (18 July 1896 – 17 April 1963) was a professor of modern history at the University of London, and the first woman to serve as Vice-Chancellor of the university. Early life She was born in Islington, London, the ...

, Vice-Chancellor of London University, which awarded external degrees to Southampton students at the time. Wood retired as vice-chancellor but due to age at the end of the 1952 session.

Personal life

In 1922 he married Iris Cecilie and they had a daughter. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in 1939, and made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in 1941.London Gazette, 12 June 1941
Retrieved 5 March 2018 He died in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Robert Stanford 1886 births 1963 deaths Educational administrators People educated at the City of London School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of Southampton Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British civil servants

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References