Sir Deian Rhys Hopkin (born 1 March 1944) is an academic and historian, former vice chancellor and former President of the National Library of Wales. From 2013 to 2020, he served as Chair of Wales Remembers 1914-1918 and was expert adviser to the First Minister of Wales for the Centenary of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Hopkin was from 2001 until 2009

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 ...

and

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough P ...

, England. From 2011 to 2015, he was president of the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million ...

. He is an historian, originally from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and a fluent

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

speaker.

Early life and education

Born and educated in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

, Deian Hopkin attended the first Welsh-medium school to be established by a local authority, followed by a scholarship to Llandovery College. He graduated in history at the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

where he also completed his PhD.

Career

After a brief period at Queen Mary College, London, he returned to the department of history at Aberystwyth, where he taught for 24 years and became head of department. For most of that time, he was also a tutor at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

and was seconded to the OU to develop new courses. In 1991, he was appointed dean of human sciences at City of London Polytechnic, which became, in 1992,

London Guildhall University London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Lond ...

(now

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

). He was promoted to vice-provost in 1996. Hopkin has been actively involved in educational policy and, in particular, the skills agenda of the UK over a number of years. He was a council member of the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

, and the

Campaign for Learning Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

. He was a patron of Hillcroft College for Women and was previously chairman-emeritus of the University Centre, Jersey; Highlands College. He was co-chair of the HE Progression Board for the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repla ...

and HE Champion for the 14–19 Diploma. He is a trustee of the

Council for At-Risk Academics The Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) is a charitable British organisation dedicated to assisting academics in immediate danger, those forced into exile, and many who choose to remain in their home countries despite the serious risks they face ...

(formerly CARA) of which he was vice-chairman and was until 2009 Chairman of the UNIAID Foundation, the national charity supporting students in financial difficulty which has now merged with th
Brightside Trust
Hopkin has published on Labour and press history and on the use of computers in history, and was co-founder of the

Association for History and Computing The Association for History and Computing (AHC) was an organization dedicated to the use of computers in historical research. The AHC was an international organization with the aim of promoting the use of computers in all types of historical study, ...

and founding editor of

Llafur Llafur (''Labour'' in Welsh) – the full name of which is Llafur: The Welsh People's History Society – was founded in 1970 as ''Llafur: The Society for the Study of Welsh Labour History'' to promote the study of the history of the working peop ...

, The Journal of Welsh People's History, of which he is now a vice-president. He is a member of the Higher Education Commission. He was a trustee of the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House ...

Development Trust, University of London, and was a member of the editorial advisory board of ''Times Higher Education''. He is a judge of the annual ''Times Higher Awards.'' He has extensive broadcasting experience and was a member of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

General Advisory Council. Hopkin is a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

and the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

and is a Freeman of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, and a Liveryman and trustee of the Worshipful Company of Educators. He has been elected an honorary Fellow of the

and of the

University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru Y Drindod Dewi Sant) is a multi-campus university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, England, and learning ...

, has an honorary D.Litt. from Glamorgan University, an honorary LL.D. from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, Montreal, Canada and an honorary D.Univ. from the

. In November 2017 he was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. He is also an honorary Fellow of the

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE; pronounced 'sib-see') is an international professional engineering association based in London, England that represents building services engineers. It is a full member of the Co ...

and has been awarded a Fellowship of the

. He was knighted in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to higher education and skills. In 2019, he was awarded the First Minister of Wales' Special Award at the annual St David Award. In 2009, Hopkin was appointed interim vice-chancellor of the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

and in 2010 was appointed interim chair of the

Student Loans Company The Student Loans Company (SLC) is an executive non-departmental public body company in the United Kingdom that provides student loans. It is owned by the UK Government's Department for Education (85%), the Scottish Government (5%), the Welsh ...

. In 2017 he was a founding partner of executive search company
Anderson Quigley
and since 2020 a Principal Advisor a
Wells Advisory
of Melbourne.

Selected publications

*Denley, Peter, Deian Hopkin. ''History and Computing''. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1987. *Hopkin, Deian, Tanner, Duncan and Williams, Chris. ''The Labour Party in Wales: 1900–2000''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2001. *Hopkin, Deian. ''The role of universities in the modern economy = Swyddogaeth prifysgolion yn yr economi fodern''. Cardiff: Welsh Academic Press, 2002.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkin, Deian 1944 births Living people People from Llanelli People educated at Llandovery College Alumni of Aberystwyth University 20th-century Welsh historians Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of London Guildhall University Academics of the Open University Academics of Aberystwyth University Vice-Chancellors of London South Bank University Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Knights Bachelor Historians of World War I 21st-century Welsh historians 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers British male non-fiction writers