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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Hopkin was from 2001 until 2009

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

and

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 Po ...

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

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in 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 books and periodicals, and the l ...

. He is a historian, originally from

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

and a fluent Welsh speaker.

Early life and education

Born and educated in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, 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 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 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 undergraduate ...

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 Londo ...

(now

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

). 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 be ...

, and the Campaign for Learning. 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 repl ...

and HE Champion for the 14–19 Diploma. He was for twenty years, until 2023, 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 and founding editor of Llafur, 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 Hou ...

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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

General Advisory Council. Hopkin is a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), 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 H ...

and the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

and is a Freeman of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, a Liveryman and trustee of the Worshipful Company of Educators and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...

. He has been elected an honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and of the

University of Wales Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, and learning centres in Cardiff, and Birmingham. The university ...

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

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, 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-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. 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 C ...

and has been awarded a Fellowship of the

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

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 2022 he was elected President of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorio

In 2009, Hopkin was appointed interim vice-chancellor of the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

and in 2010 was appointed interim chair of the Student Loans Company. In 2017 he was a founding partner of executive search company
Anderson Quigley, and from 2020-23 a Principal Advisor at [https://wellsadvisory.co 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">Wells Advisory">Anderson Quigley, and from 2020-23 a Principal Advisor a
Wells Advisory
of Melbourne.

Selected publications

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