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 service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

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

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 countr ...

of its successor, the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, 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 an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, London, the son of a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Minister. He attended the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

and then

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, 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 area, ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Part of his key work was incorporated into the

Education Act 1944 The Education Act 1944 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31) made major changes in the provision and governance of secondary schools in England and Wales. It is also known as the Butler Act after the President of the Board of Education, R. A. Butler. Histori ...

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 (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Education, Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her care ...

, 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, 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 King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around 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 by Kensingt ...

, 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 People educated at Nottingham High School

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References