Roy Miller (principal)
Encyclopedia
Roy Frank Miller is a British academic, educator, physicist and university administrator. He was Principal
Principal (academia)
The Principal is the chief executive and the chief academic officer of a university or college in certain parts of the Commonwealth.-Canada:...

 of Royal Holloway College, University of London (RHC) from 1982-85.

Education

He was educated at Wembley County Grammar School
Wembley High Technology College
Wembley High Technology College is a high school situated in Brent, a borough situated in Greater London.Wembley High Technology College was established in 1979 and is a popular and heavily oversubscribed secondary school. Gill Bal is the current and most known headteacher of Wembley High...

. In 1957 he took the BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 external Special (meaning single subject) Honours degree in physics as an external student at the University College of South-West England (now the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

). He later studied at RHC where he obtained a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 under Samuel Tolansky
Samuel Tolansky
Samuel Tolansky born Turlausky BSc DThPT PhD PhD DSc FRAS FRSA FInstP FRS. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize, has a crater on the moon named after him near the Apollo 14 landing site and he was a principal investigator to the NASA lunar project known as the Apollo program.-Personal life:His...

 in 1962.

Career

He stayed at RHC and from demonstrator progressed to senior lecturer in physics in 1973. In 1965 male undergraduates were admitted to the college and Miller took charge as Warden of Kingswood, the first men's hall of residence, in Coopers Hill Lane, Englefield Green
Englefield Green
Englefield Green is a large village in northern Surrey, England. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London, the south eastern corner of Windsor Great Park and close to the towns of Egham, Windsor, Staines and Virginia Water...

. In 1976 he became vice-principal of the college under Dr Lionel Butler
Lionel Harry Butler
Dr Lionel Butler FRHistS MA DPhil was an academic and Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London from 1973-1981.-Education and war service:...

 who had been appointed as the first male principal in 1973.

In 1970 London University had set up a committee of enquiry into the governance of the university chaired by Lord Murray of Newhaven with appointments by the university and also the University Grants Committee
University Grants Committee
University Grants Committee may refer to:*University Grants Committee *University Grants Committee...

. The Murray Report, which covered all 34 constituent schools of the university, proposed "some kind of amalgamation" for RHC citing reasons of economy. By 1975/6 the cuts had begun to threaten the quality of teaching, research and the infrastructure. The incoming Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 government of 1979 cut another 15% from universities' budgets. This forced a reduction in staff at RHC by about 15% in 1981. Senior RHC academics also concluded that the college could not survive alone, nor cover the academic range with reduced staff, and needed to combine with another of the smaller colleges.

In the middle of this and before anything was finalised, Butler died suddenly on 26 November 1981, in London. Miller assumed authority in his capacity as vice-principal, later made acting principal and in 1982 was made principal
Principal (academia)
The Principal is the chief executive and the chief academic officer of a university or college in certain parts of the Commonwealth.-Canada:...

. Following suggestions from the University of London Vice-Chancellor, in February 1982 discussions took place between Miller and Professor Wedderburn, Principal of Bedford College
Bedford College
Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as a higher education college for the education of women. It was the first institution of its type for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, the college became a constituent school of the University of London. It played a leading role in the advancement...

, also part of the university, about the possibility of Bedford leaving its site in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...

, London and moving to the RHC site. Bedford had no other option as the university had decided that teaching and research in science should be concentrated on five sites, of which RHC was one. The Bedford site was also land-locked with a limited lease so growth at Bedford would have been virtually impossible. On 26 July 1982 the chairs of both colleges signed an agreement to merge. Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (RHBNC) was created by Act of Parliament on 1 August 1985 with Professor Dorothy Wedderburn its first principal. RHBNC remains the official name of the college but Royal Holloway, London is the current day-to-day name, generally abbreviated to RHC.

Personal life

Miller is married to Ruth Kenchington, a former student and postgraduate at RHC and they have one son.
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