Paul L. Hill, Ph.D.

Prior to being selected as chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Dr. Paul Hill was vice chancellor for science and research. As such, he also served as executive director of the West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (WVEPSCoR), a state infrastructure program of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and managed a number of competitive research programs with academic institutions throughout the state, including the WV Research Trust Fund – “Bucks for Brains,” the WV Research Challenge Fund and WV Eminent Scholars initiative. 

Dr. Hill has more than 25 years of experience in academic research, grant administration, public policy and management, and has held CEO positions in state, federal and private organizations. Before joining WVEPSCoR in 2001, he was chairman and CEO of the United States Chemical Safety Board, appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

He became vice chancellor of the West Virginia higher education system’s Division of Science and Research in 2007 and is the recipient of more than $50M in federal research funding. He held a position at West Virginia University in Research and Economic Development and served as adjunct faculty in biology at the University of Charleston. 

Dr. Hill is active in numerous state and federal committees, boards and commissions, including the West Virginia Science and Research Council; WV Commission on International Education; EPSCoR Program Directors Council (past chairman); national EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation Board (chairman); Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research, and Innovation Center (MATRIC) Board of Directors; Hawaii EPSCoR State Committee; Iowa EPSCoR State Committee; Hawaii EPSCoR Monitoring and Assessment Panel (past chairman); A Vision Shared-West Virginia Technology-Based Economic Development (TBED) Council; Marshall University Research Corporation; West Virginia Commission on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Graduate Education; and West Virginia University College of Engineering Visiting Committee (2004-2007). 

He has been a U.S. delegate to the Organization for Economic and Community Development in Europe and served on both the New York City Environmental Protection Council and the U.S. EPA’s Council on the Clean Air Act. Dr. Hill was an invited participant in the development of the NSF EPSCoR 2020 Report and has provided congressional testimony on science and technology policy on numerous occasions. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS). 

A native West Virginian, Dr. Hill holds degrees from Marshall University (B.S. and M.S.) and the University of Louisville (Ph.D.) in biology and chemistry. He studied at the University of Louisville’s Systems Science Institute, where his research emphasis was environmental chemistry and ecological systems.