David Hill, a respected manager and administrator with more than 40 years experience in government, not-for-profit and advocacy work will join the University of Lethbridge as the first Director of Centres and Institutes and Research Advocacy.

Hill, a long-time Lethbridge resident who has called Edmonton home for the past six years, is presently the Executive Director of Water Resources for Alberta Innovates-Energy and Environment Solutions.
"In his new role, David will be responsible for assisting in the growth, development and ongoing administrative needs of centres and institutes at the University of Lethbridge, as well as facilitating government and industry interaction with University of Lethbridge centres, institutes and individual faculty members," says Dr. Dan Weeks, the U of L's vice-president (research). "We are extremely pleased to see David return to Lethbridge and to have him on our team."
As the University has grown its research base, it has recently developed several research centres and institutes to combine the talents of faculty, technical staff and community partners. Growth of research centres and institutes in strategic areas and the continued development of existing centres and institutes is a key feature of the Strategic Research Plan of the University of Lethbridge.
Weeks says Hill's career experiences, which have a strong focus on developing relationships with government, researchers, regulatory agencies and policymakers, will be a key asset to the
U of L.
"As we bring more people together, and enhance our work with regional, national and international partners, we need people such as David, who has a proven ability to move ideas forward to a wide variety of audiences."
Hill is well known both provincially and nationally as a key advocate for water research, water use policies and irrigation management, two key elements of his previous career experiences and, through the Water Institute for Sustainable Environments (WISE), a pillar of research strength at the University of Lethbridge.
He has led public-private sector research initiatives and collaborated on international research and policy. He has served as a member of the Alberta Water Council since its inception, representing first irrigated agriculture, and has represented the science and research community since the fall of 2007.
Hill is active in a number of organizations critical to the development of sound water policies, among them the Canadian Committee on Irrigation and Drainage and the Canadian Water Resources Association. He is the Water Policy Co-Chair (along with Representative John (Bert) Stevenson of Idaho) for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, is a member of the Board of Trustees of Inside Education, a member of the Board of Directors of the TEC Fund Limited Partnership (Edmonton) and has been a participant of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy (University of California, Berkeley) since 2004.
Additionally, he has served on Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee, the Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Council and was an advisory member of the Board of Directors for the Northwest Irrigation Operators Inc. in Boise, Idaho for five years.
Hill will join the University of Lethbridge Office of Research Services on Sept. 1, 2012.