Louis Matheson
| Sir James Adam Louis Matheson | |
|---|---|
| 1st Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University | |
|
In office 1960–1976 |
|
| Succeeded by | William Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 11, 1912 Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | March 27, 2002 (aged 90) |
| Spouse(s) | Lady Audrey Matheson |
| Alma mater | Manchester University |
| Profession | Professor, Engineer |
Sir James Adam Louis Matheson KBE CMG (11 February 1912 – 27 March 2002) was a British engineer and university administrator, who served as the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Born in Huddersfield, Matheson studied engineering at Manchester University. Matheson graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering (1932) and a Master of Science (1933) from the University of Manchester, and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (1946). After spending 6 years as a civil engineer from 1933 to 1938, he took up a position at the University of Birmingham and then the University of Melbourne, where he modernised the Melbourne University engineering curriculum. At Melbourne University, he worked under Robert Blackwood, a relationship that continued when Blackwood went on to become Monash's first Chancellor. In 1951, after only a few years in Australia, he returned to the UK to accept the Beyer Chair in Engineering at the University of Manchester.
In 1960, at just 47 years old, Matheson became the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, a position he held until 1976. Given only 12 months to prepare for the opening of the University, Matheson worked with exceptional speed and effectiveness. He assembled staff, established courses, and set up faculties, teaching and research facilities. When Monash opened, Matheson led and oversaw rapid development, from an empty site in Clayton, to a university recognised internationally for excellence in research and teaching. When the University opened in 1961, it had just 347 students; but 11 years into Matheson's term, it had expanded to over 12,000. Matheson managed the tumultuous years of student activism at Monash in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was often criticised by some of the more radical students, but succeeded in maintaining strong academic standards throughout. His responsiveness to student ideas and demands meant the unrest was contained as successfully as possible.
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