‘A Groundbreaking Scientist, an Exceptional Educator, and a Generous Alumnus’
George C. Hill leaves behind a remarkable legacy as a world-renowned microbiologist and educator whose lifelong journey of excellence includes a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University–Camden. He and his twin brother generously supported their alma mater, which awarded them full scholarships in the late 1950s, by establishing the Hill Family Center for College Access at Rutgers–Camden.
George C. Hill, a 1961 graduate of Rutgers University–Camden who went on to an exceptional career that included conducting groundbreaking research on African sleeping sickness and a leadership role at Vanderbilt University, died February 3 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He was 86.
He and his twin brother, Washington, established the Hill Family Center for College Access at Rutgers–Camden in 2011, the 50th anniversary of their graduation from Rutgers, with a generous gift. The center, which provides support and guidance to students and families in Camden, has served more than 5,000 high school students since its inception, many of whom have gone on to graduate from Rutgers.
“Dr. Hill’s influence in science and education will resonate for generations,” said Rutgers–Camden Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis. “His efforts fighting infectious diseases through science, mentoring generations of medical students at Vanderbilt, and his generous support of Rutgers University in Camden will live on forever. He was a groundbreaking scientist, an exceptional educator, and a generous alumnus.”
Tillis noted that the Hill Family Center is a significant contributor to the success of Rutgers–Camden’s high national rankings in social mobility, which assess how well schools enroll and graduate economically disadvantaged students. In 2025, Rutgers–Camden ranked ninth of nearly 1,700 colleges and universities in U.S. News Best Colleges list of top performers on social mobility.
“The Hill Family Center has been an exceptional success story,” Tillis said. “Dr. Hill’s legacy will continue at Rutgers University in Camden through the tremendous work of the center he and his brother established.”
New Jersey Roots
George and Washington Hill were born in Moorestown, New Jersey, in 1939, and were named in honor of their maternal grandfather, George Washington Clark. The family moved to Camden with their parents and younger sister, Mary Esther, when they were in junior high school. Their father worked as a clerk at the 30th Street Station post office in Philadelphia and their mother did domestic work in nearby Cherry Hill.
In 1956, the brothers attended the American Legion Jersey Boys State, an annual leadership program for boys from New Jersey high schools. “There were a thousand kids there, yet only five black representatives from high schools participated,” Hill said in 2019. “Washington and I were two of them.”
It was there that the brothers met Harold Eaton, director of admissions at Rutgers–Camden, then known as Rutgers College of South Jersey. Eaton took a strong interest in the Hill brothers and kept in touch with them after the program was over. In the spring of 1957, as George and Washington prepared to graduate from Camden High School, Eaton sent the brothers letters informing them they’d received scholarships that covered their tuition. “Rutgers allowed us to go to college,” Hill’s brother Washington said in 2019. “Remember, it was the 1950s, and we were two black students. I’m not sure where else we would have gone.”
At Rutgers–Camden, Hill started out on the path to become a history teacher and was involved in student government, serving as president of the sophomore class. After taking an interest in parasitology during a biology class, he decided to switch his major to the sciences.
An Exceptional Career
After graduating from Rutgers–Camden, Hill went on to earn a master’s degree from Howard University and a doctorate in biochemistry from New York University. He has led a distinguished career in biomedical research and held faculty positions at Colorado State University, Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University, which he joined in 2002. A distinguished professor emeritus of medical education and administration and of pathology, microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt, he also served as the university’s first vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine leaders praised Hill’s commitment to developing the next generation of physicians and scientists, especially those who overcame adversity, and for his strong desire to lift up others.
“Dr. Hill was a passionate educator who helped recruit and mentor the best and brightest students and trainees,” said Jeff Balser, president and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and dean of the school. “His contributions to the School of Medicine were transformative.”
At Colorado State in the late 1970s, a laboratory he led was the first to successfully culture the causative agent of African sleeping sickness. This groundbreaking work, published in the journal Science, enabled scientists to develop treatments for the disease, a parasitic infection, and advanced the field of tropical medicine.
His scientific achievements earned him many awards and honors, including election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, now known as the National Academy of Medicine. He also was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology. He served as president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases from 2008–2010 and received the John P. Utz Leadership Award.
He and his brother, a renowned obstetrician and perinatologist, have both been inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Hill Family Center for College Access
In 2011, a generous gift from the brothers launched the Hill Family Center on the Rutgers–Camden campus. The center’s mission is to create a more robust college-going culture in the city of Camden and the region by providing support and guidance to students and their families to ensure access to and preparation for educational success after high school.
Nyeema Watson CCAS’00, GSC’15, Rutgers–Camden’s senior vice chancellor for strategy, diversity, and community engagement, said she feels fortunate she got to know the Hill brothers.
“I’ve long been inspired by their story,” said Watson, a native of Camden who earned her undergraduate and doctorate at Rutgers–Camden and has worked at the university since 2004. “I feel so fortunate that I got to know George over the years. Although he and his brother moved from New Jersey many years ago, they never forgot their roots and have been tremendously supportive of our mission here.”
Siatta Davis, program coordinator for the center for more than a decade, and her staff visit high schools in and around Camden to provide counseling, advising, and preparation for college. The center hosts college and career readiness workshops and supports students with financial aid and assistance with college applications. The work, she said, is inspiring.
"I'm reminded that your purpose is not the thing you do—it is the thing that happens to others when you do what you do,” said Davis, who has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Rutgers–Camden and has worked at the university since 2014. “The Hill Center has given my life purpose through its impact on students and families in the communities we serve.”
Before receiving the Rutgers–Camden Chancellor’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Civic Engagement in 2019, Hill reflected on the center’s work.
“It’s heart-warming and rewarding to know that the gift we were able to provide—with the intention of being able to provide for students from Camden—is bearing fruit,” he said. “When you’re able to provide support and see the impact it has on the lives of students, that’s what investment is all about.”
In obituaries published by Vanderbilt University and Lewis & Wright Funeral Directors, the Hill family requested that in lieu of flowers, gifts in honor of Hill could be made to the Hill Family Center for College Access at Rutgers–Camden or the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, which supports faculty efforts to eliminate health disparities.
Support the Hill Center
Please consider a gift to the Hill Family Center for College Access in honor of distinguished Rutgers alumnus George C. Hill.
