Ulsterman who led Scots agricultural education

Professor Bill McKelvey, was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a significant award and recognition by his academic and scientific peers.

Bill is who is chief executive and principal of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), announced  in March 2011 that he will step down at the end of January 2012. By then he will have been in his post for 10 years.

A vet, with experience in both private practice and research, Bill joined SAC in 1988. He  is a graduate of the University of Glasgow Veterinary School and holds post graduate qualifications from the University of Guelph, Canada, and from the University of Aberdeen.

He worked for a period in veterinary practice before holding research positions at the Rowett Research Institute, where he was awarded a PhD for his work on reproductive physiology and embryo transfer in sheep, and at the Macaulay Research Institute. At SAC he headed up the Veterinary Services Group and Corporate Operations before taking up the post of Chief Executive Officer and Principal in 2002. Since then he has led a major reorganisation of SAC’s operations.

He is a past President of the Society for the Study of Animal Breeding, a past member of Council of the British Veterinary Association, and a past member of the BVA Scientific Programmes Committee and the Council of the Scottish BVA.

His contribution to the agricultural community has been recognised in the award of a Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Societies (1994) and he was awarded a personal Professorship (Veterinary Reproduction) in July 1999.

Bill is a member of the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Agriculture Strategy Group and the Scottish Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Group.

A product of Northern Ireland

Bill is the son of Willie and Eileen and was raised on his father’s progressive farm in Northern Ireland, with his sisters Helen and Alison.

A detailed family record states:

Bill initially started school at Ballystockart Primary but transferred to Regent House School, Newtownards two years later. He was a bright student who could have potentially followed a career in any path of his choosing. In his final year at Regent House, Bill was Deputy Head Boy, played rugby for the First XV and had gained his gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

On achieving four As at A level, Bill turned down an offer for Cambridge in order to pursue Veterinary Medicine at Glasgow University. There, he entered directly into second year and continued to excel in his studies; in 1975 Bill was nominated for the “Most Outstanding Student Award” a prize given to only one final year student, and reflecting their efforts over all of the previous years.

In the Fall of that year he moved to Ontario, Canada where he studied Equine Surgery at the University of Guelph. In 1976, Bill returned home and started general practice in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim. He also became engaged to Elizabeth Anne Grant (Anne) Morris of Perthshire, Scotland.

The two were married in Perthshire, in 1977, after which Bill worked in general practice in Gloucester, while living in Cheltenham. After two years, Bill then took up practice in Peebles, the Borders, Scotland.

At Christmas 1980, Bill and Anne’s first child Grant was born, followed two years later by Joanna. Bill and Anne and their young family then moved to Aberdeen for a short spell, before finally returning to Peebles.

Bill left general practice to enter the research end of his profession with the Scottish Agricultural College, then based at the Bushe Institute, Edinburgh. At the same time, Bill and Anne purchased “Ladywell House” and farm and settled in to their present home. In 1989 their third child, Kirsty was born.

The family record notes, “Anne takes care of the farm.” 

NEWS REPORT JUNE 2011 

The son of an Ulster farmer, Professor McKelvey, his wife Anne and family farm at Kailzie in Peeblesshire. Professor McKelvey graduated as a vet from Glasgow with first-class honours before practising in Peebles and then going on to complete a PhD at Aberdeen University. He joined SAC’s veterinary investigation team in 1988 before progressing to manage SCA’s veterinary services, then the corporate operations group before being appointed CEO and principal in 2002. Recently he announced he will step down from the top role in January next year.

Professor McKelvey’s 10 years in charge has seen him reorganise the college to become Scotland’s newest higher education institution, delivering education, research and consultancy for farming and related industries.

Professor McKelvey said: “There were some major challenges and tough decisions in the last 10 years, but I believe SAC is now a truly customer-focused organisation and is in an excellent position to help both policymakers and rural communities face the challenges of the future. I regard this recognition as both a reward and a vote of confidence in SAC.”
Professor McKelvey was created an honorary fellow of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, in 1990 and elected Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies (FRAgS) in 1995. He was awarded an SAC professorship in veterinary reproduction in 1999, elected Fellow of the Society of Biology (FSB) in 2001 and created professor of agriculture at Glasgow University in 2002.

In March this year he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.