Two to Receive UW Honorary Degrees

The University of Wyoming will confer its highest award, the honorary doctoral degree, upon two individuals who will be recognized during UW commencement ceremonies May 11.

They are Greg Hill, president and chief operating officer of Hess Corp., a global independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas; and Noah Hull, laboratory technical manager for global health at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). Both are alumni of UW.

Hill will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, while Hull will receive a Doctor of Science degree.

UW alumni, current or former trustees, and faculty members are eligible to nominate individuals for honorary degrees who embody the university’s high ideals; exemplify the values of excellence, service and integrity; and possess distinguished accomplishments in their professions, public service or service to humanity. Submissions are referred to a joint committee of trustees and faculty members, which forwards recommendations to the full Board of Trustees for approval.

Hill, who received a bachelor’s degree with honors in mechanical engineering from UW in 1983, has been with Hess for 16 years. Before that, he spent 25 years at Shell in a variety of engineering, technical and business leadership roles in Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. In all, he has been associated with oil and gas activities in 52 countries internationally. 

He is past chairman and member of the Upstream Committee of the American Petroleum Institute and is on the boards of the American Exploration and Production Council; the Greater Houston Partnership; the Houston Energy Transition Initiative; and the Accenture Global Energy Initiative. He also is a member of the Council on Competitiveness and a national commissioner on the council’s National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers. 

Hill’s service to UW and Wyoming includes being a board member and past chairman of the UW Foundation; a board member of the WYldlife Fund; co-chair of the Wyoming Governor’s ENDOW initiative and the Wyoming Governor’s Energy, Engineering and STEM Integration Task Force; and a member of the Wyoming Business Council board.

Hill was named Houston’s International Citizen of the Year in 2022 by the World Affairs Council and a UW distinguished alumnus in 2015. He is a lecturer on leadership at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. 

“Greg is that rare combination of success and modesty. His career has reached a pinnacle few will ever attain,” wrote former Gov. Dave Freudenthal. “His reach extends to all students at the University of Wyoming in perpetuity, as he has permanently bettered our university in a multitude of ways. That, in turn, benefits our state.”

“(Hill) is among a very elite group of graduates who have gone on to hold key leadership roles in the energy industries that have shaped our state and nation,” wrote Cameron Wright, the Carrell Family Dean of UW’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. “His affiliation with and love for our college is palpable when speaking with Greg, and he has taken that fondness and shaped it into a commitment that has paid untold dividends to UW.”

“(Hill’s) is a story of success but also a story of humble beginnings,” wrote former UW Trustee Jeff Marsh, of Torrington. “It is the story of how one individual took their education at UW and used it as a force to shape our world while never losing sight of his Wyoming roots, his Wyoming values and his love for Wyoming.”

Hull is a distinguished scientist and public health expert renowned for his expertise in infectious disease epidemiology, molecular diagnostics and bioinformatics. At APHL, he oversees projects related to next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, genomic epidemiology and wastewater-based epidemiology. His leadership at APHL has been instrumental in supporting over 70 countries to enhance their capabilities and capacity in detecting and responding to infectious disease threats.

Hull obtained his Ph.D. in infectious disease epidemiology and molecular diagnostics from UW’s Department of Veterinary Sciences in 2017. He completed his Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2013 and his Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from UW in 2012.

Before his role at APHL, Hull was the microbiology program manager at the Wyoming Department of Health’s Wyoming Public Health Laboratory, where he managed the laboratory’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the implementation of a 24/7 schedule, the recruitment of over 120 additional surge staff, and the processing of up to 3,500 patient samples daily.

Hull is a member of several professional societies and has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of public health.

“Throughout his career, Dr. Hull has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing public health on both a national and global scale,” wrote Joseph Reed, the Wyoming Department of Health’s laboratory administrator. “He has not only displayed exceptional expertise in next-generation sequencing, but his visionary leadership and dedication to promoting health equity and access for all populations have made him a true trailblazer in the field.”

During his time with the Wyoming Department of Health, Hull continually reached out to citizens and UW collaborators, including UW undergraduates, says Rachel Watson, a senior lecturer in UW’s Division of Kinesiology and Health and director of the UW Science Initiative’s Learning Actively Mentoring Program. This included volunteering his time to connect educators and students with cutting-edge technologies they otherwise never would have the opportunity to learn and use; scheduling tours of his lab on Saturdays; donating older yet still state-of-the-art pieces to UW’s student lab; and volunteering as an official learning coach for a microbiology capstone course.

“Noah understands that inspirational change is born of connections between scholars who are all doing meaningful work. Noah knows that team science is the cornerstone of the future and that relationships are the key ingredient in the change equation,” Watson says. “Noah recognizes that true team science integrates not only other pedigreed scholars, but also educators, students and citizens. Noah is a leader. If one were to look at a statewide web/social network, Noah would be a hub.”