Background

James was born on November 20, 1899, in Hickory, North Carolina, United States.

Education

James Hilton graduated from Startown High School in Newton, North Carolina, United States. In 1918 he enrolled in North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, and took care of the dairy herd while also working for the Extension Service. The next year, he decided to transfer to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, United States, in search of better livestock production facilities and resources. In 1923 James received his Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry from Iowa State University and was hired as an instructor there.

In 1937 James Harold received his Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. In 1945 he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indians, United States.

Career

During his time at Iowa State, James continued to support his studies by working with dairy cattle and in the meat laboratory. He did leave school briefly in 1921 to serve as the assistant county extension agent in Jefferson County, and also served as the assistant 4-H Club leader at Iowa State, 1922.

From 1924 to 1927 James was the county extension agent for Greene County, Iowa, United States, after which he joined the Dairy Extension staff at Purdue University as an assistant professor, from 1927 to 1936. He was promoted to associate professor, from 1936 to 1938, and professor, from 1939 to 1944, and was also named the assistant chief of the Dairy Husbandry Department, in 1940.

In 1945 Hilton returned to North Carolina State University as head of the Animal Husbandry Department, and in 1948 was appointed dean of agriculture. He represented agricultural interests on several state boards and committees. In 1952 the North Carolina State yearbook was dedicated to Dean Hilton as a leader in agriculture whose “time has been spent unselfishly in raising the standards in his school”.

In 1953 Hilton was appointed to the presidency of his alma mater, Iowa State College, the first alumnus to undertake the position. During his 12-year presidency, Iowa State witnessed tremendous growth in physical facilities, enrollment, course offerings, and public service, in many ways the result of Hilton’s vision. Although he was associated mainly with the development of the Iowa State University Center, comprising Hilton Coliseum, named in his honor, Stephens Auditorium, voted “Building of the Century” by the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and Fisher Theater, Hilton once remarked that he received greater satisfaction from his efforts in “getting from the legislature the necessary funds needed to improve salaries, insurance programs, and retirement programs”.

In 1959, a year after its centennial, the institution received official recognition of its status as Iowa State University of Science and Technology. Upon his retirement from the presidency, Hilton was named ISU’s first director of development. He returned to North Carolina, where he served as the executive secretary and treasurer, from 1967 to 1971, for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

Achievements

• In 1948 Hilton was named “Man of the Year” by the Progressive Farmer magazine.
  
  James received honorary doctorates from Cornell College, North Carolina State University, and Iowa State, as well as a Doctor of Laws degree from Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, United States.

Views

Quotations: "After my first semester, family funds were exhausted, so I got a job milking and feeding two dairy cows at the school. This lasted only a couple of months because a hunter accidentally shot one of the cows and even though I put a splint on her leg she had to be destroyed. After that, I worked on the school farm for part of my room and board".

"I answered an ad for a taxi driver and, though I had never before operated an automobile, I was hired to drive visitors up into the nearby mountain area. I got my first load to its destination about sundown, borrowed a lantern that I tied to the front of the car, and perilously crawled back down the mountainside. It occurred to me that I wasn't really cut out to be a taxi driver under those circumstances".

Membership

Hilton was also actively involved in the Ames community by serving on the board of Mary Greeley Hospital and the Ames Foundation. He was a member of the Rotary. Nationally, he served at various times on the boards for the Quaker Oats Company, the Federal Reserve of Chicago, the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, and the Farm Foundation of Chicago.

James Harold was a member of several academic organizations and societies, including Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Zeta, Gamma Sigma Delta, Epsilon Sigma Phi, the American Dairy Science Association, and the American Society of Animal Production.

Connections

In 1923 Hilton married Lois Baker. They had three children, Eleanor, Helen, and James G. After the death of Lois Hilton in 1969, he married Helen LeBaron, in 1970.

Spouse:

Helen LeBaron

Helen was dean of the College of Home Economics.

ex-spouse:

Lois Baker

Daughter:

Eleanor Hilton

Daughter:

Helen Hilton

Son:

James G. Hilton

References

• The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa Iowa has been blessed with citizens of strong character who have made invaluable contributions to the state and to the nation. In the 1930s alone, such towering figures as John L. Lewis, Henry A. Wallace, and Herbert Hoover hugely influenced the nation’s affairs.
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