UA Names Hill Alabama Productivity Center’s Executive Director

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Thomas A. Hill has been named the new executive director of the Alabama Productivity Center at The University of Alabama.

Hill formerly was employed as director of Alabama Technology Network’s Birmingham centers.

“Thomas Hill brings formidable experience in improving quality in manufacturing through the managerial concept of Lean and Six Sigma that results in the elimination of waste,” said Dr. J. Michael Hardin, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama, which oversees the productivity center. “We are fortunate to have found an individual who also has his experience in workforce and economic development.”

The APC, a nonprofit organization at UA, works to improve Alabama companies’ quality, productivity and competitiveness through the use of the University’s research and educational resources.

“We are confident that Mr. Hill will bring an innovative approach to assisting the state’s industrial community,” Hardin said. “He has developed relationships within many of the state’s manufacturers, including those producing automobiles and medical devices. He has associations with foundries and those in fabrication as well as with workforce development councils and other important stakeholders in the state.”

Hill is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering with a concentration in information and engineering management.