University staff have paid tribute to the late Jimmy Reid, whose funeral takes place today at the United Church of Bute in Rothesay.

Principal Professor Anton Muscatelli led tributes to the former Rector of the University who died at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock last week.

He was 78-years-old. Jimmy Reid

Principal Muscatelli said: "The late Jimmy Reid stands as one of the great University of Glasgow Rectors. Whatever political perspective people viewed him from, it is undeniable that he changed the course of the Scottish Labour movement and impacted thousand of lives beyond it.

"He is a truly iconic figure and one in whom the University is enormously proud. His Rectorial speech continues to resound today with as much as power and passion as when it was first delivered in 1971."

Govan-born Reid was a lifelong socialist who gained international recognition for leading a 'work-in' by thousands on the Clyde between 1971 and 1972. After the publicly-owned Upper Clyde Shipbuilders went into debt, the Conservative government of the day refused to give it a loan. The decision would have seen between 6000 and 8500 workers lose their jobs.

The shipyard staff instead continued to work to dispel the myth they were work-shy and prove the yards could be viable.

The action resulted in the government retaining two yards, selling a third and investing £35million into yards along the river Clyde. Two of the shipyards remain open today.

Reid was voted to the office of University Rector the same year as the work-in began.

His Rectorial installation speech  was described as being decades ahead of its time and one of the finest pieces of oratory of the 20th century.

In it, Reid instructed students to reject individualism and the "rat race" and remember their common humanity. The New York Times printed it in full, and described it as the greatest speech since Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Tommy Gore, President of the Student Representative Council, said: "Jimmy Reid was a very special Rector. Whether he was fighting for the pensioners in Govan in the 1950s, the UCS shipyard workers or the students at the University, Jimmy was always fighting for the underdog.

"He embodied the spirit of the SRC, and wasn't afraid to speak out on behalf of students."

Reid, who later went on to become a journalist and broadcaster, is survived by his wife and three daughters.

To read more on his life please see The University of Glasgow Story.

*Photograph copyright The Scotsman

For more media information please contact Eleanor Cowie, Media Relations Officer, on 0141 330 3683 or Eleanor.Cowie@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 18 August 2010

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