J. William Hillman received his bachelor's degree at Emory and Henry College and his doctorate of medicine in 1945 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He came to Vanderbilt University from Johns Hopkins in 1952 as an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery. In 1962 Hillman became chair of the department and grew to national stature in his field. Hillman was member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Council for Handicapped Children and a member of the Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. He also served on the board of the Bill Wilkerson Hearing and Speech Center. Hillman was chief of orthopaedic surgery for the Junior League Home for Crippled Children and a consultant for the state in that work throughout Tennessee.