Colin Bell (1 March 1942 – 24 April 2003) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

sociologist who served as the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

for the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

between 1998 and 2001 and who was later Principal at the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

.The Guardian 1 May 2003
Obituary: Colin BellBBC News 25 April 2003
University Principal Dies He died suddenly on 24 April 2003 and the University of Bradford now holds an annual memorial lecture in his name discussing

widening participation Widening participation (WP) in higher education is a major component of government education policy in the United Kingdom and Europe. It consists of an attempt to increase not only the numbers of young people entering higher education, but also th ...

. The University of Stirling named the building currently housing the Department of Social Science after him.

Life

Bell was born in Kent, graduated from the

University of Keele Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University Coll ...

and was awarded his postgraduate degree at the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

. He was well known for his

internationalism Internationalism may refer to: * Cosmopolitanism, the view that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality as opposed to communitarianism, patriotism and nationalism * International Style, a major architectur ...

, his opposition to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, which began shortly before his death, and his dedication to the cause of making higher education more accessible to students from socially deprived backgrounds. He married twice: to Jocelyn Mumford in 1964 and later to Janette Webb. He had four children—Rachel and Luke by his first marriage, and two daughters Islay (b. 1989) and Catherine (b. 1992) by his second.

References

External links

Article on the life and death of Prof. Colin Bell by the BBCObituary in ''the Independent''

Colin Bell at "Pioneers of Qualitative Research" from the Economic and Social Data Service
English sociologists People associated with the University of Stirling People associated with the University of Bradford 1942 births 2003 deaths Alumni of Keele University Alumni of the University of Wales Vice-Chancellors of the University of Bradford {{UK-academic-bio-stub