Sir Colin Renshaw Lucas, (born 25 August 1940) is a British historian and university administrator. From 1997 to 2004, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. In May 2006, he was appointed Chair of the Board of the British Library for a four-year term ending 2010.

Early life and education

Lucas was born in Egypt, the son of Frank Renshaw Lucas and Janine Charpentier. He was educated at Sherborne and at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

Academic career

After graduation, he took a post as a lecturer at the University of Sheffield (1965–69), and then later at the University of Manchester (1970–73). He became a Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Balliol College in 1973. In 1990, he took a post at the University of Chicago as Professor of History, where he became chair of the History Department in 1992 and Dean of the Division of Social Sciences in 1993. He returned to Oxford in 1994 to become Master of Balliol College (1994–2000). Lucas was the first Oxford Vice-Chancellor to serve for seven years (1997–2004), during which time he implemented many changes in the University governance structure, such as the adoption of external members to the University's Council, a radical restructuring of the committee system, divisionalism of academic departments, the establishment of a University Committee on Access and the adoption of new resource allocation and financial management systems. On his retirement as Vice-Chancellor, Lucas was appointed Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford, responsible for the running of the Rhodes Scholarships (2004–2009). He had previously served as a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust. He also has been serving as a Trustee of the University of the People. Lucas specializes in the history of 18th-century France, especially the French Revolution. His academic publications include ''The Structure of the Terror'' (1973) and ''Beyond the Terror'' (with Gwynne Lewis, 1983), as well as numerous essays and articles.

Personal life

Lucas is the godfather of the politician Boris Johnson. Lucas is married to Lady Marie-Louise.

Honours

In 2002, he was appointed Knight Bachelor for his services to higher education. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) since 1973. He was awarded an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres ( France) in 1990, Chevalier Ordre du Mérite in 1994, and Légion d'Honneur in 1998 (Officier in 2005). He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2004. In 2013, he was awarded a Doctor honoris causa by Heidelberg University. In 2014. he was awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star by

Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...

. Portraits of Sir Colin Lucas hang at Balliol College and at Rhodes House, Oxford (the latter by Bob Tulloch).

List of positions held

*Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford *Chairman of the Delegates of the Press (within the University of Oxford) *President of the Development Programme (within the University of Oxford) *Formerly Trustee of the Rhodes Trust *Trustee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation *Trustee of the University of the People *Education Adviser to the State Governor of Guangdong Province, China * Warden of Rhodes House * British Library Board *Chair of the

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

AimHigher Aimhigher is an umbrella term to describe initiatives aimed at widening participation in UK higher education, particularly among students from non-traditional backgrounds, minority groups and disabled persons. Aimhigher was an initiative by the f ...

Programme

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Colin Renshaw 1940 births Living people People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Academics of the University of Sheffield Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Masters of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Vice-Chancellors of the University of Oxford Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Wardens of Rhodes House Oxford University Press people Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star British expatriates in Egypt Members of the American Philosophical Society University of the People people