Sir Colin Renshaw Lucas, (born 25 August 1940) is a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

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 The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

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 Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

and at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

Academic career

After graduation, he took a post as a lecturer at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

(1965–69), and then later at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

(1970–73). He became a Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

in 1973. In 1990, he took a post at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

as Professor of History, where he became chair of the History Department in 1992 and Dean of the Division of

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

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, division 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 Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is Listed building#En ...

, Oxford, responsible for the running of the Rhodes Scholarships (2004–2009). He had previously served as a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust.

Personal life

Lucas is the godfather of the politician

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

. Lucas is married to Marie-Louise, Lady Lucas.

Honours

In 2002, he was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

for his services to

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. He has been a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

(FRHistS) since 1973. He was awarded an Officier de

l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant co ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) in 1990, Chevalier

Ordre du Mérite A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to f ...

in 1994, and

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1998 (Officier in 2005). He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2004. In 2013, he was awarded a

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

. In 2014, he was awarded a

Bronze Bauhinia Star The Bronze Bauhinia Star (, BBS) is the lowest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star, under the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, pers ...

by Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Portraits of Sir Colin Lucas hang at

and at

, Oxford (the latter by Bob Tulloch).

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 Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Bronze Bauhinia Star British expatriates in Egypt Members of the American Philosophical Society Historians of the University of Oxford