Professor Sir Colin Lucas graduated from the University of Oxford in Modern History and has pursued a research career in French History. He has worked at universities in the UK, France and North America. He was Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago and then Master of Balliol College, University of Oxford. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1997 to 2004, where he implemented significant reforms. Subsequently, he was Chairman of the British Library and administered the Rhodes Scholarships. He was a member of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee (UGC) from 2002 to 2014. He has been a member of numerous university advisory committees internationally and was a Trustee of the Mellon Foundation.

Knighted in 2002, Sir Colin Lucas is also an Officer of France’s Legion of Honour, as well as a recipient of Hong Kong’s Bronze Bauhinia Star. He has received honorary doctorates from universities around the world, including Princeton, Peking and Oxford.