Dr Colin Fraser Emeritus Fellow of the College has passed away at the age of 88 after a short illness. His sudden death after 50 years of active contribution to the life of the College will be keenly felt by its community. His cheerful and friendly demeanour was appreciated by all those whom he came into contact with, Fellows, Students and Staff.
Colin Fraser joined Churchill College in 1976 as a College Lecturer in Social Psychology a position he held until 2000. He had previously held academic positions in the Departments of Psychology at MIT, University of Exeter, University of Birmingham and University of Bristol. Within the University he joined the Social and Developmental Psychology Group within the Department of Social and Political Sciences.
Colin was an influential voice in the then developing field of Social Psychology, carrying out research into group decision-making and group polarization. Areas of study which continue to resonate to this day. Current Fellow Professor Sander van der Linden acknowledged this important early contribution and the stimulation he had personally received on joining Churchill in 2016.
He wrote several books within his subject area including notable textbooks and primers in Social Psychology. Colin was a long serving Director of Studies in Social and Political Sciences, 1976-1994. He was well liked by his students and took advantage of his close domestic proximity to the College to entertain students alongside his wife, Carole. As well as teaching within his own department, he taught within the Medical Sciences Tripos and the Archaeology and Anthropology Tripos. In this, as with so much else, he was a true believer in interdisciplinarity.
Colin became an Undergraduate Tutor in 1990 then progressed to become Senior Tutor in 1995. In taking on this role, he brought much-needed stability to the College after two fairly short previous appointments. He also had the difficult task of navigating the College through the changes in funding arrangements that occurred at that time. Then Vice-Master Mark Goldie recalls persuading Colin to take on the role and him responding in typically measured fashion. It took two laps of the extensive College grounds, but once convinced he gave the role all of his considerable talents.
Colin was deeply committed to the Visual Arts at Churchill College and brought about significant change to the collection as well as to how it was managed. Through his membership of the Appointments Committee at Kettle’s Yard, he first introduced the then upcoming artist Dhruva Mistry (now a Royal Academician) to the College. This directly led to notable works such as Diagram of an Object (Second State) and Regarding Guardian becoming part of the collection. Secondly, he was also instrumental in the appointment of a professional Curator of the College’s collection. The effective partnership of Colin, as Chair of the Hanging Committee, and Barry Phipps brought about a transformation of the collection which is a lasting visible legacy of his contribution to College life. This is perhaps exemplified by his Chairing of the committee that led to the commissioning and installation of Modified Social Bench (for Cambridge) by renowned artist Jeppe Hein in fulfilment of the College’s Section 106/Public Art obligations.
As an Emeritus Fellow, Colin continued to be a large part of College life. Burn’s Night would see him in attendance, since doughty Scot he was, and he often gave the Address to the Haggis in inimitable style, but he was equally an excellent dinner companion at any quieter occasion when he could talk both persuasively and pragmatically on a plethora of issues, including political! He was a great supporter of musical activity and would be regularly found enjoying concerts within College or at Kettle’s Yard. Members of College were able to enjoy his great companionship until just prior to his final illness making his loss all the more poignant. His wife, Dr Carole Fraser, sadly died in February 2025 and he is survived by three sons.