Syndicate and supporters

Today the Fitzwilliam Museum cares for a vast and varied collection of objects, ranging from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities to the arts of the present day. It has one of the finest collections of paintings, drawings and prints in Britain, significant collections of Asian art, medieval illuminated manuscripts, and outstanding collections of applied arts, pottery, porcelain and medieval coins.

It is a UK leader in fine-art conservation, and its Hamilton Kerr Institute is one of the world’s foremost centres for teaching in the conservation of easel paintings.

Our Staff and Departments work together to achieve our vision and mission.

Governance

The Fitzwilliam is a Non‐School Institution of the University, overseen by the University’s General Board and governed by the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate, a General Board committee.

The Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate

Local governance is undertaken by the Syndicate of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

As of March 2026 the Syndics are:

• Sir Richard Heaton KCB

Richard has been Warden of Robinson since October 2021. Richard joined the College after a Civil Service career focusing on justice and the constitution. He was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown from 2015 to 2020. Before that, he was Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office. Richard currently chairs the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate, is Chair of Trustees at Koestler Arts, which promotes rehabilitation through art in prisons, and Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Government Art Collection.

Richard is the Chair of the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate.

• Prof. Sir, John Aston

John is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Cambridge and the Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life.

John is a non-executive board member of the UK Statistics Authority and was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office and Director-General for Science, Technology, Analysis, Research and Strategy from 2017–20. He was a founding director of the Alan Turing Institute. John is a member of the London Policing Board and current President of the Royal Statistical Society. He is a Fellow of Churchill College and previously held positions at University of Warwick and Academia Sinica in Taiwan. John was knighted for services to statistics and public policymaking.

• Dr Carol Atack

Carol is a writer and researcher based at Newnham College in Cambridge where she is a fellow and Director of Studies in Classics.

Her research interests include ancient Greek political thought and philosophy, the history of democracy, and the history of sexuality and gender. She has published many articles and chapters on fourth-century BCE Greek political thought and its contexts, on topics ranging from free speech to queer time. Earlier in her career Carol worked as a journalist and technical writer covering the emerging field of personal computers.

Carol is a member of the Finances and General Purposes Committee.

• Prof. Donal Cooper

Donal is University Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art and a Fellow of Jesus College, His research focuses on sacred art and architecture in Italy from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries.

He has worked in the Research Department at the V&A. Before joining Cambridge, he was Assistant and then Associate Professor in the History of Art Department at the University of Warwick. He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize for outstanding scholarship in 2006 and held a Hannah Kiel Fellowship at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti in Florence.

Donal chairs the Research Committee.

• Professor Dame Diane Coyle

Diane is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She co-directs the Bennett Institute where she heads research under the themes of progress and productivity.

Diane is also a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Council, New Towns Taskforce, and advises the Competition and Markets Authority. She has served previously in a number of public service roles including as Vice Chair of the BBC Trust, member of the Competition Commission, and of the Natural Capital Committee. Diane was awarded a DBE for her contribution to economics and public policy.

Diane is a member of the Nominations Committee.

• The Countess of Derby

Caroline (Cazzy) is a historian, curator and storyteller. 

She studied History and History of Art at London University and then worked as Exhibitions Assistant to the Royal Collection for a decade. The Countess is an Ambassador of the English Speaking Union (America), and has been president of Alder Hey Children’s Charity for 25 years. She is also patron of Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice. She has presented series of podcasts on history and is convinced that education and knowledge of history have the power to change lives.

• William Dawkins

Will chairs the Marlay Group, the Fitzwilliam Museum’s patrons’ organisation, and chairs the nominations committee of the Fitzwilliam Museum Syndicate.

He has 25 years’ experience as a journalist, most of which was with the Financial Times, where he was a foreign correspondent based in Brussels, Paris and Tokyo, then Foreign Editor and Publishing Editor. He was then a headhunter, initially with Odgers then with Spencer Stuart, where he led the UK board and chief executive practice. Will is a former chair and current trustee of the Evelyn Trust, a medical research grant giving charity, and a former governor of the Perse School.

Will chairs the Nominations Committee.

• Dr. Norman Fraser

Norman is a Cambridge-based entrepreneur with more than thirty years of experience in starting and building successful multinational businesses, including Vocalis Group plc and Endava plc.

Having started out in research, he has held a number of academic positions in parallel with his business career. He is currently Adjunct Professor in Aalborg Business School and a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge.

Norman is a member of the Museum’s Collections Development Group.

• Adam Glinsman

Adam has over 30 years of experience in senior roles across the finance and investment industry, including Partner/COO of Lansdowne Partners, Partner/CEO of Cantab Capital Partners, and NED at the inception of Cambridge Innovation Capital, a University affiliated growth investor commercialising technology out of the Cambridge eco-system.

He is a former benefactor and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Arts Theatre, current Patron of the Cambridge Literary Festival, benefactor to the LSE Scholarship Program, Maggie’s Cancer Centres and the Woolf Institute in Cambridge.

Adam is a member of the Museum’s Finances and General Purposes Committee.

• Prof. Alex Marr

Alexander is Professor of Renaissance and Early Modern Art at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity Hall, where he is Dean of Discipline.

He is Head of the Department of History of Art and Co-Chair of the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art. He specializes in European and British art and architecture 1400-1800, especially their intellectual, literary, and scientific aspects.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, President of the Leonardo da Vinci Society, and a Trustee of the Walpole Society. He was the Founding Director of Cambridge Visual Culture.

• Prof. Sujit Sivasundaram

Sujit is Professor of World History in the Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College.

He is also a Fellow of the British Academy. Sujit specialises in the history Pacific and Indian oceans and their islands in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as environmental history, the history of race, imperial history and the history of science. He currently leads an ERC/UKRI collaborative research project on the long histories of the global South city as illustrated by the city of Colombo.

Sujit is a member of the Nominations Committee.

• Mr Luke Syson (Secretary)

Observers

• Juliette Fritsch 

Supporters of the Fitzwilliam Museum

The Fitzwilliam Museum and its work are supported by numerous private donors, sponsors, public bodies and trusts and foundations. Its key supporters are:

• The University of Cambridge
• Cambridge City Council
• The Arts Council
• HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England)

The Museum is also supported by its patrons, the Marlay Group, and by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam.

The Fitzwilliam pursues a vigorous acquisitions policy to help hold the nation’s treasures in trust. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Art Fund as a major supporter of acquisitions, and HM Treasury for the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.