Members of the Gonville and Caius Students Union (GCSU) have expressed concerns about the College’s plans to hold an exhibition celebrating the work of the controversial statistician and eugenicist Sir Ronald Fisher.

The exhibition is to be displayed in the College’s library in Michaelmas 2025.

Fisher was a Fellow of the College between 1920 and 1926, and again from 1943 to 1962. While an undergraduate at Cambridge, he became a founding member of the University of Cambridge Eugenics Society, of which economist John Maynard Keynes was also a member. He later became the Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics during his second spell as a Fellow.

Fisher was also the Galton Professor of Eugenics at University College London between 1933 and 1943.

The proposal for an exhibition was submitted to the Gonville and Caius College Council on May 21 by Professor Anthony Edwards, a life Fellow of Caius and former student of Fisher. Edwards previously advocated for a stained glass window to be installed in the Caius dining hall to commemorate Fisher. The window was completed in 1989.

In 2020, Extinction Rebellion Youth Cambridge spray-painted the College’s Gate of Honour in protest against the window. After a student petition which garnered more than 1400 signatures, the window was removed to the College’s archives. Edwards expressed strong opposition to its removal.

According to the proposal submitted to the Council, the exhibition would focus exclusively on Fisher’s book Statistical Methods for Research Workers, as well as “the books that followed in its footsteps,” as 2025 is the centenary of its publication. The proposal describes the book as “the foundation book of modern statistical theory,” which had an “immeasurable” impact on science.

Edwards confirmed to Varsity that the College Council had approved his proposal. “My hopes are that the exhibition will create an understanding of how the Fisherian revolution came about, its sources and its sequels, with an emphasis for today’s students on how Caius teaching in the Mathematical Tripos lit the flame that came to burn so brightly,” he said.

“I would expect it to interest students from other Colleges and from the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, as well as those to whom the story of one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century has not previously attracted much attention,” Edwards added.

Edwards explained that he is “keen to help resolve” the controversy that has arisen amongst students over the proposal.

Edwards currently has a book in press, titled The Latin Square, which comprises a set of essays he has written on the subject of Fisher’s views, which he considers to be greatly misunderstood.

A proof version of the book’s cover, seen by Varsity, states that The Latin Square “exposes in a series of essays the falsity of the charges laid against Fisher during the campaign of ‘cancelling’ that rocked the year 2020”.

According to meeting minutes taken on May 21, the GCSU unanimously voted that it was “not in favour” of the exhibition.

Some GCSU members suggested that Fisher’s academic research is inextricably linked to his personal views, while others proposed that contextual information be provided about his opinions at the exhibit.

One GCSU member said that even providing this contextual information could raise the question as to why Fisher, as opposed to any other former Fellow, should be celebrated in such a way.

One student at Caius told Varsity that they didn’t “see any benefit in displaying this outdated idea”. They added: “It doesn’t reflect the views of students, and it doesn’t reflect well on the College.”

A second student expressed concern that the College may be perceived as being “happy to celebrate” eugenicists.

Another described it as “inappropriate for the College to hold an exhibition about Fisher’s scholarly contributions without also acknowledging his role in propagating unconscionable narratives of race and natural hierarchy.” They continued: “There’s nothing inherently wrong with exhibiting controversial work, but it has to be done sensitively.”

A Caius spokesperson said: “A College Fellow has proposed an exhibition in the College’s Lower Library to mark the centenary of the publication of Statistical Methods, a book by R.A. Fisher. A working group is to be established to plan a display. The group will consult with students. It is premature to speculate on what the final form the display may take.”