Announcement: Teresa Smith

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Teresa Smith. 

Born in 1941, Teresa Smith was the daughter of R. G. Collingwood and his second wife, Kathleen Edwardes. She studied ‘Greats’ at Oxford before teaching in Thailand, after which she returned to Oxford in 1966 to take the Diploma in Social and Administrative Studies. She then worked for the Oxford Council of Social Service before being recruited in 1969 by AH Halsey to work in the West Riding EPA.  She began teaching part-time in the department in 1974, and she was elected as a Fellow of St Hilda’s College in the 1990s.  Her research focused on community, social regeneration, family and childcare, and the evaluation of community-based programmes for young children and their families, particularly multi-agency working; most recently, she was a member of the consortium conducting the national evaluation of children’s centres in England. She was elected as Head of the Department for eight years between 1997-2005.  

Teresa’s research and policy contributions were far reaching at a national level. In addition to her many publications which were widely cited, she contributed to the PMDU 2002 Interdepartmental Review which led to the development of children’s centres and the extended schools agenda, and to the 2005 review of services for children and families by the then Social Exclusion Unit. She advised the Cabinet Office, and was a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Children Schools and Families Select Committee during its inquiries into children’s centres and social work training 2004–10. She was also a Research Associate at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and a trustee for the Pen Green Research Centre.

Teresa’s love of DSPI was perhaps nowhere better indicated than in her contribution alongside George (her husband) and Liz Peretz to the production of a full centenary history of the Department Social Enquiry, Social Reform and Social Action. As with the Violet Butler Room, the second largest room in the department was named after George and Teresa Smith as a reflection of their contribution alongside the instigation of an annual George and Teresa Smith award for the best MSc thesis.

In addition to her academic work, Teresa served as an elected member of Oxfordshire County Council 1985–93 and was also an active member of a local child poverty group for many years, formerly a branch of the Child Poverty Action Group.

Following her retirement Teresa continued to undertake research and teaching, and to contribute to DSPI’s annual Sidney Ball Lecture.

Teresa was committed to making a positive difference to the world, not just through the supportive personal relationships she created around her in DSPI and elsewhere but also through her energetic pursuit of progressive causes.  Building on the work of her predecessors, including AH Halsey, Teresa played a key role in both continuing and redefining DSPI ‘s teaching and research trajectory, and thereby to building everything that DSPI stands for today.

We send our deepest sympathies to her husband and son, and to her many friends and colleagues, who will be feeling her loss so greatly.

If you are a member of DSPI and would like to share a tribute to Teresa, please use this form to submit your message. Tributes will be regularly uploaded below this text. 

Tributes 

George Smith: 

A Tribute from George Smith to His Wife, Teresa Smith Collingwood (1941-2024)

Dr Liz Peretz, Associate Fellow:

Over many decades Teresa has been a tremendous force for the good in our lives, at the department and far outside it. Not afraid of telling truth to power, she has informed countless government committees in their decisions about services for our young. Her ideas and actions have inspired students and colleagues across the world. Her writing and memory will continue to inspire us to lead our best lives. And despite her undoubted international standing she was never too busy to listen, provide a helping hand, support community groups and raise her voice in local democracy. She was proud to be in the tradition of our Barnett House founders, combining her razor sharp intelligence with benign tolerance. A rare gift. A deeply sad loss.

Fran Bennett, Associate Fellow:

I knew Teresa and George before starting to work at DSPI, as they were long-term supporters of the Child Poverty Action Group for which I then worked and they had written for CPAG about education.
But the main reason for me to be grateful to Teresa is that she with other colleagues welcomed me into the DSPI, initially in the late 1990s for one day a week. She was also unfailingly supportive as I expanded my role and ended up staying for over two decades. Teresa was always thoughtful, generous and kind to all.
The other way I knew Teresa for many years was in the Oxford based child poverty group which was originally a local CPAG branch. She was a long-standing loyal and active member, who attended the monthly meetings whenever she could, sharing her expertise and engaging in collective actions and projects, and taking her turn in writing the minutes – doing this for the last time only a few months ago.
Teresa was committed to making a positive difference in the world, not just through the supportive personal relationships she created around her in DSPI and elsewhere but also through her energetic pursuit of progressive causes. I will miss her enormously.

Kathy Walker, Departmental Finance Officer: 

Teresa always seemed to have been familiar to me, even before the first day that we met.  George employed me as a two-week holiday temp in 1976.  George and Teresa were the first members of my Barnett House family and my time as a temp soon progressed to being fully employed by the University.  

Later I enjoyed working with Teresa as the PA when Teresa was Head of Department. Although it was such a busy time, we were short-staffed and both multi-tasking with other jobs within the Department and elsewhere, at the same time. Teresa always had time for everyone, with a smile or a hug when needed. Flowers at reception meant that Teresa was in the Department.  Teresa and George have always been so generous with all the things that matter, their time, their energy and so much hard work. I also remember summer parties for everyone at their house, where there was also a creche for children and so many other things going on. Christmas parties or meals out with the whole Department attending and Christmas carols in the common room.  So I am remembering Teresa with much love always and happy memories.  

John Haskey, Associate Fellow: 

Teresa was always welcoming, supportive, encouraging, and kind. She was inspirational in being intellectually curious, carried out with a disciplined enquiry - and with a sense of fun! To me, she represented an Oxford tradition of dedicated exploration for exploration's sake. She will be greatly missed.

Professor Mary Daly:

Teresa’s work and commitment to positive policy change were well-known and widely-admired. She was a trailblazer in regard to services for children and families, among other areas, undertaking ‘impact’ before it became widespread in academia. She combined a deep understanding of the realities of family and community life with the history and possibilities of social policy to make life better. She worked to bring about change at many levels, being especially active at both local and national levels. Teresa was personally very supportive of me when I joined the Department. She showed her welcome and kindness in countless ways. She was always interested to know what I was working on at particular points in time and could readily direct me to relevant sources of information and activity. She helped me in thinking about the legacy of Barnett House and how it could be incorporated into contemporary teaching on the social policy course (which I included in some of the opening lectures). I felt a deep sense of admiration for her and was always happy to see her, whether attending seminars or arranging flowers at the front desk. Even the latter alone is testimony to how much the Department meant to her.

Dr Ben Chrisinger, Associate Member:

I met Teresa during my first term at DSPI in January 2019, when she was a guest lecturer in Community Analysis and Large-Scale Intervention. She and Naomi Eisenstadt gave an excellent lecture on Sure Start. It was unmistakable how Teresa was both dedicated to the children and families Sure Start was designed to support, and the design of rigorous evaluation research. I quickly saw why the lecture was an informal tradition in Community Analysis, something we were lucky enough to continue virtually amid the pandemic. Though my years at DSPI were few compared to Teresa, I benefitted from the intellectual and social community she helped foster at Barnett House. Her generosity toward our staff and students was always clear, accompanied by her radiant smile. Just before I left Oxford, Teresa and I had one last cup of coffee to discuss my upcoming move. Leaving DSPI was difficult, and her kind encouragement lifted my spirits. I am grateful to have met her.