Gregor arrived at Bristol in 1997 as the established Chair in Sociology, stepping into the role of Head of Department after a long period of institutional decline. He proved pivotal in the subsequent years in restoring the department to its leading status in the UK and beyond; achievements he was to consolidate in his later Headship of SPAIS (Sociology, Politics and International Studies).
This 1997 appointment was, in fact, a return, since Gregor had studied English and Philosophy at the University in the early 1970s as an undergraduate with the well-known literary scholar, Christopher Ricks. From there, he moved on to study at Stuart Hall's renowned Birmingham Centre for Cultural Studies, a pioneering nexus of cultural scholars, philosophers and (mostly Marxist) theorists. His first book, Marxism and the Philosophies of History (1981) was a pathbreaking attempt to reconcile Marxist theory with liberal forms of historiography. It marked out Gregor's career path as a critical post-Marxist scholar who entirely eschewed the sectarianism of many of the previous luminaries in this arena of academic and political life. This work was well respected by both philosophers and practicing historians, and broke down the boundaries between the fields.
His subsequent work, after his elevation from Birmingham to the Head of the Sociology, Department at Massey University in New Zealand, became more focused on sociology per se, cultural theory and especially the political legacies of Marxism, liberalism and pluralism. His two books on pluralism - (Marxism, Pluralism and Beyond, 1989 and Pluralism, 1995) - were landmarks in the field and foreshadowed a great deal of subsequent work on cultural and political difference that later became so central in philosophy and the social sciences.
These were themes that he consolidated after his move to Bristol as Professor of Sociology in his work on cultural power and Eurocentricsm (particularly in his book, Sociological Cultural Studies, 2006), once again, themes that later became staple, but which at the time were critically undeveloped. With typical modesty, Gregor also engaged with consolidating and developing the legacy of Stuart Hall, and towards the end of his life produced a brilliant edition - with a stunning introduction and impressive scholarly apparatus - of Hall's pathbreaking, but neglected, works on Marxism (Selected Writings on Marxism, 2021). During this period, Gregor also worked on secularism and post-secularism as cultural and political categories, work which in some ways returned him to his core theme of how to reconcile pluralism and difference with progressive cultural and political values.
Gregor's involvement with the University extended far beyond his own department. From 2009-2012, he led the Institute of Advanced Studies where he soon gained a reputation for generating genuine interdisciplinary synergy amongst arts, the social sciences and the natural sciences. As Warden of Goldney Hall, not only a students' residence but one of the centres of the University's cultural and architectural heritage, deeply committing himself to the students, staff, and the heritage of the residence Gregor was known for his approachability and commitment, always available to his staff and to students, and for his frequent attendance at the bar where he was often easily persuaded to display his skills as a wonderfully satirical singer-songwriter and guitarist. Countless Bristol students - perhaps especially PhD students - will remember him for the generosity of his application to their work and ideas, constantly helping them formulate their projects and to take interesting directions with their work. Wherever he engaged with people and projects, Gregor left a positive and memorable mark.
In some ways, Gregor was an 'old-style' academic, in the best sense. Brilliantly probing and insightful himself - and phenomenally well-read - he could never stand to let lazy ideas pass without serious interrogation. Many scholars benefitted from the authority and sharpness of his insights and the cogency of his objections in improving their work. This was not about being competitive about ideas - Gregor was never that - but it was about being uncompromising about getting to the truth. Academic vanities did not matter to him, but ideas did. Nor did he ever see academic life merely as a 'job', but more as a vocation integral to which were the values of honesty, truth and academic integrity, and he put that worldview to work in every day of his professional life.
In his non-academic life, Gregor was known as a keen mountaineer, cyclist and badminton player and a ferociously committed - and always good-humoured - opponent in any activity or sport. He loved golf and worked hard on perfecting his swing right up to the end of his life. He will be very greatly missed by many people in different parts of the University and well beyond. Bristol University is in his debt, and the thoughts of everyone who had come across him at Bristol will be with Suzanne, Ruairidh and Finn.