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The Oxford Round Table is a series of interdisciplinary conferences held at one or more of the 39 colleges in the University of Oxford for about 20 years. The conferences are organized and run by Oxford Round Table, Inc. - a name denoting both an Illinois not-for-profit corporation and a Kentucky for-profit entity, both registered by members of the same family.

Despite the name of the event, the Oxford Round Table "does not have a formal academical connection with the University of Oxford," and Oxford University has stated that events such as the Oxford Round Table are "external to the university" and "not, as such, authorised or endorsed by the university."

The ORT cooperates with various Oxford colleges, including Harris Manchester, St. Anne's and others to hold the meetings at the colleges when the undergraduate students are not in session. Professors from UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and London, are invited to make presentations and facilitate the meetings.

Conference

The first meeting of the Oxford Round Table was held at St. Peter's College in 1989. The round table brings together scholars from a variety of intellectual backgrounds, from new professors to college presidents, to discuss research on specific topics usually related to public policy.

In 2008, there are 25 scheduled sessions of the conference - ten in March and fifteen in July/August.

According to the conference's web site:

"Invitees to Round Tables are determined based on several criteria, among which are nominations by earlier attendees, courses that invitees teach, their presentations and writings, and their professional involvement in a relevant area of interest. An attempt is also made to diversify as to the type of institution, public or private, and to involve institutions representing different levels of education, i.e. schools, community colleges, four-year colleges, graduate and research universities."

Oxford Colleges lease their facilites during spring break (March and April) and during summer (July, August and September) for academic conferences. These activies are coordinated by Conference Oxford, an arm of the University of Oxford.

Company officers

As of the 5/2007 annual report:

Samuel Kern Alexander (Professor of Law at University of Warwick) is listed as the President.
Elizabeth Alexander is listed as the Vice President.
Shenette Campbell is listed as the secretary.

Journal

The Oxford Round Table publishes a quarterly journal titled The Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table . The stated mission of the journal, according to its website, is:

"to disseminate knowledge with regard to salient issues in public affairs. This includes research and policy advancement in both the public and private sectors that address government issues at state, national and international levels of discourse . . . articles must advance knowledge, theory, and practice . . . the content of articles must be accurate and technically competent . . . Third, articles must be well written, clear, well organized, and stylistically correct. A manuscript submitted for publication to the Forum must be original and not under consideration for any other publications. When a manuscript is published by the Forum, it become the property of the Forum with the Forum possessing exclusive right to publication. All authors will be required to sign a consent to publish form upon acceptance."

Issues of the Journal are thematic in nature. More recently the Journal moved to online publishing. The journal is indexed by Ebsco and Gale.

Notable Attendees

Oxford Academics who have participated in the Oxford Round tables include:

Sir Richard Southwood-decreased, (Ph.D.)
- Fellow of Merton College and Vice Chancellor, Oxford University

Recent academics attending the Oxford Round Table include:

Diane L. Reinhard, President, Clarion University
John B. Noftsinger Jr., associate vice president for academic affairs at James Madison University
L. Preston Mercer, University of South Florida-Lakeland Vice-President and Campus Executive Officer

Intellectual Controversy

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The Oxford Round Table has been subject to debate on the forums of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Many participants have offered accounts of their experience at the Oxford Round Table. An example, from a Texas Montessori day school director, Norma Morris:

There you have it….the week of March 12-17 was the stuff of fairy tales (actually we all felt a bit like we were having a Harry Potter experience). Oxford University with its 39 colleges presented a treasure box full of history, sights, tales and traditions that I will continue to absorb throughout the year. The Oxford Round Table with its 35 delegates and 35 guests, 15 presentations and panel discussions, professional and volunteer staff, and Round Table facilitator Elizabeth Bohon Alexander, M.D. served up the latest in early childhood information, best practices and research that we can all take back to our states, countries and communities to savor, implement and model.

An aspect of the controversy over the ORT is how participants are selected. This remains unclear, as Ms. Morris indicates from her own experience:

A lot of thingsthings have dropped out of the sky for me over the years, but none quite so unexpected or mysterious as the invitation to participate in the Oxford Round Table on Early Childhood Education held at Harris Manchester College of Oxford, University, Oxford, England. I promptly called them and asked how they got my name. They said that I had been recommended to them by a past early childhood round table delegate. I have yet to find out who that person is.

The criticisms of the Oxford Round Table on the CHE boards focus on four areas:

Concerns regarding the level of intellectual rigor in some presentations;
The large number of invitations issued, which are documented as having been sent to first-year graduate students, people in fields unrelated to the stated topic of the session to which they were invited, and to at least one convicted felon;
The relatively high cost for an academic conference;
The fact that the invitation letter to prospective participants does not contain a disclaimer making it clear that they have been invited by a private corporation in the USA, not by Oxford University; some participants have later claimed that they have attended an event at Oxford University, and, in one case, the "Oxford University Round Table".

In June, 2007, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., sued Sloan Mahone, an Oxford University researcher, over emails that she had sent and posts she had made on the Chronicle of Higher Education forum. Dr. Mahone described the Oxford Round Table as a "tourist venture, not a prestigious academic event" and characterized the $3,000 participation fee as "outrageous." Claiming that these and other statements were "tortious interference" with "existing contractual relationships" and with "prospective contractual advantage," and "defamation," The Oxford Round Table, Inc. filed a lawsuit, claiming in excess of $75,000 in damages from her emails and internet discussion board postings. On November 7, 2007, the court dismissed the case, finding no basis to assert jurisdiction over the Oxford researcher. According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, the ORT has recently initiated legal action against Dr. Mahone in England.

References

External links

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