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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 conference is organized and run by Oxford Round Table, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation; there is also a Kentucky for-profit entity.

Despite the name of the event, the Oxford Round Table "does not have a formal academic 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.

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. 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."

All Round Tables are held in the colleges of the University of Oxford through special and separate arrangements with each college. Over the years, Round Tables have been located at several colleges including St. Peter's, St. Anne's, St. Antony's, Lady Margaret Hall, Pembroke, Lincoln College and Somerville. Formal academic sessions are normally held in the debating chamber of the Oxford Union Debating Society, the Rhodes House, home of the Rhodes Scholars, and the Examination Schools.

Participants in the foundational meeting included the Master of St. Peters, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, ministers of education from twenty countries, the Chair of the National Governor's Association and several legislators from the United States. Participation was later broadened to include university presidents and subsequently further expanded to involve scholars from many academic disciplines. The purpose of the Oxford Round Table, a not-for-profit educational organization, is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of contemporary issues that affect the public good in all its various forms and ramifications. The public good is expansively interpreted by the Round Table to include all matters that enrich the human experience and enhance the human condition.

Past themes of meetings have included considerations of human rights, social welfare, economics, religion, ethics, morals, law, medicine and the liberal arts and sciences. Each session is designed around a format that enables participants to present papers and to engage in discussions regarding those papers in both formal colloquy and informal dialogue. 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 1/2008 annual report:

J.C. Buckman is listed as the President.
Karen Price is listed as the Vice President.
Wesley Alexander is listed as the secretary.

Samuel Kern Alexander III is Professor of Law at University of Warwick.

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:

Charles Mould,(D. Phil Oxom.)
- Fellow of Saint Cross College, Oxford University and former Secretary of Bodleian Library of Oxford University
Reverend Dr. Ralph Waller, (MA Oxon, BD Lond, MTh Nott, PhD Lond)
- Principal and Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford University
David Vaisey, (D. Phil Emeritus)
- Bodley's Librarian, Bodleian Library, Oxford University and Member of Oxford Round Table Advisory Committee
David Woods, (Ph.D., Honorary Doctorate, Oxford University, 2003)
- Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, (1995-2005), Member Advisory Committee, Oxford Round Table
Sir Richard Southwood-decreased, (Ph.D.)
- Fellow of Merton College and Vice Chancellor, Oxford University
Michael Beloff, (QC, 1981, Barrister, BA, 1963, MA 1965 Oxon.)
- Former President Trinity College, Oxford University (1996-2006), Head of Chambers, Gray's Inn Square, London, currently Blackstone Chambers, London
Sir Christopher Ball, (Ph.D. Oxon.)
- Fellow and Wardon Emeritus, Keble College, Oxford University
Norbert Lammert, (Ph.D)
- Elected President, German Parliament, 2005

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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