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* Secretary: Shenette Campbell (wife of F. King Alexander<ref>http://www.longbeachstate.com/local/sid/FEATURES0607/alexander051307.html</ref>)
* Secretary: Shenette Campbell (wife of F. King Alexander<ref>http://www.longbeachstate.com/local/sid/FEATURES0607/alexander051307.html</ref>)


== Intellectual controversy ==


The Oxford Round Table has been subject to debate on the forums of the [[Chronicle of Higher Education]].<ref>http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.0.html</ref>
Criticisms on the forum centre on five areas:
# The large number of invitations issued which are documented as having been sent to first-year graduate students,<ref>{{cite web | last = Craig | first = Austin | title = Press Release - NMSU doctoral candidate to present at Oxford Round Table | work = | publisher = New Mexico State University | date = [[July 5]] [[2005]] | url = http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Releases/2006/july/oxford_presentation.htm | accessdate = 2008-02-02 }}</ref> and to at least one convicted felon,<ref>{{cite web | last = Dolan | first = Bill | title = Fresh from prison, Junifer Hall invited to England for legal conference | work = | publisher = The Times (Munster, IN) | date = [[February 3]] [[2005]] | url = http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/02/03/news/top_news/c04e3823b74c99e886256f9d00110e7d.txt | accessdate = 2008-02-02}}</ref> casting doubt on the selectivity of the conference;
# The lack of a disclaimer in the invitation letter to prospective participants which would make it clear that they have been invited by a private corporation in the USA, not by Oxford University;<ref>http://www.wisc-iboricenter.org/images/oxford/oxford_let.html</ref> some participants have later claimed that they have attended an event at Oxford University,<ref>http://www.washburn.edu/faculty/jmcconnell/Oxround.htm</ref><ref>http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=3903</ref> and, in numerous cases, the "Oxford University Round Table".<ref>http://www.mills.edu/news/2006/newsarticle11282006oxford_round_table.php</ref><ref>http://www.k-state.edu/media/achievements/07salinaaccomplishments.html</ref><ref>http://www.hamptonu.edu/academics/schools/libarts/sociology/lab.htm</ref><ref>http://wc.pima.edu/~apitucco/</ref>
# The high cost of the conference ($2940 in 2008 for a five-day conference, room and board, and tours).<ref>http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.240.html, reply 251</ref>
# Despite its public portrayal of itself as a "not-for-profit corporation," ORT is a mixture of non-profit and for-profit corporations whose relations are unclear.<ref>http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.345.html, reply 351</ref>
# Questions about the selectivity or prestige of the "Forum on Public Policy," emerging from the fact that few libraries carry it and few academic articles cite papers from the journal, as well as the lack of information about paper acceptance rates, citation rates, or inclusion in published journal rankings.<ref>http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.885.html, reply 885</ref>

Participants have offered accounts of their experience at the Oxford Round Table.<ref>http://www.montessori.org/enews/imcenews_04_06/imcenews_04_06_oxford.html</ref>

According to an Oxford Round Table spokesperson, the controversy surrounding the ORT can be attributed to "a few nameless bloggers", and that within the 20 year span of the Oxford Round Table hundreds have found the event to be a "worthwhile academic experience." <ref name=THES>{{cite web | last = Newman | first = Melanie | authorlink = | title = 'Oxford' events firm under fire | work = | publisher = [[Times Higher Education Supplement]] | date = [[21 December]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=310154&sectioncode=26 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-02-01}}</ref>

In June 2007, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., filed a defamation lawsuit against Dr. Sloan Mahone, an Oxford University researcher, in response to emails she had sent and posts she had made on the Chronicle of Higher Education forum.<ref>{{cite court |litigants = Oxford Round Table, Inc. v. Mahone |vol = Civ. No. 3:07CV-330-H |reporter = |opinion = Complaint filed |pinpoint = |court = Kentucky Western District Court |date = [[June 25]] [[2007]] |url= http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-kywdce/case_no-3:2007cv00330/case_id-61818/}}</ref>. On November 7, 2007, the US District Court in Kentucky dismissed the case, finding no basis to assert jurisdiction over the Oxford researcher. <ref>{{cite court |litigants = Oxford Round Table, Inc. v. Mahone |vol = Civ. No. 3:07CV-330-H |reporter = |opinion = Dismissal without prejudice ordered |pinpoint = |court = Kentucky Western District Court |date = [[November 7]] [[2007]] |url=http://www.steptoe.com/assets/attachments/3276.pdf}}</ref> According to the [[Times Higher Education Supplement]], the Oxford Round Table has also recently initiated legal action against Dr. Mahone in England.<ref name=THES>{{cite web | last = Newman | first = Melanie | authorlink = | title = 'Oxford' events firm under fire | work = | publisher = [[Times Higher Education Supplement]] | date = [[21 December]] [[2007]] | url = http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=310154&sectioncode=26 | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-02-01}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 65: Line 79:
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.oxfordroundtable.com/index.php/view/Content-Main/page/index.html Oxford Round Table]
*[http://www.oxfordroundtable.com/index.php/view/Content-Main/page/index.html Oxford Round Table]
*[http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.0.html Discussion of the Oxford Round Table at the Chronicle of Higher Education]


[[Category:conferences]]
[[Category:conferences]]

Revision as of 22:13, 2 February 2008

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 nearly 20 years. The conference is organized and run by Oxford Round Table, Inc. - a name denoting an Illinois not-for-profit corporation[1] and a Kentucky for-profit entity, both run by members of the same family.[2]

The Oxford Round Table "does not have a formal academical connection with the University of Oxford,"[3] 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".[4]

The mission of the Oxford Round Table, according to its website, 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 ... to include all matters that enrich the human experience and enhance the human condition."[5]

Conferences

The first meeting of the Oxford Round Table was held at St. Peter's College in 1989. The organisation 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[6] and fifteen in July/August.[7]

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."[8]

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

Publications

Policy papers

Policy papers presented at sessions of the Oxford Round Table have been published in several notable journals including the Cambridge Review of International Affairs and the Journal of Education Finance, as well as chapters in books published by Elsevier, Ltd and McGill Queen's University Press.[9][10][11] [12]

  • Jame T. Mingle, Vice-President, Cornell University, "Impediments on the Information Highway: Foreign Jurisdiction Over Defamation on the Internet."[9][13]
  • Michael J. Beloff, President Trinity College in the University of Oxford, "Human Rights in Europe: Effects of Governance on British Univerities."[9][13]
  • Don Aitken, Vice-Chancellor and Professor, University of Canberra, "Reinventing Universities."[9][13]
  • David Woods, Vice Chancellor, Rhodes University, "Overcoming Apartheid in South Africa Universities: Differential Access and Excellence."[9][13]

Journal

The Oxford Round Table publishes a quarterly journal titled The Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table [1]. 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 "[14]

Issues of the Journal are thematic in nature.[15] More recently the Journal moved to online publishing. The journal is indexed by Ebsco and Gale.


Company history and officers

Kern Alexander, Professor of Excellence at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, founded the Oxford International Round Table on Education Policy in 1989.[16] However, it was not incorporated until 1994, when it was established in Florida as a for-profit corporation, with Alexander as president. It was administratively dissolved in 1996.[17] Alexander also incorporated the Oxford Round Table, Inc., a Florida for-profit corporation; it was established and dissolved at the same time as the Oxford International Round Table on Education Policy.[18]

In 1995, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., a for-profit Kentucky corporation, was incorporated by Samuel K. Alexander III (son of Kern Alexander).[19] It was administratively dissolved in 1998 and reinstated in 2006.[20]

Fieldon King Alexander, another son of Kern Alexander and now president of California State University Long Beach, incorporated the Oxford Round Table, Inc., as a for-profit Illinois corporation in 1998. It was involuntarily dissolved in March 2000.[21]

In December 2001, the non-profit Oxford Round Table of Godstow Hall, Inc., was incorporated in Kentucky by several members of the Alexander family.[22]

In May 2007, the non-profit Oxford Round Table, Inc., was established in Illinois.[23]

The two non-profits and the for-profit Kentucky corporation are the only ones currently active.

As of the 1/2008 annual report of the Kentucky for-profit Oxford Round Table, Inc.[24]:

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

Prior to 2008, the company officers were:[25]

  • President: Kern Alexander (Professor of Law at University of Warwick[26])
  • Vice President: Elizabeth Alexander
  • Secretary: Shenette Campbell (wife of F. King Alexander[27])

Intellectual controversy

The Oxford Round Table has been subject to debate on the forums of the Chronicle of Higher Education.[28] Criticisms on the forum centre on five areas:

  1. The large number of invitations issued which are documented as having been sent to first-year graduate students,[29] and to at least one convicted felon,[30] casting doubt on the selectivity of the conference;
  2. The lack of a disclaimer in the invitation letter to prospective participants which would make it clear that they have been invited by a private corporation in the USA, not by Oxford University;[31] some participants have later claimed that they have attended an event at Oxford University,[32][33] and, in numerous cases, the "Oxford University Round Table".[34][35][36][37]
  3. The high cost of the conference ($2940 in 2008 for a five-day conference, room and board, and tours).[38]
  4. Despite its public portrayal of itself as a "not-for-profit corporation," ORT is a mixture of non-profit and for-profit corporations whose relations are unclear.[39]
  5. Questions about the selectivity or prestige of the "Forum on Public Policy," emerging from the fact that few libraries carry it and few academic articles cite papers from the journal, as well as the lack of information about paper acceptance rates, citation rates, or inclusion in published journal rankings.[40]

Participants have offered accounts of their experience at the Oxford Round Table.[41]

According to an Oxford Round Table spokesperson, the controversy surrounding the ORT can be attributed to "a few nameless bloggers", and that within the 20 year span of the Oxford Round Table hundreds have found the event to be a "worthwhile academic experience." [4]

In June 2007, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., filed a defamation lawsuit against Dr. Sloan Mahone, an Oxford University researcher, in response to emails she had sent and posts she had made on the Chronicle of Higher Education forum.[42]. On November 7, 2007, the US District Court in Kentucky dismissed the case, finding no basis to assert jurisdiction over the Oxford researcher. [43] According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, the Oxford Round Table has also recently initiated legal action against Dr. Mahone in England.[4]

References

  1. ^ see search results for "Oxford Round Table" at http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController
  2. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/showentity.aspx?id=0346425&ct=09&cs=99999
  3. ^ http://www.oxfordroundtable.com/index.php/view/Content-Main/page/disclaimer.html
  4. ^ a b c Newman, Melanie (21 December 2007). "'Oxford' events firm under fire". Times Higher Education Supplement. Retrieved 2008-02-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.oxfordroundtable.com/index.php/view/content-main/page/index.html
  6. ^ http://www.oxfordroundtable.co.uk/index.php/view/Register-Sessions?sesgroup=1
  7. ^ http://www.oxfordroundtable.co.uk/index.php/view/Register-Sessions?sesgroup=2
  8. ^ http://www.oxfordroundtable.com/index.php/view/Content-Main/page/index.html
  9. ^ a b c d e http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=1438
  10. ^ http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/704619/description#description
  11. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=DMCloeLZLU8C&pg=PA19&dq=%22oxford+round+table%22+%22The+University%22&sig=6WHtK6wFfThcNHutSg7GtlGLL44#PPA14,M1
  12. ^ http://www.ucalgary.ca/hic/website/2004vol4no1/reviews/potts.htm
  13. ^ a b c d http://www.oxfordroundtable.co.uk/index.php/view/content-main/page/intlexpect.html
  14. ^ http://www.forumonpublicpolicy.com/
  15. ^ http://www.forumonpublicpolicy.com/journals.htm
  16. ^ http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/frp/a/alexandr
  17. ^ http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P94000031096&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=OXFORDINTERNATIONALROUNDTABLE&names_filing_type=
  18. ^ http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P94000031096&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=OXFORDINTERNATIONALROUNDTABLE&names_filing_type=
  19. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/showentity.aspx?id=0346425&ct=09&cs=99999
  20. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/OBDBDisplayImage.aspx?id=697427
  21. ^ http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController, then search for Oxford Round Table
  22. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/showentity.aspx?id=0527045&ct=09&cs=99998
  23. ^ http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController, then search for Oxford Round Table
  24. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/showentity.aspx?id=0346425&ct=09&cs=99999
  25. ^ http://apps.sos.ky.gov/business/obdb/OBDBDisplayImage.aspx?id=2677127
  26. ^ http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/csgr/people/associates/warwick/alexander/
  27. ^ http://www.longbeachstate.com/local/sid/FEATURES0607/alexander051307.html
  28. ^ http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.0.html
  29. ^ Craig, Austin (July 5 2005). "Press Release - NMSU doctoral candidate to present at Oxford Round Table". New Mexico State University. Retrieved 2008-02-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Dolan, Bill (February 3 2005). "Fresh from prison, Junifer Hall invited to England for legal conference". The Times (Munster, IN). Retrieved 2008-02-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ http://www.wisc-iboricenter.org/images/oxford/oxford_let.html
  32. ^ http://www.washburn.edu/faculty/jmcconnell/Oxround.htm
  33. ^ http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=3903
  34. ^ http://www.mills.edu/news/2006/newsarticle11282006oxford_round_table.php
  35. ^ http://www.k-state.edu/media/achievements/07salinaaccomplishments.html
  36. ^ http://www.hamptonu.edu/academics/schools/libarts/sociology/lab.htm
  37. ^ http://wc.pima.edu/~apitucco/
  38. ^ http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.240.html, reply 251
  39. ^ http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.345.html, reply 351
  40. ^ http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,30869.885.html, reply 885
  41. ^ http://www.montessori.org/enews/imcenews_04_06/imcenews_04_06_oxford.html
  42. ^ Oxford Round Table, Inc. v. Mahone, Civ. No. 3:07CV-330-H Complaint filed (Kentucky Western District Court June 25 2007).
  43. ^ Oxford Round Table, Inc. v. Mahone, Civ. No. 3:07CV-330-H Dismissal without prejudice ordered (Kentucky Western District Court November 7 2007).
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