Oxford Round Table

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 and a Kentucky for-profit entity, both run by members of the same family.

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 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."

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 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 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.

Contributing attendees

Academics who have participated in the Oxford Round tables include:

• Charles Mould,(D. Phil Oxom.); Fellow of Saint Cross College, Oxford University
• David Vaisey, (D. Phil Emeritus); Bodley's Librarian, Bodleian Library, Oxford University
• David R. Woods, (Ph.D., Honorary Doctorate, Oxford University, 2003); Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
• Sir Richard Southwood-deceased, (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
• Sir Christopher Ball, (Ph.D. Oxon.); Fellow and Wardon Emeritus, Keble College, Oxford University
• Norbert Lammert, (Ph.D).; Elected President, German Parliament
• Silvio Laccetti, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Rufus Ellis, Florida A&M University
• Judith Lynne McConnell, Washburn University
• Christopher C. Robinson, Clarkson University
• John B. Noftsinger Jr., James Madison University
• William Hardy, Tennessee State University

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.

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

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 "

Issues of the Journal are thematic in nature. 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. 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. 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.

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

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.

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

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

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.:

• 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:

• President: Kern Alexander
• Vice President: Elizabeth Alexander
• Secretary: Shenette Campbell (wife of F. King Alexander)

Criticism and litigation

On 21 December 2007, the Times Higher Education Supplement reported that Oxford Round Table had been criticised on the forums of the Chronicle of Higher Education website by people who said it was trading on the name of Oxford University, and failed to properly inform people invited that it had no formal academic links to the university. Other criticisms were that its selection criteria were poor and that it was a "vanity conference".

The University told the newspaper that such external events were "not, as such, authorised or endorsed by the university". The principal of Harris Manchester College said that although the college provided the company with an office, "we don't run the ORT in any sense", and that as far as he was aware, all ORT participants were satisfied. The company defended its selection criteria, and reported that its disclaimer, which is on its website, uses "the exact wording that was provided to us by the legal office of the University of Oxford several years ago". A spokeswoman dismissed the critics as "a few nameless bloggers".

One Oxford University research fellow, Sloan Mahone, had sent an email to a US academic criticising the company's practices. An attempt to sue Dr Mahone, who is based in England, for libel in the Kentucky courts had failed on jurisdiction grounds, and the company was now taking legal action in the UK.

External links

• Oxford Round Table
• Discussion of the Oxford Round Table at the Chronicle of Higher Education