Oxford Round Table
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About the Oxford Round Table
The Oxford Round Table is an interdisciplinary conference held on the premises of Oxford University for about 20 years. The first meeting of the Oxford Round Table [1] 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 educational policy:
"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."[1]
The approximate cost of attending the Oxford Round Table is $2,940; it is not known if that rate will change with the depreciation of the American dollar.
Despite the name of the event, the Oxford Round Table has no formal ties to Oxford University, but rather with individual colleges in the University of Oxford. The ORT cooperates with various Oxford colleges, including Harris Manchester, St. Anne's and others to hold the meetings at the colleges when the students not in session. Professors from UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and London, are invited to make presentations and facilitate the meetings.The Oxford Round Table is a not-for-profit corporation based in Illinois.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Journal
The Oxford Round Table publishes an biennual Journal, 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."[2]
Issues of the Journal are thematic in nature. While the emphasis is purported to be on public affairs, the emphasis is on educational policy issues.[3] More recently the Journal moved to online publishing. Three libraries in the United States carry the journal in hard copy.[4]
Hosting College: Harris Manchester
The Oxford Round Table cooperates with various Oxford Colleges, including Harris Manchester, to hold meetings at the colleges when the students are not in session. Harris Manchester college was originally created by the English Presbyterians as an alternative to established colleges that had a religious test requirement that would exclude dissenters from degrees. Since its founding in 1786, the College has been located in Manchester, York, London, and then arrived at Oxford in 1889. Harris Manchester College became a "Permanent Private Hall" in 1990. It became a full college under Royal Charter in 1996, primarily to serve mature (non-traditional) students.[5]