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 - a name denoting an Illinois not-for-profit corporation and a Kentucky for-profit entity, both run 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 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.

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.

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-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
• Sir Christopher Ball, (Ph.D. Oxon.); Fellow and Wardon Emeritus, Keble College, Oxford University
• Norbert Lammert, (Ph.D).; Elected President, German Parliament

Company history and officers

Kern Alexander, now a professor at the University of Illinois, 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.

Kern Alexander holds a graduate diploma (with distinction) from the University of Oxford. Alexander is now Professor of Excellence at The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where he is coordinator of the Leary Endowment and Editor of the Journal of Education Finance, published by the University of Illinois Press. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois he served as President of two American state universities, was a tenured distinguished professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville, University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech and held the Robinson Eminent Scholar Chair at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville. He is the author of co-author to 25 books on education finance and law and has served as finance expert in the state school finance litigation in 22 American states. In his autobiography, My Life, President Bill Clinton quoted Dr Alexander and reference him as a nationally recognized expert in education policy (page 263 and 308) One of Alexander's books, American Public School Law, West/Wadsworth, now in its 7th edition, has been cited as setting the standard for texts in educational law.

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

Intellectual controversy

The Oxford Round Table has been subject to debate on the forums of the Chronicle of Higher Education. 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, and to at least one convicted felon, 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; some participants have later claimed that they have attended an event at Oxford University, and, in numerous cases, the "Oxford University Round Table".
3. The high cost of the conference ($2940 in 2008 for a five-day conference, room and board, and tours).
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.
5. Doubts about the selectivity or prestige of the "Forum on Public Policy," based on few libraries carrying it and few academic articles citing papers from the Forum, as well as the lack of information about paper acceptance rates, citation rates, or inclusion in published journal rankings.

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

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.. On November 7, 2007, the US District Court in Kentucky dismissed the case, finding no basis to assert jurisdiction over the Oxford researcher.

According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, the Oxford Round Table has also recently initiated legal action against Dr. Mahone in England. An Oxford Round Table spokesperson told the THES that the 'intellectual controversy' the Oxford Round Table has experienced is the result of 'nothing more than a few nameless bloggers' and that during the 20-year run of the Oxford Round Table, hundreds have found the Oxford Round Table to be a very worthwhile academic experience.

External links

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