Oxford Round Table
Encyclopedia
The Oxford Round Table is a series of interdisciplinary conferences organized and run by a California
-based educational organization, incorporated until recently as a for-profit and a not-for-profit corporation in Kentucky
, and currently as a not-for-profit in Illinois
and England and Wales
.
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 Oxford Round Table is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, which 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 company has been accused of misrepresenting its relationship with the university.
in 1989, sponsored by the Norham Centre for Leadership Studies of the University of Oxford under the direction of Vivian Williams and by Virginia Tech, under the direction of Kern Alexander. The organisation brings together scholars and others from a variety of backgrounds (new professors and PhD students, college presidents and deans, school administrators, religious leaders) to discuss research on specific topics usually related to public policy. In its early years, the conference was held every other year, and the organization financed the attendance of participants by raising funds itself (more than £80,000 in 1993).
One of the earliest conferences, in 1993, was on the links between education and the business sector. It brought together education ministers from major developing and transition countries, representatives of major multinationals (such as Apple, Boeing
, BP
, and Honeywell
), U.S. state officials, and the World Bank
. A major highlight was a paper by Edward Dneprov, education minister of Russia, on education reform there. A 1993 article in the Times Higher Education Supplement noted that "the Oxford conferences are going very well" and had gained "international interest."
In 2008, there were 25 scheduled sessions of the conference—ten in March and fifteen in July/August.
McGill/Queen's University Press published a volume of papers from a 2003 conference, The University: International Expectations, on public administration issues related to higher education. Another edited volume on primary (precollegiate) school choices in America emerged from, among other sources, a 2003 meeting on "Choice in Education."
, 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 Samual K. Alexander III (son of Kern Alexander). It was administratively dissolved in 1998 and reinstated in 2006. This corporation dissolved itself 22 September 2008.
In 1998, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., a for-profit corporation, was incorporated in Illinois. It was involuntarily dissolved in 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. It changed its name to Oxford Round Table, North America, Inc., NFP, in October 2008. In July 2008, the non-profit Oxford Round Table, Ltd., was established in the United Kingdom.
In the 2007 annual report of the Kentucky for-profit Oxford Round Table, Inc., Kern Alexander was listed as company president. As of the 1/2008 annual report, J.C. Buckman is listed as president.
In 2007, Times Higher Education 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 had sent an email to a US academic criticising the company's practices. An attempt by the Oxford Round Table, Inc., to sue the individual, who is based in England, for libel in the Kentucky
courts failed on jurisdiction grounds, and the company threatened to take legal action in the UK
. The company dropped the action after the researcher hired her own lawyer.
The conference has also attracted controversy in at least three states over the cost of school boards’ paying for administrators to attend; in Louisiana
, this led to "a successful legislative push to tighten travel rules for school board members statewide."
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based educational organization, incorporated until recently as a for-profit and a not-for-profit corporation in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and currently as a not-for-profit in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
.
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 Oxford Round Table is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, which 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 company has been accused of misrepresenting its relationship with the university.
Conferences
The first meeting of the Oxford Round Table was held at St. Peter's CollegeSt Peter's College, Oxford
St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, located in New Inn Hall Street. It occupies the site of two of the University's oldest Inns, or medieval hostels - Bishop Trellick's, later New Inn Hall, and Rose Hall - both of which were...
in 1989, sponsored by the Norham Centre for Leadership Studies of the University of Oxford under the direction of Vivian Williams and by Virginia Tech, under the direction of Kern Alexander. The organisation brings together scholars and others from a variety of backgrounds (new professors and PhD students, college presidents and deans, school administrators, religious leaders) to discuss research on specific topics usually related to public policy. In its early years, the conference was held every other year, and the organization financed the attendance of participants by raising funds itself (more than £80,000 in 1993).
One of the earliest conferences, in 1993, was on the links between education and the business sector. It brought together education ministers from major developing and transition countries, representatives of major multinationals (such as Apple, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, and Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
), U.S. state officials, and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. A major highlight was a paper by Edward Dneprov, education minister of Russia, on education reform there. A 1993 article in the Times Higher Education Supplement noted that "the Oxford conferences are going very well" and had gained "international interest."
In 2008, there were 25 scheduled sessions of the conference—ten in March and fifteen in July/August.
Publications
The Oxford Round Table publishes a quarterly journal, also available online, titled The Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table. The mission of the journal, according to its website, is "to disseminate knowledge with regard to salient issues in public affairs." The journal has eleven institutional OCLC subscribers.McGill/Queen's University Press published a volume of papers from a 2003 conference, The University: International Expectations, on public administration issues related to higher education. Another edited volume on primary (precollegiate) school choices in America emerged from, among other sources, a 2003 meeting on "Choice in Education."
Company history and officers
For most of its history the Oxford Round Table has been an American organization run by members of the Alexander family and variously headquartered in Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, and California. Kern AlexanderKern Alexander
Samuel Kern Alexander is 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...
, 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 Samual K. Alexander III (son of Kern Alexander). It was administratively dissolved in 1998 and reinstated in 2006. This corporation dissolved itself 22 September 2008.
In 1998, the Oxford Round Table, Inc., a for-profit corporation, was incorporated in Illinois. It was involuntarily dissolved in 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. It changed its name to Oxford Round Table, North America, Inc., NFP, in October 2008. In July 2008, the non-profit Oxford Round Table, Ltd., was established in the United Kingdom.
In the 2007 annual report of the Kentucky for-profit Oxford Round Table, Inc., Kern Alexander was listed as company president. As of the 1/2008 annual report, J.C. Buckman is listed as president.
Criticism and litigation
A 2009 report cited critics who claimed that the Oxford Round Table "does not make its lack of academic connection [to Oxford University] clear." The article noted that pictures of Oxford University are used liberally on the ORT webpage, and quoted a number of ORT attendees who believed they had been invited by Oxford University. One professor expressed "surprise" when she learned that the ORT was not affiliated with Oxford University and concluded that "my conference funds would be best targeted towards a more appropriate venue."In 2007, Times Higher Education 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
Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et...
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 had sent an email to a US academic criticising the company's practices. An attempt by the Oxford Round Table, Inc., to sue the individual, who is based in England, for libel in the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
courts failed on jurisdiction grounds, and the company threatened to take legal action in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The company dropped the action after the researcher hired her own lawyer.
The conference has also attracted controversy in at least three states over the cost of school boards’ paying for administrators to attend; in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, this led to "a successful legislative push to tighten travel rules for school board members statewide."