A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
A Message from Dr. Kalpen Trivedi Director of the UGA at Oxford Study Abroad Program Dear Alumni and Friends, es, it is once again time for a new issue of the Oxford Bulldog! It gives me particular pleasure to welcome all our readers to this year’s issue as the UGA at Oxford Program begins a year of celebrations to mark its 20th anniversary. The Oxford Program has certainly seen many years of impressive diversification and growth since the first summer when Dr. Judith Shaw started a small, multi-disciplinary program under the aegis of the English Department at the University of Georgia. She travelled to Oxford with a group of thirteen students, teaching all the classes herself. By happy coincidence, a number of these developments will be reflected in our 20th anniversary year; 2009 will also mark the 15th birthday of the UGA at Oxford semester program and 10 years of the year-round residential program. In keeping with the innovative vision of study abroad pioneered by Dr. Shaw, in 2008 we closed out our first 20 years with two major initiatives. Last issue we featured the beautiful, new UGA at Oxford Center, now operational for just over a year. On 20 May 2008, this building was officially inaugurated by President Michael F. Adams, who led a delegation of distinguished guests to Oxford, including UGA Senior Administrators and representatives from the USG Board of Regents and the UGA Foundation. Our website has a full account of this exciting event with video and photos, and there’s a small selection of photos in this newsletter to whet your appetite. The other noteworthy event was the inaugural meeting of the UGA at Oxford Development Board, which coincided with the third UGA v. Oxford Union debate on 17 March 2008. We are excited and grateful to be working with this dynamic group of parents, alumni, and friends of the Program, who are committed to the goals and ideas of UGA at Oxford. With Ken Parris at the helm, the Board has set a primary goal to raise funds for much-needed study abroad scholarships. We’ve tried to capture the enthusiasm and magic of the past twenty years in articles and accounts by faculty and alumni who have been involved with the Program. I’m very grateful, particularly, to Vin Moscardelli (Summer 1989), Jonathan Foggin (Spring 1994), and Catharine Sanders (Fall 1999) for writing in with their memories of landmark years. I hope that for many of you these articles will be an opportunity to relive the joy and wonder of your own trips to Oxford. The celebration of the Program’s anniversaries in 2009 will, however, be tempered by the retirement of Dr. Shaw from her post as UGA Associate Provost for International Education. For so many of you, memories and experiences of Oxford are inextricably linked to time shared with Judy Shaw. To commemorate this special year, we have arranged a special formal dinner this summer in the magnificent dining Hall of Trinity College. Dr. Shaw and I would like to extend a warm invitation for all alumni of the program to visit the UGA at Oxford Summer Program this year, joining us for ‘High Table’ dinner on 27 July 2009. I know that you will all join me in wishing Dr. Shaw a very happy retirement, and I hope that many of you will be able to join us in person at Trinity College. Looking back over the last few issues of the Oxford Bulldog, it has become a theme of sorts for me to highlight the Program’s fundraising endeavours. It is an inescapable truth, more apparent now than ever, that if the UGA at Oxford Program is to continue its dynamic and diverse growth, then we need the support of alumni and friends who have benefited from the Program and share its ideals. To continue building on the success of the last twenty years, our most acute need is to endow scholarships for the next twenty years and beyond. One of our fundraising goals for 2009 is to endow fully (up to at least $25,000) the Judith D. Shaw Scholarship, set up in 2005 by Spring 1994 alumnus Jeff Hancock. I hope that many of you will partner with us in achieving this milestone; I can think of no more fitting tribute or parting gift for Dr. Shaw than to ensure the future of her vision. Since 1989, the family of UGA at Oxford alumni has grown tremendously, and we’re always excited when past participants wish to share reminiscences. I feel amazed and privileged to have the chance to connect with alumni and to hear their wonderful and transformational personal narratives. We would love to hear any ideas you might have for alumni events or receive any news and experiences you may like to share with the newsletter, on the website, or even on the UGA at Oxford Facebook Group! In closing, I would like to thank all the UGA at Oxford Program staff for their incredible hard work in 2008, especially to James McClung, who has compiled and edited this newsletter. Equally, the Program is very grateful to the many UGA faculty and staff across campus, as well as to Oxford University faculty and staff, who give generously of their time to help the program attain its academic mission. Happy 2009 to all our readers!
UGA at Oxford Program Staff Director Dr. Kalpen Trivedi Associate Director James E. McClung Assistant Director Margaret F. Perry Business Manager Dr. Angela E. Pfile Administrative Assistant Frances Lovelace Development Officer Linda DePascale
ADDRESS
326A Park Hall Athens, GA 30602-6205 Phone
706-542-2224 FAX
706-583-0604 email
ox fo rd @ u g a. ed u web
www.uga.edu/oxford/
Copyright © 2009 by the University of Georgia. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without permission from the editor.
•
The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.
The University of Georgia versus Oxford Union Debate III On the 17th of March, a select team of representatives from UGA squared off once again in a competition of verbal virtuosity with some of the best and brightest from the worldfamous Oxford Union Society. Up for debate in this third iteration of one of the UGA at Oxford Program’s celebrated events, was whether “the United States Federal Government should ratify and implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.” The ‘visiting’ team, arguing for the proposition, was led by team captain and then President of the Oxford Union, Ms. Emily Partington. She was joined by Mr. Luke Tryl, the previous year’s Union President; Mr. Stuart Cullen, the kilt-clad and youngest member of the team (himself captain of the Scottish World Debating team); and Mr. Leo-Marcus Wan, Secretary of the Oxford Union and well-known Oxford thespian. Opposing them was a UGA team assembled specially for this event. Drawing from the membership of the Georgia Debate Union, the Demosthenian Literary Society, the Phi Kappa Literary Society, the Law School, and several other organizations, the UGA team represented the variety and depth of programs at the University. First team members included captain Mr. Naveen Ramachandrappa, UGA 3L student and participant in a previous iteration of this event; Mr. Josh McLaurin, Foundation Fellow and UGA Debate Union member; Ms. Meg Turlington, member of the Mock U.N. and Demosthenian Society; Mr. Matthew Williamson, member of Demosthenian Society and an UGA at Oxford Alum. Alternates included Andrew Paradis, member of Phi Kappa; Brittany Cambre, UGA Debate Union member; and Spencer Diamond, UGA Debate Union member.
This year’s moderator for the Debate was Mr. Fraser Campbell, former President of the Oxford Union, Fellow of All Souls College at Oxford University, and trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance Law firm in London. Fraser had participated in both previous debates, and he captained the Oxford Union team for the 2003 UGA vs. Oxford Debate, being remembered by many at UGA as the sole reason for an Oxford victory in that competition. At first blush, the topic itself may not have seemed to promise much excitement, but by the end of the night all present for this competition had to recognize that this was one of the closest-fought debates yet. At the heart of the debate was the issue of whether the fear of being dragged into trials over alleged breaches of human rights such as coercive interrogation, extraordinary rendition, or torture, might inhibit sovereign nations, such as the United States, from undertaking humanitarian or regimechange operations. The judges for the event included UGA President Michael F. Adams; John Wiles, District 37 Senator; John Hinchey, Senior Partner at King & Spalding Atlanta; Martin Rickerd, British Consul General in Atlanta; Louise McBee, retired UGA Interim Provost and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives; Jere Morehead, Vice-President for instruction; and Steve Jones, Superior Court Judge, Western Judicial Circuit. They, too, recognized the hard-fought nature of the competition in the final decision, noting that while the members of the UGA team exhibited a more comprehensive knowledge of the facts and implications of the convoluted Rome Statute, the Oxford team provided a more concentrated team effort, working collectively and efficiently to provide a united effort in support of the resolution. Ultimately, the judges’ decision was not an easy one, but they agreed that the Oxford Union team had won the night. That victory by the visitors brought the all-time UGA record to one-and-two against the Brits, but with the next debate already in the planning stages, we won’t have to wait long for a chance to tie the series yet again. For more information about the next debate between UGA and Oxford, keep an eye out on the UGA at Oxford program website: http://www.uga. edu/oxford.
The UGA debate team (l-r): Meg Turlington, Matthew Williamson, Andrew Paradis, Naveen Ramachandrappa, and Josh McLauren.
Trinity College, Oxford University
2009 Anniversary Dinner Celebration This summer, on Monday July 27, 2009, the UGA at Oxford Program will host a special Anniversary Dinner celebration in honor of the founder of the Program, Dr. Judith Shaw, and the 20-year history of the University of Georgia in Oxford. All Program participants, past or present, parents, and friends are invited to join us at Trinity College, home to UGA at Oxford’s summer Programs for the Terry College of Business, Grady College of Journalism, and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. For those of you who look back fondly upon your days of ‘High Table’ in Oxford colleges, or for those of you to whom these events have existed only in the excited retellings of your friends and family returning home, now is your chance to enjoy UGA at Oxford tradition in a singular event. The evening will begin with a welcome reception on the pristine Trinity College lawns at 6:30 pm, with dinner beginning at 8 pm in the College Dining Hall. Don’t miss this opportunity to revisit Oxford and celebrate the Bulldog legacy in the city or dreaming spires! For more information and suggestions relating to travel and lodging, please see the Program website: www.uga.edu/oxford. For further information, contact the Program office at (706) 542.2244. We hope to see you this summer!
A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
1
Visiting the UGA at Oxford Center With over 11,000 square feet of space in which to live, study and play, the UGA at Oxford center has quickly become one of the most recognizable and envied buildings in Oxford. While the Center’s primary purpose is to provide a ‘home base’ to over 200 UGA students a year on the various Programs we offer, it is also a physical representation of the strong commitment to research, academics, and international education at the University of Georgia. At any given time during the year, you would likely find the house ‘packed to the gills’ with UGA Undergraduates. Still, a few select opportunities exist during the year for visitors from the UGA family to make their home in this impressive Victorian edifice. If you and your family are interested in spending some time in the UK and would like to visit the UGA at Oxford center, please note the following opportunities for visiting and lodging during the year: August 20th-September 7th 2009; December 9th-18th 2009. For more information about the UGA at Oxford Center, including specific location, travel, photographs, or for inquiries about booking a stay, please see the UGA at Oxford Program website: www.uga.edu/oxford.
2
Oxford Bulldog
Dedication of the new UGA at Oxford Center The last issue of the Oxford Bulldog featured the purchase and renovation of the beautiful Victorian house at 104 Banbury Road as the home of the UGA at Oxford Program. On May 20, 2008, the University of Georgia’s Oxford campus was formally inaugurated by UGA President Dr. Michael F. Adams who was joined by Mr. William Young, Head of the UGA Foundation and Dr. William Cleveland from the USG Board of Regents. Also present were UGA Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Dr. Arnett Mace; UGA Senior Vice-President for External Affairs, Mr. Tom Landrum; UGA Senior Vice-President for Finance, Mr. Timothy Burgess; UGA VicePresident for Instruction, Dr. Jere Morehead; UGA Associate Provost for International Education, Dr. Judith Shaw; Dr. Thomas P. Lauth, Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs; Dr. Garnett Stokes, Dean of the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences; Dr. Meg Amstutz, Chief of Staff, UGA President’s Office; Ms Cindy Coyle, CFO, UGA Foundation; and Mr. Patt Pittard. An estimated 150 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception, including collaborative partners from Oxford University, Professor Dame Averil Cameron, the Warden of Keble College, and Sir Ivor Roberts, the President of Trinity College. The British Government was represented by the Senior U.S. Officer of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Also present were representatives from the architectural firm of Berman Guedes Stretton and the Oxfordbased contracting firm of Benfield & Loxley. Welcoming the assembled guests, Dr. Kalpen Trivedi, Director of the UGA at Oxford Program, remarked on the significance of dedicating the new building on the eve of the Program’s 20th anniversary in 2009, adding that almost 250 students will be able to benefit annually from this facility. “I am convinced that no single experience has a greater impact on a student than long-term residential study abroad,” said Dr. Adams, who toured the UGA at Oxford Center, currently occupied by UGA students and faculty participating in the Franklin Spring Semester and Foundation Fellows Maymester Study-Abroad Programs. Kristin Bernhard, a junior majoring in English and History and studying at the Oxford Center on the Franklin Spring Program, also participated in the dedication ceremony. Speaking of her study-abroad experience, Kristin told guests, “The skills I have learned here will illuminate my academic career, and the experience is one I will never forget.” UGA’s Oxford study-abroad programming has grown from 13 students
The students residing in the center were on hand to meet the President and the dedication party when they arrived.
in 1989 to 202 students in 2008, with five of UGA’s largest schools and colleges participating. In all more than 30 academic majors and nearly 80 separate courses are represented in UGA’s Oxford program. Dr. Judith Shaw, the Oxford Program’s first faculty director and the current Associate Provost for International Education addressed the group, saying, “UGA is unique in having over 100 faculty-lead study abroad programs in every continent including Antarctica. As President Adams has said in the past, the sun never sets on UGA.” The state of International Education at UGA in general and the Oxford program in particular has been one of growth, and student demand for the semester-long Oxford program continues to increase. In keeping with the University’s academic mission, the new Oxford Center facility provides a concrete example of an international vision of providing students the opportunity to expand their horizons, equipping them to live and work in an increasingly interconnected world. “Today, in the birthplace of the university,” concluded Dr. Adams, “we celebrate what the 1785 charter for the University of Georgia has become—a truly international university, serving not just her home state but the nation and the world.” The newly refurbished UGA at Oxford Center is an imposing three-story Victorian brick mansion in the heart of prosperous north Oxford, a university city whose rich academic traditions date back to the 11th century. The UGA at Oxford dedication was supported in part by the President’s Venture Fund through the generous gifts of the University of Georgia Partners. The Program is very grateful to Rita Manning in the Office of Special Events, and her staff, for organizing a truly memorable evening, charming in every last detail including red and black scissors for the ribbon cutting itself! We hope that you will visit our website to view the video of that occasion.
Faculty Notes UGA from my side of the Atlantic Dr. David Bradshaw
I
have now been happily involved with the UGA at Oxford Programs for almost twenty years. My connection began one dank and rayless afternoon in December 1989 when, following a colleague’s kind recommendation, I met Dr Judy Shaw in the bar of Oxford’s Randolph Hotel to discuss the possibility of me teaching a Romantics course on the 1990 Summer Program. Judy’s enthusiasm for her nascent venture shone like a star through the midwinter gloom and I’d signed on the dotted line long before the arrival of the resistance-busting cocktails she’d ordered. I did confess to Judy that while I wasn’t, strictly speaking, a Romantics specialist, I did teach English literature from 1740 to the present day at Worcester College, Oxford, and I did know my ‘Ozymandias’ from my Childe Harold. This seemed to reassure her and, in passing, she asked me whether I thought the fee proposed by the man who had been provisionally engaged to organise the Summer Program’s travel arrangements was at all reasonable. My jaw smashed into the carpet, my cheeks ballooned, my eyes sprang from their sockets on stalks, I let out a high-pitched whistle, and I left the Randolph having taken on the additional responsibility of organising all the Summer Program’s excursions, a role I still perform to this day, alongside setting up the tuition for all the UGA at Oxford Programs. Seven months later and halfway through my customized version of ENGL 4500, having primed my students with blood-curdling accounts of the French Revolution, drawn graphic distinctions between the sublime, the picturesque, and the beautiful, and spoken at length of state censorship, Milton’s legacy, feeble fancy and the measureless imagination, I led my first eager flock of Romanticists round Grasmere lake soon after the crack of dawn. ‘This’, I informed my somnambulant charges, thrusting my finger towards the looming peak of Helvellyn and with all the afflatus I could summon at such an unearthly hour, ‘is what Wordsworth is all about!’ With a courtesy that I now know to be inbred in Georgians, my students nodded politely, gasped appropriately at each ensuing vista, never once expostulated, barely replied, and
shivered all the way back to the hotel. After breakfasting ravenously on inedible sausages we headed up a nearby pike, the students huffing and puffing behind me as I lectured on the hoof, revelled in the landscape, and delivered selected readings from ‘Home at Grasmere’ and The Prelude, before leading them down to the welcome confinement of Dove Cottage. I taught this Romantic Literature course for about seven years, I think, before handing it on to various real experts (Fiona Stafford, Jon Mee, and others) and offering a Virginia Woolf course on the Summer Program in its place. Excursions to Woolf’s home at Rodmell in Sussex and the nearby town of Lewes Dr. Bradshaw is famous among summer Program participants for his lectures concerning Virginia Woolf’s last days, have followed a similar pattern: delivered on-location near the Southwest coast of England. intensive preparation through tutorials; peripatetic instruction in Woolf’s garden and on the fateful riverbank; door to my office is a snapshot of my brief opportunities for quiet reflection, and, but memorable encounter with the legendary following a tip-top hotel dinner, a group Uga VI during the UGA v. Kentucky outing to the local pub for wide-ranging Homecoming game in 2006. My hand rests conversation about such things as the way nervously on his broad white back and, with ‘buoy’ is pronounced on either side of the respect, both of us look as though we could pond and the idiosyncrasies of the British rail usefully shed a pound or two. I am smiling system. The following morning we always (just), whereas Uga VI looks consumed with roller-coast over at least four of the Seven disdain, boredom and horror, attitudes I have Sisters, eat our Fish ‘n’ Chips as a reward, yet to encounter elsewhere in the Bulldog and then head back to Oxford. I’ve always Nation and definitely not in its Oxford loved these trips with UGA students and have representatives. long appreciated their gung-ho commitment to their studies, their upbeat demeanour when faced with our ever-changing weather, and their undying readiness to laugh – or at least snort indulgently – at my increasingly tired old quips. I also teach Woolf (but without the excursion, alas) and other literary courses on the Spring and Fall Programs, and, more Dr. Roxanne Eberle recently, I have devised and delivered topics specially for the SPIA and Maymester n 1993, a newly minted Ph.D., I interviewed sessions, but I have never once cycled home with several of our distinguished faculty in wishing I had spent my day differently, I’m the hopes of being offered at job at UGA. pleased to say. One of the most potent attractions was the Quite the contrary. I look on my longopportunity to teach for the Oxford Program. standing relationship with UGA as one of Many years later, I finally had the opportunity the great boons of my professional life. I to do so. With great excitement my family have met many hundreds of eager, bright and and I packed up our things and headed for unfailingly personable and engaged young England in the Fall of 2007. While there I people and enjoyed every minute of my time kept a blog called “Colleges and Castles, oh with them. While it would be invidious to my!” which detailed the adventures of my single out any one of them by name, I can pay them all a collective compliment. On the c o n t i n u ed o n next pa ge
Dispatches from Oxford: teaching, researching and living in Oxford
I
A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
3
08 September 2007: Stonehenge and Bath
family. Below you’ll find just a few excerpts from that blog. 04 September 2007: We’re Here! Well, we’re ensconced in our Oxford flat after spending the last few days exploring Oxford. In addition to riding on a double-decker bus, we’ve walked down Queen’s Lane, viewed New College, shopped at Blackwell’s bookstore (which covers most of the Broad Street), and visited Christ Church dining hall to see where Harry Potter dined with Hermione and Ron. Christ Church is a venerable college at Oxford, founded in 1524 by Henry the VIII and his religious advisor, Cardinal Wolsey. Now, under the intimidating gaze of the innumerable Christ Church worthies looking down from their portraits, Harry Potter obsessed visitors run about the dining hall shouting, “Here is the Gryffindor table! I think that Harry sits here! Do you think that Draco Malfoy sat over here?” I’m not saying that the kids participated in such shenanigans, but I’ll let the picture speak for itself. Back at our flat we are getting used to the vagaries of English domestic arrangements (no screens, a combination washer/dryer which takes 4-5 hours to work, and no doorknobs). Without a car we’ve been spending a lot of time walking to and from Summertown with our shopping cart The kids have started school. Here they call gym clothes “PE kits” and school lunch “hot dinner” but other than that everything is pretty much as it is back in Athens. The school is just across a football field (i.e. “soccer field” for the Yanks) so we can walk to and from school very easily.
4
Oxford Bulldog
We’ve just returned from our first outing with the Oxford Program: a trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Seamus was really interested in the mystery behind the stones while Leila was less patient with history and myth. Like a true pagan, she dashed about madly and appeared to be on the verge of hurtling herself over the flimsy barrier erected to keep out such druid worshippers. In Bath, we visited the Roman Baths and the Jane Austen Centre, imagining what life was like in Ancient Britain and nineteenthcentury Bath. Speaking of nineteenth-century women writers, I’ve begun working on my biography of Amelia Opie, a poet, novelist, and abolitionist. While working in the Bodleian manuscript room the other day, I read a letter exchanged between Mary Wollstonecraft and Opie in 1796. What a thrill! I’m also excited to begin teaching my seminar on Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Virginia Woolf, particularly now that I’ve met my equally enthusiastic students. 25 September 2007: An ordinary day The day begins with Seamus and Leila heading off to school, I leave shortly thereafter to catch the bus up to the Oxford House. Jason stays at home and begins work via the internet, putting in a full day with his Los Angeles-based company. At the house I meet with students before beginning seminar. As a rule I like to hang out in the kitchen, where I’m likely to find some early-bird residents. They have come to know that I’ll always accept a cup of coffee and a Marks and Spencer’s pastry. After seminar and lunch, I head up to the library for the rest of the afternoon, returning to the flat before dinner. In the evening it is time for homework and preparing for my next class. Seamus has developed a passion for rugby and the “horrible histories” of English monarchs. Leila has begun reading and easily recognizes “Mum”, “cross”, and “lorry”; she has begun teaching her small group of
expatriate dolls about pence and pounds. On the weekends, the kids sometimes come with me to the Oxford house where we’ve been known to play some tough games of Scrabble and Monopoly with the students. 22 November 2007: An English Thanksgiving After much travail (it turns out that turkeys are ludicrously expensive in England) and confusion (you wouldn’t believe how many different types of cream are sold in an English grocery store), we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving in Oxford. The students were in charge of the dinner and it turns out that they can really cook! 30 November 2007: Heading Home It is hard to believe that our time here in England is at an end. We have had some wonderful trips (to London and Cambridge, as well as Cornwall and Wales), and seen amazing things (Shakespeare’s childhood home, London’s Globe Theatre, and Caernarfon Castle in Wales). Our last excursion was to Brighton where we spent time at Brighton Palace (a delightful example of Romantic excess) and the Victorian-era aquarium before heading out to the pier for rides and doughnuts. What an amazing time we’ve had – and we can’t wait to return. 8 December 2008: Afterword As it turns out I’m lucky enough to be returning to Oxford this spring. I’m eager to see those Georgia-red doors again!
Program Notes What happens when you blend the University of Georgia’s premier study abroad program with some of the University’s most notable rising academic stars? Such was the case last spring when 21 first-year Foundation Fellows spent Maymester in Oxford, at the Residential Center in North Oxford, selecting two courses, including British Common Law, Modernist Literature, International Conflict, and Genetics and Society. May 2008 represented the inaugural visit to Oxford by the first-year Fellows, who in past years have studied together in such exotic locales as Tanzania and New Zealand. “We wanted to intensify the academic experience for the first years, shifting their post-freshman study abroad (one of the benefits of the Fellowship) away from an exploratory program and toward a rigorous intellectual challenge,” said Jessica Hunt, Scholarships Coordinator in the Honors Program. “That’s the kind of experience the UGA at Oxford Program offers, introducing students to the unique British tutorial system.” “Going to Oxford straight out of my first year of college was an invigorating experience that pushed me to new heights academically,” commented Sheena Zhang, who’s majoring in ecology, biology and telecommunications. “Now I feel like I can accomplish anything!” While compressing semester-long courses into three weeks of instruction often pushed students to the brink both mentally
and physically, many educational opportunities occurred away from their studies, where University students became part of the community fabric and at the same time found plenty of common ground among themselves. “We blended into the local scene, studying in the libraries, dining at formal dinner, punting on the Thames, even watching the Eights, the annual crew races among colleges,” recalled Phillip Mote, who’s majoring in economics and biochemistry. “Above all, the best memories will always be the bonds and fellowship we had living in the same house, fighting over the food resources, watching movies in the common rooms, spending late nights in the library, and traveling to Bath, Windsor, Ireland, Normandy, and London.” The challenging seminar and tutorial sessions were just a portion of the UGA at Oxford experience, which for the first-year Fellows included a variety of excursions throughout the United Kingdom and beyond. “The rigorous academic work and the high expectations at Oxford fully prepared me for any challenging classes in the future,” said Claire Underwood, a biological sciences major. “I learned more than I could ever have imagined coming into this program, and I am so grateful for the chance to take classes outside of my normal program of study. Traveling to England gave me further opportunities to explore the world. I
have stood among the monoliths of Stonehenge, navigated the streets of London, and experienced Irish culture in Dublin. Coming to Oxford with a group of my closest friends was a trip I will remember for the rest of my life.” More than half of the first-year Fellows had the opportunity to study under the watchful eye of former Foundation Fellow and Rhodes Scholar Beth Shapiro (UGA ’98), an assistant professor of biology at Penn State University who spent much of the last decade on the faculty at Oxford University, most notably as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. “I worked with 15 Foundation Fellows, and they were excellent students,” said Shapiro, who specializes in ancient DNA, molecular evolution, virus evolution, and phylogenetics. “They were really clever and even inspiring, and they had a lot of work to do. I think many of them were having head explosions toward the end, but they all did really well in my class.” The Fellows Program plans to return with a new class of first-years next May, which should serve as an integral lifting-off point for the students’ future international sojourns. “The Oxford experience changed my perspective on reading,” said John Marshall, a biochemistry and molecular biology major, “and in general, helped me to develop a more cohesive world view.”
The boat races in Oxford are among the most exciting sporting events of the academic year. Past UGA students have been participants as well as spectators in this annual competition.
A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
5
20 years of UGA at Oxford
A History of UGA in Oxford
T
he UGA at Oxford Study Abroad Program was established in 1989 as a small, multi-disciplinary summer study-abroad program, by Dr. Judith Shaw under the auspices of the English Department and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. That first year, thirteen students spent the summer studying English literature with Dr. Shaw at Jesus College, a sixteenth-century college founded by Queen Elizabeth I. Because of its small size, location in the very heart of Oxford, and friendly staff, Jesus College proved ideal for a summer studies abroad program. The next summer, the English Department program merged with an existing History program, resulting in a program with four times as many students and an expanded curriculum. Students could now choose from a variety of courses in British literature and history and take tutorials with Oxford faculty as well as lecture classes from visiting UGA faculty. In 1994, Dr. Shaw added a Spring quarter to the Oxford Program after locating dorm space in crowded term-time Oxford. Students participating in the new Spring Program were housed in the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and had associate membership at Keble College, an High-Anglican foundation of the late-19th century, which allowed them to dine in college as well as participate in the cultural, social, and athletic activities offered by that College. From its inception, the Spring Program proved very popular, averaging about 39 students a year, but UGA’s switch to the semester system in 1998 almost brought the Program to an end since it was impossible to find dorm space in Oxford for fifteen weeks during the school year, especially since Oxford runs eight-week terms. It was at this critical juncture in the Oxford Program’s development that President Michael Adams entered the picture, quite literally as a savior. One of President Adams’s primary goals when he came to UGA in 1997 was to establish a number of residential studyabroad programs where students could study year-round. According to President Adams, “the opportunity to offer courses for a full academic year will help achieve our goal of having up to ten percent of undergraduates take part in a foreign residential study experience.” Oxford was chosen as the site for the first of these centers “because of its popularity with students and faculty, its high national visibility, and the opportunity to start the program immediately.”
In May 1999, with the assistance of the University of Georgia Foundation, President Adams spearheaded the purchase of a threestory Victorian house in North Oxford as the first home of the UGA at Oxford Center, making UGA one of only three universities – and the only public institution – in the United States to operate a residential center in Oxford. In 2007, President Adams and Dr. Shaw led the purchase of a bigger building next door at 104 Banbury Road to provide for the Program’s growth and expansion. After extensive renovations, the new building welcomed the Franklin Fall 2007 program as the first group in the new Center. Since the establishment of a year-round curriculum, UGA at Oxford has grown into one of the University’s most popular studyabroad programs. In order to expand further student opportunities, the summer Program changed collegiate affiliation in 2005 to Trinity College, an historic and beautiful college founded in the reign of Queen Mary I. All of the programs now offer an expanded curriculum which features classes not only in British Literature, History, and Political Science, but also in Architecture, Anthropology, Biology, Law, Foreign Languages, Religion, Sociology, and Classics, among others. In the Fall and Spring semesters one UGA faculty member accompanies the group to Oxford and serves as the on-site faculty member for the twelve weeks of the program. Students in all terms and programs take the majority of their classes from Oxford ‘dons’ in traditional Oxford-style tutorials, which never have Since 2005, Trinity College has played host to UGA students on the Grady, Terry and Franklin Summer Programs. Students (like this group from Fall 2008) often assimilate quickly after their arrival in Oxford, and they must; the rigors of academic life in oxford are not for the faint-of-heart.
6
Oxford Bulldog
Dr. Shaw Looks Back, Twenty Years of UGA at Oxford While looking for inspiration for this column through the many photos
The University’s first physical space of its own in Oxford was carved out at 106 Banbury Road, home to ten years of UGA student programs before being sold in 2008.
more than three students and frequently are one-on-one. Although more than 220 UGA students can now study in Oxford every year, UGA at Oxford remains academically rigorous, and its participants often return to UGA with The renovations after the 2007 new intellectual interests and purchase of 104 Banbury Road were academic motivation. extensive but marked the University’s In order to serve the commitment to educating students University community as a abroad. whole, the Oxford Center hosts a number of UGA study-abroad programs with their own specialized curricula and faculty. In addition to the original UGA at Oxford Program – now re-named the Franklin at Oxford Program – other specialized programs from across the University now operate at the residential center under the umbrella of UGA at Oxford. The Center now also hosts Terry at Oxford, SPIA at Oxford, and a Franklin College Junemester Program. A program from the Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Grady at Oxford, was added from Summer 2004, and UGA at Oxford saw its first Law School program in January 2006. In Summer 2008, UGA at Oxford offered its first Maymester program for Freshmen on the prestigious Foundation Fellowship. As anyone familiar with the now twenty-year history of the Program can attest, UGA at Oxford has consistently expanded and diversified to meet the needs of an ever-increasing demand for study abroad opportunities at the University of Georgia. If the next twenty years exhibit the same levels of growth and industry, UGA at Oxford is certain to solidify its place as one of the marquis study abroad Programs at UGA and, in fact, in the country. Over the next few pages, please join some of our Program Alumni and our founder, Dr. Shaw, in remembering some of the watershed moments in the life of UGA at Oxford.
and slides, that I had collected rather haphazardly in a large box over the sixteen years I was director of the UGA at Oxford Program, many of which now appear on the cover of this newsletter, names, faces, and memories, all come flooding back. There is, of course, that prized picture of the first Oxford group. thirteen intrepid souls and a much younger me, seated at the high table in Jesus College dininghall. We got to sit at high table for every meal that summer since we were a last minute add-on; other groups occupied the seats we would fill, starting the next summer.and for many summers afterward. There are pictures as well of other temporary homes in Oxford: the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, home to the first UGA at Oxford Spring Program in 1994, an impenetrable maze of rooms, which had the one advantage of being in the center of Oxford, and 106 Banbury Road, the first Oxford Center, which at the time it was purchased in 1999 I considered the most beautiful building in Oxford. That center gave way to 104 Banbury Road, our present home, which is the most beautiful building in Oxford and the permanent home of the UGA at Oxford Program along with Trinity and Keble Colleges, which have so warmly opened their hearts and doors to UGA students But more than the pictures of the buildings and the many excursion sites throughout the UK are the snapshots of the students, who have passed through the program, thousands of them by now, which bring back memories. There are the annual pictures on Jesus College steps, snapped after much jostling and joking, the shot of a pyramid of UGA students on the grass of the quad, taken the last night we were there when the porter couldn’t send us home for being on the grass, a picture of the UGA crew team that rowed for Keble in the intramural boat races and of a UGA student in Oxford graduation garb, the first of a number of UGA students who went on to earn Oxford degrees as well as a number of photos of UGA students at Tintagel, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur and the favorite excursion destination for my students as well as Dr. Trivedi’s, There are as well photos of a number of our dons, most notably David Bradshaw, the first Oxford don I hired for the program, who has stuck with us all these years and who figures prominently in the memories of many UGA students (see the reminiscences of Vin and Catherine). My photo box includes a picture of a one-year-old Rory, Dr. Bradshaw’s son who was born while David was working for the program and who is now a high school student at Magdalen continued on next page
A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
7
20 years of UGA at Oxford
School in Oxford. And early pictures of Barbara Bradshaw, before she became the much beloved manager of the Oxford Center. There are as well shots of Dr. Archer, particularly his famous photo with Uga, which spawned a number of imitators among other Oxford dons, none of whom quite captured Ian’s “cool” in his black leather jacket and bulldog-red shirt. It is amazing, when you think of it, how many Oxford dons have stayed with the program over the years and how many others have eagerly signed on to introduce yet another class of UGA students to the daunting Oxford tutorial system, eat the obligatory turkey dinner at Thanksgiving, and take yet another group of Shakespeare students to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. For many students it is the dons and their Oxford tutorials that figure most prominently in their memories, and for this we owe a debt of gratitude to our always brilliant, articulate, and generous Oxford faculty. Hopefully some of you will recognize yourselves in these pictures. I would love to hear from you, and the program always welcomes more pictures. I hope some of you will come back to Oxford this summer to relive those wonderful times and share another High Table with me on this our twentieth anniversary.
Alumnus on first summer... ‘89–Vin Moscardelli Oxford. Much like that handful of individuals identifiable by a single name – ‘Michelangelo’, ‘Oprah’, and of course, ‘Herschel’, come to mind – Oxford needs no further identifying information. In 1989, Professor Judith Shaw convinced me to join a small group of students as part of the inaugural class of the program now known as “UGA at Oxford.” The curriculum was limited to two courses and a tutorial, and Professor Shaw was largely responsible for instruction. But her sales pitch, which emphasized cultural immersion, academic rigor, and exploration, appealed to our sense of adventure. At the time, the program was housed at Jesus College, and our small group immersed itself in the culture of the college, sharing its grounds, its library, its dining hall, and its basement bar with Jesus College students researching their theses. Academically, I did some of the most creative and independent work of my undergraduate career that summer. Spending my evenings discussing various subjects (some academic, many not) with fellow UGA students, a cadre of Jesus College students, Professor Shaw, and various Oxford faculty (including program mainstay David Bradshaw), broadened my horizons and actually affirmed my desire to become a professor. Finally, international travel 20 years ago, even to a place as benign as Oxford, made one feel like a bit of an explorer. With no television, no cell phones, no international calling cards, and no Email, we were largely
8
Oxford Bulldog
disconnected from our normal lives. We ate new foods, we discussed new ideas, we drank new beverages (and some familiar ones too), and we traveled to new places. In a word, we explored. My grandfather, who enrolled at the University of Georgia 80 years ago this fall, and who never had the opportunity to study abroad, had a saying: “Things ain’t like they used to be, and they probably never were.” His words leave me certain I’ve romanticized some of the events of that summer. But I do know that it was one of a handful of defining moments of my undergraduate experience, and one on which I look back with great fondness. As a member of an academic discipline that attempts to grapple with the implications of “globalization” [ed. Dr. Moscardelli is a political science professor at the University of Connecticut], I am confident that study abroad programs are more central to the mission of the University of Georgia today than at any time in its long history. As the UGA at Oxford About 20 years ago, Vin (L) and fellow UGA program continues at Oxford participant Jimmy Mixson (R) found to grow, I hope it themselves in the Orkney Islands, where they will stay true to its ran across a fellow wearing a “Dawgs” hat. The roots of immersion, man had never been to Athens, but he knew who academic rigor, and Herschel was. exploration.
Alumnus on full-term... ‘94–Jonathan Foggin 1994 was a watershed year for the UGA at Oxford Program. After five summers at Jesus College, Dr. Judith Shaw had finally worked out an arrangement with Keble College and the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies which, for the first time, would allow UGA students the unique opportunity of experiencing Oxford in term, and with the same rights and privileges as any other undergraduate member of the University. As a former summer program participant, I jumped at the opportunity to go on what seemed like a once in lifetime experience, and the spring program did not disappoint. Though our accommodations at CMRS were nothing like what UGA has at the current house on Banbury Road, the fact that we were located in central Oxford helped many of us look upon the Centre’s musty bookish smell and typically “English” plumbing as part of the building’s overall charm. Our other host institution, Keble College, proved to be a welcoming academic home, and as one might expect, a few nights spent in its spaceship-shaped bar were all it took for the American guests to blend into its student body in seamless fashion. Though we did our best to soak up as much of the Oxford experience as we could, in the spirit of cultural exchange, we brought with us a little bit of America as well, with things like breaking out some streetball moves as members of the Keble intercollegiate basketball team, or introducing May Morning revelers to the “Go Dogs, Sic Em” cheer before jumping
Dr. Ian Archer (third from left) is one of the longest-tenured Oxford faculty members working with the program; he’s built a significant following over the many years of his association.
off Magdalene Bridge and into the water below. Though a group trip to Paris was one of the highlights of the term, and the prospect of travel constantly beckoned, I think most of us recognized the tremendous opportunity we were being given right there among the dreaming spires, and with the resources of one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions at our disposal, we worked as hard as we played, taking full advantage of the University’s lecture halls, libraries, and museums. UGA at Oxford has come a long way since that first term-time program fifteen years ago, but I think it is safe to say that the spirit of our year lives on as Georgia students continue to drink deep from Oxford’s “Pierian Spring,” and like us, they will no doubt enjoy its benefits for years to come.
Alumna on First UGA residence...
taught me to examine literature in a way that I never would have sitting in a classroom with 20 peers, and gave me confidence in voicing and explaining my opinions based on material I had interpreted for myself. This critical approach to reading and reporting shaped my professional skills, and I credit the challenging, rewarding opportunity uniquely provided by that first fall semester of UGA at Oxford for shaping my academic and professional skills. Being an inaugural resident of the Banbury Road house also played a key role in building my confidence before graduating from college and entering the work force. As a sophomore, I was fortunate enough to participate in a spring session of UGA at Oxford, enjoying the quarters of the CMRS near city center. Living in the Banbury Road house as a senior was a completely different experience and fostered a tremendous sense of confidence and independence. Living on Banbury Road allowed me to feel like a member of the community, participating in Oxford life in a new way and interacting with locals not as an ex pat but as a neighbor. This new home for the program was not only comfortable and welcoming but also empowering. It was a privilege to be part of the first Fall class of UGA at Oxford, and I have many happy memories of late night chips with cheese from the kebob cart or cobbling together a Thanksgiving “feast” in the Banbury house common room. But the most indelible memories from my Oxford experience are the ones that drive me to succeed in my marketing career today: to think critically about subject matter at hand, to trust my interpretation of whatever material I’m examining, and to voice my opinion with confidence. Receiving praise from Dr. Bradshaw is still one of the greatest accomplishments of my career – academic or professional – and is yet another example of how the UGA at Oxford program instilled me with a confidence that could have been found nowhere else. While it’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since my Fall semester at Oxford – and while specific details of the literature I studied there have begun to escape me – the broader lessons and take-aways from the program are as relevant as ever to my current experience as a marketing manager for a pharmaceutical company, and I will always be grateful to Dr. Shaw and the other leaders whose vision created this incomparable educational opportunity for me and so many other students.
‘99–Catharine Sanders What does Virginia Woolf have to do with marketing? Or Oscar Wilde, or Molière for that matter? A lot, as it turns out. But were it not for the opportunities afforded by UGA at Oxford, I might have missed out on this valuable lesson. While I am grateful for the entirety of my education at the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, my experience at UGA at Oxford was truly transformational. Those of us who participated in that first Fall program in 1999 were exposed to a highly customized learning opportunity as administrators worked tirelessly to ensure our course needs were met to stay on track with our major areas of study, which often deviated from the standard classes that had been offered in the past through the spring and summer programs. For two of my tutorials – Victorian novels and Renaissance French literature – I was the lone member of the “class.” Initially, this prospect was quite daunting; having no other students to whom one can defer when stuck without an answer certainly drives one to prepare well for class! Apart from the rich academic aspects of this experience, though, it taught me a greater life lesson: to believe in my abilities. My tutors
Catharine Sanders.
A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
9
UGA at Oxford & Franklin College
Homecoming Tailgate 2008
A
s has become our yearly tradition, UGA at Oxford and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted a Homecoming tailgate and reunion on the patio in front of Park Hall. With fantastic weather, the whole affair kicked off at 10AM, and the early hour posed no problem for the over 200 folks in attendance throughout. Thanks once again to the hard work of Program staff and organizers from the Franklin College and the cooperation of Mother Nature, the crisp October morning went about as smoothly as one could hope. With Hallie Jane’s catering once again providing a sumptuous buffet, it is safe to say that the guests felt pleased with the food also. In their remarks at the tailgate, UGA Associate Provost, Dr. Judith Shaw, and Franklin College Dean, Dr. Garnett Stokes, both noted the academic mission of the UGA at Oxford Program and celebrated the natural partnership between UGA’s largest and most diverse College and its most comprehensive studyabroad program. Seeing a dramatic increase in participation over last year, UGA at Oxford Associate Director James McClung observed, “Often, in the excitement before departure and the rush of returning home we do not have occasion to hear from our students about what the experience in Oxford has meant to them, and having the opportunity to fellowship with past students and their parents is something we all look forward to in the Oxford Program office.” Mark your calendars now for next year’s Homecoming Reunion Tailgate on November 7, 2009. In this special Anniversary year, you can expect to see some familiar and wellloved guests from the UK. If you haven’t made plans to attend this event in the past, start now, and don’t miss out!
Summer 2006 Grady, Franklin and Terry students were among many who turned out for the tailgate in good numbers for some reunion fun. Among some of our newest alumni, these gentlemen from the summer 2008 Program attended the Homecoming tailgate for the first of hopefully many years to come. Whether attending the game or not, it is certainly hard to beat the vantage point afforded by the Park hall patio on a October morning. These summer 2007 participants took a moment to reconnect and reflect on their Oxford adventure.
10
Oxford Bulldog
The tailgate is often an excellent chance for Program participants and their parents to discuss the Program with staff and administrators (in this case, Director, Kalpen Trivedi) who are working hard to ensure a remarkable study-abroad experience.
Alumni Notes Dear UGA at Oxford Program Alumni, While perusing this, your latest copy of the Oxford Bulldog, are you struck by a pang of jealousy? Do you miss Oxford, and have you ever thought about going back? Does the Turf Tavern beckon? Do you miss the intellectual pummeling you used to receive under the tutelage of Dr. Bradshaw, Dr. Archer, or Dr. Gillingham? Does the thought of those pleasant, musty reading rooms in the Bodleian ever make you long for one more look at Duke Humfrey’s Library? Would you like to help others have the opportunity to experience what you have been so fortunate to experience? All of these things are, of course, possible! The UGA at Oxford Program needs your help. We’ve spent the last 20 years growing by leaps and bounds, and we want you to be a big part of that growth as it continues into the next 20 years. With thousands of students and hundreds of Programs in our past, it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with all of those for whom the UGA at Oxford Program is an unforgettable experience. We are interested in recruiting individuals who can help our alumni and development efforts by serving as class representatives. If you are in contact with other Program alums or would like to be in charge of rallying your class to the cause of furthering the Program’s goals and visions, please let us know. We’ll ask very little of your time, but your participation will benefit the Program immensely, and we hope you’ll find it rewarding to renew your involvement with UGA at Oxford. Many alum have already come forward to help, the reminiscences of Vin Moscardelli (Summer ’89), Jonathan Foggin (Summer ’92 & Spring ’94), and Catharine Sanders (Fall ’99) found on the proceeding pages are only the beginning; we want to hear from you. Additionally, some alumni have already agreed to serve as class representatives: Clayton Foggin and Maya Maher (Summer ’92), Claire Foggin (Summer ’95), and Donny Embleton (Summer ’03). Contact them, or us, with your stories; let us know where you are and what you’ve been up to since you’ve left the Program and Athens. We’d be happy to crow about you in subsequent issues of the Bulldog, and it goes without saying that we wouldn’t be where we are today without your participation. Feel free to email (oxford@uga.edu), call (706) 542.2244, or write 326A Park Hall, Athens, GA 30602. Also, look us up on the official UGA at Oxford Facebook group or log on to our UGA at Oxford Alumni Message Board via the website: http://www.uga.edu/oxford.
Alumni Quiz: Here are a few questions to jog your memory and remind you of those halcyon days in Oxford. Send us your responses via email or on Facebook! Your answers will be featured in an upcoming Oxford Bulldog: What was your favorite Oxford College? What’s the best insult you ever heard from an Oxford Don? (Feel free to use your own here, but don’t be afraid to change names to protect the guilty!) What was your favorite class-related excursion? If you could park yourself in any spot in the Bodleian, where would we most likely find you? Favorite pub? Best hole-in-the-wall restaurant? Did you and your spouse meet on the Oxford Program? Who was your favorite Oxford Don? Why?
We’d love to hear from you soon. UGA at Oxford
ox fo rd @u g a . e d u A Publication of the UGA at Oxford Program
•
2008
11
UGA at Oxford Development Board In 2008, the UGA at Oxford Program convened its first Development Board. Charged with the dual purposes of helping to support the fiscal and intellectual health of the UGA at Oxford Program, the Board has already gone far beyond symbolic measures in the short time since the first assembly. Under the direction of Ken Parris, Board Chair, they have enacted initiatives to endow scholarships for UGA students wishing to go on the Program, hosted events for furthering the reputation and influence of the Program, and are currently working to help secure the future of our expansion into new academic subject areas. Inaugural board members, who in addition to providing support to the Program with their time, have also provided financial support through gifts and in-kind donations include: Ken Parris (Board Chair), founder and CEO of Parti LLC; Mary Adams (honorary member), First-Lady of the University of Georgia; Brian DeLoach, Chief of Medical Staff at Georgia Southern University Student Health Services and Oxford Program alumnus; George Gibson, owner of George Gibson Menswear; Theresa Heffernan, Americus resident and supporter of international education; Joe Irving, father of Program alumnus Michael Irving; Bill Lind, Account Director at British Airways; John McManus, partner McManus & Warlick LLP; Martin Rickerd (honorary member), British Consul General in Atlanta; Frank Sinkwich III, owner of Northeast Sales Dist.; Kim White, part- owner of Harry Bissett’s and partner Maynard and Bartlett Realty Group LLP; and John Wiles, Georgia District 37 Senator. Having met in March and October of 2008, these UGA at Oxford Development Board members have already established themselves as an invaluable part of our mission. In the coming year, they have already dedicated themselves to a wide range of estimable goals. With their help, the UGA at Oxford Program can certainly look forward to many more years of expansion and success serving the UGA community. If you are interested in learning more about the Board and its activities, please contact Program Director, Dr. Kalpen Trivedi (706) 542.2244 or Director of Development for Academic Affairs, Linda DePascale (706) 425.2949.
Program alum and board member Dr. Brian DeLoach and his wife Holly were on hand for the Fall reunion in front of Park Hall.
12
Oxford Bulldog
Notes from 104 I had always dreamed of living like a châtelaine, and now I do! Well, not quite. I am the Center Manager at the UGA residential facility in Oxford, but in terms of the number of rooms I have keys for, the scale of the building I’m in charge of, and the expanse of its garden, this is the nearest I shall ever get to living the life of a landed lady. I was asked to take on this role by Dr. Judy Shaw when UGA bought its previous house in Oxford at 106 Banbury Road, next door to the one it now owns. This previous property was altogether more labyrinthine than the splendid and spacious 104. It housed 27 students and it was here that I first encountered the unfailing courtesy, friendliness, and high motivation of the UGA at Oxford students. The plumbing, however, was less reliable, with water tending to cascade through the hallway ceiling all too frequently. 104 Banbury Road was built around 1880, but during 2006-7 it was completely gutted and tastefully refurbished. Although the UGA house can now accommodate 40 students I do my best to maintain an English domestic ambience with a Georgian twist. In the common room nearest the front door, for instance, the stately figure of a pipe-smoking bulldog stands proud, whereas, the entrance hall is graced with an early nineteenth-century long-case clock and in the centre of the hall a large round table lies beneath an elegant chandelier. Flowers from the garden are displayed on it as often as the British weather allows. Beyond the entrance hall, the library, kitchen and dining/seminar room have all been furnished and decorated to enhance a sense of late-Victorian domestic elegance and comfort. On the second and third floors there are no fewer than 15 bedrooms (with a further three on the first floor) which are occupied by students either singly or in groups of 2, 3, or 4. But it is the first floor that stuns the visitor and the arriving students and it gives me particular pleasure when Oxford University Faculty first enter the house and gape with astonishment (and some envy) at what UGA has achieved here. The garden in particular is a complete delight. There is plenty of space for students to find a quiet and shady nook for themselves, but there is also a large piece of open ground on which they can take more vigorous exercise. All in all, 104 Banbury Road has to be one of the most impressive residences in the whole of smart north Oxford and to have it as my place of work is a daily privilege and pleasure. The building was purchased in a terrible state and had largely been forgotten behind a screen of overgrown trees. But now it has been revealed in all its splendour. The focus of its façade is a large door in UGA red. My role is extremely diverse. A large part of it involves being less a fanciful landed lady and more a landlady, imploring students to close doors behind them, to lock gates, and not to leave food decaying in the fridge. But it is also important that I am there to be a kind of temporary mother-figure, to listen, comfort and, advise students when needed. There is also a gardener and maintenance men to be supervised as well as scheduling all the visits from local tradesmen. In all of this my relationship with the onsite graduate residents each term is crucial and I have been very lucky indeed to have got to know a whole troop of delightful and capable young people who have fulfilled this role to great effect. I look forward to working here for many years to come. Barbara Bradshaw
DEVELOPMENT NOTES
I
first visited the UGA at Oxford Program in the late 1980s while in Europe on business. On my way home, I stopped by to visit the Program, then newly under the direction of my neighbor, Dr. Judy Shaw. At that time, the Program was primarily an English and History Department summer program housed at Jesus College. Even in the early stages of UGA at Oxford’s development, one could tell how thrilled UGA students were to be in Oxford. Having studied with UGA’s program in Italy, I have a great appreciation for the transformational experience studying abroad offers. Indeed, after my own tenure abroad, I went on to form a wholesale company using my newly acquired fluency in Italian Linda DePascale – a thing I would never have dreamed possible before living and studying in a foreign country. There is no substitute for the experience, academic or otherwise, of studying abroad. Today, when I talk to UGA at Oxford alumni, they too say that they consider their time with UGA at Oxford as their most memorable experience at UGA. The love and support for the program even extends beyond the scope of alumni and faculty; perhaps nowhere is that more obvious than in Ken Parris. Ken believes in the UGA at Oxford mission so passionately that he and his wife Andrea have endowed the Ploughman Scholarship for the Program. Ken is Chairman and President of The Parris Group, Inc., with a MBA from Georgia State University and a BA from the University of Georgia, majoring in English and Speech Communication. He has worked on various Congressional teams, including those of Mickey Edwards, Buddy Darden, and Dave Garret. In November 1989, Ken was awarded a Fellowship by the Robert Bosch Foundation, and he traveled to work in the Bundestag offices of the Economic Spokesman for the CDU Party, researching and developing policy for privatization in the former East Germany. Ken then returned to Georgia, refocusing his business on privatization and the transformation of the commercial sector of former COMECON countries. For twelve years, Ken pursued strategic partnerships with newly privatized companies in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. From 1997 through 2000, Ken helped assemble and then lead a consortium of companies for converting military nuclear facilities in Moscow into manufactories for residential building materials. In 1999, Ken launched Parti, LLC, one of the first operations in the Southeast for construction of custom homes using off-site or modular technology. In addition to his many professional commitments, Ken has served on the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors for twelve years, including terms on the Executive Committee and as Vice President. Ken became acquainted with Dr. Shaw in the early eighties when he enrolled in her class on Chaucer. At that time, he was particularly impressed with Chaucer’s Ploughman, an ideal, hard-working, Christian character. Ken’s own experiences of living and working abroad have made him a firm believer in the vital role of study abroad in producing socially responsible graduates, schooled in the qualities of humanism, charity, and tolerance. “All travel is eyeopening,” he says. “It creates the appetite for more. The more you travel, the better informed you are.” Thanks to the enormous generosity of Ken and Andrea, two students are supported on the UGA at Oxford Program yearly. In addition to financial contributions, Ken also gives tirelessly of his time as an advocate and a champion of the UGA at Oxford Program mission. We are all enormously grateful to him for serving as Chair of the UGA at Oxford Development Board and spearheading our fundraising efforts. As we look forward to the next twenty years of growth and development, we are committed to providing a quality study-abroad experience for as many academically qualified students as possible, regardless of their financial situation. As Dr. Trivedi noted, we all need to do what we can to insure that students continue to have the opportunity to study abroad with UGA at Oxford. In 2009, we hope to commemorate the Program’s 20th anniversary by fully endowing the Judith D. Shaw Scholarship fund. Please consider contributing to this fund, in whatever measure possible, as fitting tribute to Dr. Shaw’s retirement. If you have an idea for a scholarship or other gift you would like to make to benefit UGA students who wish to be part of this incredible opportunity, please give me a call. I look forward to hearing about what UGA at Oxford means to you.
corporate friends
British Airways Plc Registered office: Waterside PO Box 365 Harmondsworth, UB7 0GB
Harry Bissett’s New Orleans Cafe 360 Pharr Rd NE Atlanta, GA 30305 Phone: 404-425-5995
Harry Bissett’s Bayou Grill 1155 Mitchell Bridge Rd. Athens, GA 30601 Phone: 706-552-1193
Northeast Sales Distributing, Inc. 840 Ronald Wood Rd Winder, GA , 30680-4130 Phone: 678-963-7700
Special thanks also to the British American Business Group (BABG) for their support of the UGA at Oxford Program.
2009-2010
UGA at Oxford Program Calendar Early Admit Deadlines available for 2009 programs. Please see the UGA at Oxford website: www.uga.edu/oxford
2 0 0 9
2 0 1 0
SPIA at Oxford Spring 2009 Friday, January 2 – Saturday, March 14
SPIA at Oxford Spring 2010 Friday, December 31 – Saturday, March 13
SPIA at Oxford Spring 2009 (Early Admission) Friday, January 2 – Saturday, March 14
SPIA at Oxford Spring 2010 (Early Admission) Friday, December 31 – Saturday, March 13
UGA / OSU Law at Oxford Spring 2009 Friday, January 2 – Saturday, April 18
UGA / OSU Law at Oxford Spring 2010 Friday, December 31 – Saturday, April 17
Franklin at Oxford Spring 2009 Thursday, March 26 – Saturday, June 20
Franklin at Oxford Spring 2010 Thursday, March 25 – Saturday, June 19
Foundation Fellows at Oxford Maymester 2009 Sunday, May 10 – Wednesday, June 10
Foundation Fellows at Oxford Maymester 2010 Sunday, May 9 – Thursday, June 10
Franklin at Oxford Junemester 2009 Saturday, June 13 – Sunday, June 28
Franklin at Oxford Junemester 2010 Saturday, June 12 – Sunday, June 27
Franklin at Oxford Summer 2009 Sunday, July 5 – Friday, August 14
Franklin at Oxford Summer 2010 Sunday, July 4 – Friday, August 13
Terry at Oxford Summer 2009 Wednesday, July 1 – Friday, August 14
Terry at Oxford Summer 2010 Wednesday, June 30 – Friday, August 13
Grady at Oxford Summer 2009 Sunday, July 5 – Friday, August 14
Grady at Oxford Summer 2010 Sunday, July 4 – Friday, August 13
Franklin at Oxford Fall 2009 Thursday, September 10 – Saturday, December 5
Franklin at Oxford Fall 2010 Thursday, September 9 – Saturday, December 4
UGA at Oxford The University of Georgia 326A Park Hall Athens, GA 30602
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PA I D
Permit No. 165 Athens, Georgia