From Bob Schwartz, City Manager
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→ Birthday Party – As part of the surprise birthday party Mike Ready planned for Cheryl Ready, Mayor Roseberry presented a Proclamation making Saturday, August 20th, Cheryl Ready Day in Oxford.
→ Oxford College – Here’s a URL to a page showing the breakdown of the 505 new students at Oxford College. They had 8,644 applications and enrolled 6%.
→ Plant Scherer – Councilmembers Melvin Baker and Mike Ready along with Jody Reid and I took a tour of Plant Scherer Tuesday morning. The plant is operated by Georgia Power for a consortium of seven owners; one is MEAG. About 30% of the electric power we use in Oxford comes from Plant Scherer. It is the largest coal fired power plant in the country. It receives 2 – 3 trains of coal a day and each train is made up of 135 cars. The plant is kept running by a work force of about 400 and runs 24 hours a day and seven days a week. We were given the tour by Don Fitzgerald of MEAG who is stationed at the plant to keep an eye on MEAG’s investment. Holly Bisig, our MEAG regional manager, organized the tour and came with us. There is no way for the pictures to convey the size of the plant. It is massive.
→ Oxford College News – The semester has started. Here is an item from the college web site.
 New year, new dean, record enrollment
August 25, 2016
Classes have begun at Oxford College, and the new year brings a new dean, Douglas Hicks, who joined in July. The start of the 2016-17 year is also notable because Oxford has reached the highest enrollment in its history, and it has also seated its most highly academically-credentialed student body ever.
Convocation
On the evening of the first day of classes, Oxford observes convocation, the traditional ceremony marking the academic new year. Faculty in academic regalia process at the ceremony, with the student body and members of the staff also attending.
The address for Convocation 2016 was given by Dean Douglas Hicks, presiding over the first convocation in his Oxford tenure. Remarks were also delivered by Muhammad Naveed, president of the Oxford College Student Government Association, and Emory University dignitaries including Claire Sterk, president-elect; Stuart Zola, interim provost; and Michael Elliott, interim dean of Emory College.
Candlelight Procession
Following convocation, Oxford freshmen participated in the tradition of a candlelight procession through the quad, where sophomore students gathered to cheer and formally welcome them to Oxford. This ceremony is a bookend to the Candlelight Crossover, a ceremony these students will participate in as seniors just before their Emory University graduation.
Class of 2020
Entering students are members of the Oxford College Class of 2018 and Emory University Class of 2020. This class numbers 505 students who come from 38 states and the District of Columbia and 14 countries. They join Oxford’s sophomores in being the most highly credential student body ever, and at more than 980, they comprise the highest enrollment in Oxford’s history.
New Faculty
New faculty members for 2016-17 include:
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- Catherine Bagwell, professor of psychology, completed her PhD in clinical psychology at Duke University. Prior to joining Oxford, Catherine held positions at the University of Richmond and Colgate University. Her primary scholarly focus is the intersection of developmental psychology and child clinical psychology with attention to children's peer relations and friendships. She has co-authored two books and her articles have been published in a number of leading journals including the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, and the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.
- Donald Beaudette, assistant professor of political science, completed his PhD in political science at Emory University. Prior to joining Oxford, Don taught at Morehouse College. His primary scholarly focus is the relationship between civil policing, counterinsurgency and insurgent vigilantism in the context of civil war. His articles have been published in a number of leading journals including the Journal of Politics, the Social Science Journal, and European Political Science Review.
- Bridgette Gunnels, assistant professor of Spanish, completed her PhD in Romance languages and literatures with a secondary field in Latin American history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Prior to joining Oxford, Bridgette was lecturer at Oxford College and also held positions at Agnes Scott College and the University of West Georgia. Her scholarly focus is identity and place in the Latin American and Caribbean short story and social-justice pedagogy in the foreign-language classroom. Her articles have been published in a number of leading journals, including Revista de Estudios Hispanicos and Journal of Language Literary Education.
- Thomas Osburn, assistant professor of physics, completed his PhD in physics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Thomas's primary scholarly focus is gravitational wave astrophysics and black hole perturbation theory. His articles have been published in a number of leading journals, including Physical Review and Journal of the Electrochemical Society.
- David Resha, assistant professor of film studies, completed his PhD in film studies with a minor in media and cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining Oxford, David held a position at Birmingham-Southern College. His primary scholarly focus is documentary film history and aesthetics. He has authored the book, The Cinema of Errol Morris, and his articles have been published in a number of leading journals, including Screening the Past and Quarterly Review of Film and Video
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Faculty members who enter the academic year with promotions include Susan Ashmore, professor of history; Brenda Harmon, professor of pedagogy in chemistry; and Theodosia Wade, professor of pedagogy in biology.
Other new faculty joining Oxford this fall include Alex Abarca, Center for Healthful Living; Swati Agrawal, biology; Jared Bok, sociology; Tiara DeLapp, Center for Healthful Living; Tinna Gallagher, Center for Healthful Living and head women's soccer coach; Muhammad Husain, economics; Pam Joyce, theater; Simba Nikomo, chemistry; McKenna Rose, Writing Center; Cristina Tarazona, Spanish; Cristy Tower-Gilchrist, physiology; Alexandra Tremblay, biology; Daniel Walter, German and English.
Intervarsity Sports
Cross-country running and golf, formerly offered as club sports, are the newest additions to the lineup of Oxford’s intervarsity sports.
Construction
Following the opening of the new Oxford Science Building this past January, construction moves forward on a new dining hall, located across the street from the current dining facility. Completion is projected for January 2017.
Classes will end on December 6. The final day of fall semester is December 16.
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