Campus News
June 10, 2011
Summer isn't sleepy at Oxford
Participants in the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia made Oxford their home for one night, bringing more than 1,000 cycling enthusiasts to campus.
Students and most faculty may be away from Oxford College for the summer, but activity does not end. There is just a change of schedule, and the campus is alive with a variety of camps, conferences and other events.
One of the highest-profile events each summer is the Oxford Institute for Environmental Education (OIEE), taking place this year June 6-17 at Oxford's OxHouse Science Center. The two-week seminar provides an opportunity for science teachers in grades K-12 to collaborate with Oxford's biology faculty, gaining new science teaching methods and investigative techniques, which they can then take back to their classrooms in the fall. Since it was founded in 1991, OIEE has trained more than 300 teachers and by extension has influenced science education for thousands of students throughout the region. Participation is competitive, and OIEE attracts teachers from across Georgia and north Florida.
Watch an audio slideshow: "Oxford College Institute shapes environmental education"
On Sunday, June 5, Oxford hosted more than 1,200 cyclists participating in the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). Some riders spent the night in tents they had pitched on the college quadrangle; some "camped" on the floor of Williams Gymnasium and others slept in college residence halls. All were up bright and early to make the next leg of the journey, destination Milledgeville. Savannah is the weeklong BRAG's final destination on June 11.
Several other conferences have located at Oxford for many years. These include Creative Kids Camp, a day camp sponsored by the Newton County Arts Association that brings first- through sixth-graders to campus for a week of art, drama and music; the Georgia Teen Institute, a leadership and substance-abuse prevention program for middle and high school youth from across the state; and the summer camp for Harmony, an Atlanta-based international youth chorus. Also at Oxford this summer for camps will be the International Karate Kobudo Union, the Chinese School of Atlanta and the Decatur High School Marching Band.
While on campus, these groups are served by Oxford's expert Office of Events and Conferences (OCEC), led by Cynthia Millsaps. Groups who wish to use college facilities can contact OCEC at 770.784.8389 for more information.
