Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,
Today is the last of three designated "rest days" of this semester, marking our move into the final phase of the term. Like many of you, our students are looking ahead to the end of classes, final exams and, for those graduating, commencement. Over the course of the past year — since spring break 2020 — I have said "resilience" and "perseverance" more than I did in the prior decade.
You are likely seeing admitted students and their families walking around campus enjoying the beautiful weather and taking in the feeling of Oxford College. These visitors give campus a different feel, one that hearkens back to prior years while also being a harbinger of our full return to campus in August.
I look forward to sharing more information about commencement and fall planning with you in the coming days and weeks. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to our students and for taking care of yourselves and each other.
Best,
Doug
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An amazing variety of religious holidays have been packed in to the last couple of weeks for the major religious traditions represented at Oxford. The Hindu holiday of Holi, the Jewish holiday of Pesach or Passover, and the Christian observance of Holy Week and then Easter all came at about the same time. These are important and festive moments in the lives of our students and for many of you as well. This is one of the aspects I love about my work here the most — the religious diversity that brings so much meaning to our community.
We’re now in the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, as of April 13. Ramadan is a month-long time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement, and heightened devotion and worship/prayer. It is also a month of fasting, which is important to note if you’re teaching or working with students. Please read the flyer below for some helpful tips about what is happening during this month for students and colleagues. Ramadan Mubarak!
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Melissa Hage, assistant professor of environmental science, was quoted in the U.S. News &World Report article "How to Become a Geologist."
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The Newton Community Magazine profiled the unwavering faith and drive, during her battle with Ovarian cancer, of Oxford College Head Tennis Coach Pernilla Hardin in the story "Warrior Spirit. "
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Faculty publications and awards
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David Gowler, The Dr. Lovick Pierce and Bishop George F. Pierce Professor of Religion, director of the Pierce Program in Religion, and Senior Faculty Fellow for Emory's Center for Ethics, co-edited Volume 23 in the Emory Studies in Early Christianity monograph series that has just been published: Rhetoric and Scripture: Collected Essays of Thomas H. Olbricht (ed. Lauri Thurén).
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Eadem utraque Europa ("both Europes"), t he Argentine journal of cultural and intellectual history, published the article "'Europe' in the Origins of Musical Latin Americanism" by Pablo Palomino, assistant professor of Latin American & Caribbean Studies. Abstract: How did the very idea of "Latin American music" appear in the musical and cultural vocabulary, and how did it relate to the idea of "Europe"? The argument of this brief geo-history aims at revealing the insufficiencies of both the traditional interpretations, which saw in Latin American music a mestizo continuity with European music, and those by recent post- and de-colonial critical perspectives, which emphasize its subaltern otherness. My archival work suggests that "Latin American music," as a discourse and as a professional field is fundamentally the result of national and regionalist projects, developed within the context of the 20th-century commercial and aesthetic globalization.
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LaTonia Taliaferro-Smith, director of undergraduate laboratories and lecturer in biology, was recently recognized with the 2021 Black Women Excellence award presented by Bloom at Emory. Bloom at Emory is a social club that "envisions a community of healthy and whole Black women. We are a group of women, connected by the heart and spirit, engaging in self-care techniques to improve our lives and the world around us."
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Oxford Chorale spring concert April 15 and 16
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Oxford Chorale will present a concert titled Music of Reflection and Resilience on Thursday, April 15, and Friday, April 16, at 8:00 p.m. in Williams Hall. Seating is limited to 10 persons, so please sign up to reserve your free ticket. The program will feature music by Fauré, Massenet, Mozart, and Virgil Thomson, as well as some popular songs. Reserve your tickets online.
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2021 Emory Pride Awards recognize student project
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Emory University Office of LGBT Life hosted the 28th Annual Pride Awards on March 30. The event's keynote speaker was Alix Olson, assistant professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS). View the recorded ceremony online.
The Gender Affirming Items Project was recognized with the Outstanding Transgender Advocate of the Year award. Ben Gilbert 19Ox 21C and second-year student Gabe Harr-Siebenlist 21Ox are involved with the recognized student-led initiative along with fellow Emory students Jackson Eckel, Henry Mangalapalli, and Sean Parker. As Woodruff Scholars, Gilbert and Harr-Siebenlist participated in a design challenge to create initiatives and programs addressing issues of equity at Emory University. Their team chose to focus on sexual and gender identity and developed a program to help transgender students at Emory receive free and discreet access to gender affirming clothes and cosmetic items. Their project was selected as a finalist and as such received funding to proceed with implementation.
From the team: The program hinges on a request form that is to be sent out through Emory listservs to any student who participates in various student, faculty, or alumni based LGBTQ communities. Students would then select on the form the various items they’d like to receive, from a pool of products sourced from safe and ethical companies. Once the requests are sent in, an employee/volunteer/member of our team would then purchase the products and ship them out to the locations students provide on the request form. Should the student prefer, the products can be sent out using the company's discreet shipping option.
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2021 Oxford Class Gift Honors Gary Glass
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The 2021 Oxford class gift will benefit the entire Oxford community by providing support to raise awareness about the ways in which social justice and mental health intersect. We are coordinating efforts and developing plans with input from Dean Doug Hicks, Counseling and Career Services, and Campus Life.
As members of the Oxford Class Gift Committee of 2021, we have chosen to make our gift in honor of Gary Glass, director of Counseling and Career Services, who has guided and supported students during the past year. He is an amazing human being, and we students are thankful to have him at Oxford College. Our committee’s financial goal is $10,000.
On behalf of the Oxford Class of 2021, we invite you to join in supporting Oxford through our class gift and showing your appreciation for the Oxford experience and all that it encompasses. Please contribute. Your participation is vital to a successful campaign, and it is easy to make a gift online today.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Harrison Campbell 21Ox and Gracie Wilson 21Ox
2021 Oxford Class Gift Committee Co-chairs
Members of the 2021 Oxford Class Gift Committee include: Pooja Addala, Noor Aldayeh, Ben Archer, Andrew Florence, Dylan Goldberg, Alexis Jenkins, Nicole Kassabian, Hannah Kreuziger, Eleanor Liu, Joyce Liu, Payton Malone, Anna Rhoads, Michael Shi, and Balwant Singh.
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Emory University community to participate in Denim Day April 21
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Members of the Emory community are invited to participate in Denim Day on Wednesday, April 21, by wearing jeans (or any denim clothing) with a purpose: visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence. On campus participants can visit the Student Center from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on April 21 to participate in Oxford's Denim Day activities. Participating remotely? Post a pic using #EmoryDenimDay to show your support and send the photos to the Office of Respect, Emory's central hub for sexual and interpersonal violence prevention programs, at respect@emory.edu. You can also tag the Office of Respect on social media through Facebook; Twitter @RespectWell; and Instagram @office_of_respect. Emory Student Government Association will donate $1 for every person in the Denim Day photo received by the Office of Respect. Get more information about Denim Day and its importance.
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Lecture: Alex Zamalin: Beyond Civility:
The White Supremacist Roots of Civility in the U.S.
2021 Lyceum Lecture Series: Toward a Social Justice Spring
Co-sponsored by Emory College’s Department of Political Science
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Oxford Chorale spring concert: Music of Reflection and Resilience
Limited attendance. Tickets required. Reserve a ticket online.
Williams Hall | 8:00 p.m.
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Oxford Chorale spring concert: Music of Reflection and Resilience
Limited attendance. Tickets required. Reserve a ticket online.
Williams Hall | 8:00 p.m.
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Emory Cares: Honoring the Legacy of Volunteerism & Justice
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Take a Break Tuesday
Student Center front plaza | 1:30-2:45 p.m.
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Take a Break Tuesday
Student Center front plaza | 1:30-2:45 p.m.
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To submit a news item for the next Campus Update, please email Ansley Holder.
The newsletter is distributed weekly on Wednesday.
Please send any submissions by Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading!
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