Faculty and Staff Colleagues:
We continue into the final month of classes and supporting nearly 400 students in residence on campus, as well as over 550 students learning remotely. We are in the midst of election season, culminating in next Tuesday, Election Day. A tropical storm warning is in effect for our campus. Meanwhile, we are experiencing success at keeping COVID largely in check. Anyone tired yet?
The students have joined forces with some wonderful faculty and staff to celebrate Halloween, 2020 style. Thanks to the President's Office, and support from our Events and Conferences and RES Life teams, on-campus students will receive goodie bags with fall-themed treats by Friday. SIL and Campus Life colleagues are hosting a dynamic "Halloweek." And Professors Sarah Higinbotham and Jack Hardy, among others, have hosted pumpkin carving events. Thanks to all of you for finding a spirit of festivity to help us mark the change of seasons.
Thanks for all that you do for Oxford.
Doug
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In the Christian tradition, November 1 is observed as All Saints Day. All Saints is meant to help us remember those persons in our lives or the life of the church who have died in the last year. Many churches will read their names, light candles in their memory, and place pictures of them in their worship bulletin or on the altar.
In her book, The Liturgical Year, Sister Joan Chittister says that “In the lives of the saints, we see in our own time the qualities that make life possible. They give us courage to go on when noise drowns out prayer and excess smothers self-control.”
I do not think you have to be Christian to appreciate this day or practice. Take a moment to name someone who has died either this past year or prior, one who has given you the courage to persevere, especially in 2020! Give thanks for them and light a candle to honor their memory and legacy. I plan to light candles this year for our alumni who have died as well as John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I will light candles for those I did not know personally who died from COVID-19 as well as those who died at the hands of racism and other forms of injustice. May we be held in our grief and encouraged by their lives.
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Southern Circuit Film Series screening November 2 |
Fandango at the Wall
November 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Screening and Q&A with
Director and Co-Writer Varda Bar-Kar
Southern Circuit Film Series fall semester screenings conclude with Fandango at the Wall. The film follows Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra founder/conductor Arturo O'Farrill to the remotest regions of Veracruz, Mexico, where he meets and jams with the masters of son jarocho. Son jarocho is 300-year-old folk music rooted in the land that combines Indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions. After O'Farrill's inspiring journey to a place where time seems to stands still, he and his orchestra join the masters of son jarocho at the border between the United States and Mexico for a son jarocho music and dance festival called Fandango Fronterizo (founded by Jorge Francisco Castillo). The festival takes place simultaneously on both sides of the United States-Mexico border transforming this object that divides to one that unites. With a poetic musical approach inspired by the son jarocho tradition, Fandango at the Wall reveals a Mexico seldom depicted. The story reveals a culturally rich portrait of Mexico and Mexicans and presents US-Mexico relations in a positive light, showing how art and culture can bring our countries and people together. Discover more about the film on the website.
Southern Circuit screenings are funded in part by a grant from South Arts, a regional arts organization, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about Southern Circuit and South Arts please visit www.southarts.org.
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Sarah Fankhauser, assistant professor of biology, presented "More than Experiments: Engaging Students Beyond the Lab in STEM Research" on October 28 as part of the three-day Space Station Explorer Annual Summit. The conference was organized by the Center for Advancement in Science in Space (CASIS) and Space Station Explorers (the educational branch of CASIS).
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Christopher Blake, assistant professor of economics, participated in a virtual panel with web-based career advice company Zippia answering questions for "Experts Weigh in on Current Job Market Trends. " Blake and other faculty from institutions across the country discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to change the job market for upcoming graduates.
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Oxford community cookbook recipes due October 28 |
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Oxford Staff Organization is compiling a digital cookbook for this fall's Chaplaincy Fundraiser. The cookbook will be comprised of recipes from the Oxford community and we need your recipe submissions! All faculty and staff are invited to share their favorite recipes for all to enjoy. Please submit your recipe no later than Wednesday, October 28, for it to be included in the cookbook.
Submit recipes online here. A $5 donation will reserve your copy of the digital OSO cookbook. More information forthcoming about donations, cookbook distribution, and the launch lunch on November 6.
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Lecture: Richie Reseda, Talking Plain About Patriarchy
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Southern Circuit Film Series: Fandango at the Wall
Screening and Q&A with Director, Co-Writer Varda Bar-Kar
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Take a Break Tuesday hosted by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
Oxford Student Center front patio | 1:30-2:45 p.m.
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Theater artist: Kimberly Dark, Fat, Pretty and Soon to be Old
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Faculty Film Series: Ken Anderson, Basquiat
Candler Hall | 7:00 p.m.
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Take a Break Tuesday hosted by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
Oxford Student Center front patio | 1:30-2:45 p.m.
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Faculty Film Series: Alejandro Abarca, Giselle Ballet
Candler Hall | 7:00 p.m.
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Kimberly Wallace-Sanders, Framing Shadows, Framing Silences:
African Americans in Domestic Portraiture
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Claudia Schaer: Violin Performance
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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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