With its welcoming atmosphere, its open-minded people, its interesting talks and its aim to promote Jewish life in an academic environment, the Oxford Chabad Society without doubt has strong connections to the University of Oxford. Therefore, Chabad was more than honoured to welcome a good friend, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Prof Andrew D. Hamilton, as the distinguished guest of this year's Thanksgiving Shabbat Dinner on Fri, 23 Nov, attended by about a hundred students and faculty. He was accompanied by Prof Peter Claus, a Jewish Senior Research Fellow and first Access Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford, and was was gracuously greeted by Rabbi Eli Brackman, director of the Oxford Chabad Society.
The Vice-Chancellor, who was introduced by the Chabad Society President Rhodes Scholar Zach Frankel, spoke about Oxford's role in the world, mentioning the achievements, the reputation, but also the challenges Oxford faces nationally and internationally.
He emphasized that Oxford's outreach is not limited to the city centre - Oxford alumni can be found everywhere, in leadership positions in research, economy, charities and politics. One example for this is the current Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a former student Nuffield College. But also Oxford University as an institution stretches further than many expect: The Oxford University Press is by far the largest academic publisher in the world and promotes the values of Oxford University worldwide. Moreover, Oxford maintains whole research institutes abroad, such as Tropical Medicine research institutes in Thailand and Vietnam, or the China-Oxford Centre for International Health Research.
Asked about the commitment to the local community, Hamilton highlighted student-run organisations like the Oxford Hub, which coordinate several projects, for instance to help the many homeless people in the area. Also projects like Teach First are important student contributions to community life, in particular given that Oxford has some of the poorest-performing schools in the country.
The Vice-Chancellor mentioned that many good British students unfortunately do not consider applying to Oxford, and that some teachers even discourage them. To improve the situation, Oxford University is trying to reach out to good students across the country by giving talks at Secondary Schools, and by inviting students over the summer vacations in order that they can experience life at Oxford. In this context, Prof Claus told about the projects he initiated at Pembroke College to encourage students from non-traditional backgrounds to apply to Oxford, like a cooperation with a school in Hackney.
Since the Vice-Chancellor's last visit at Chabad, British Universities have gone through turbulent times: Study fees have increased dramatically, government spending on research has dropped, and Oxford was one of the centres of student protest against the government cuts. According to Prof Hamilton, a major challenge of Oxford is the funding of excellent students from low-income backgrounds. He therefore gratefully mentioned a recent £75 million donation by Google investor Michael Moritz, which will enable students from families with an income of less than £16,000 per year to study at Oxford. Moritz made the donation in the memory of his father, who fled from the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and eventually studied at Oxford on scholarship. And in 2010, the Russian-American businessman and philanthropist Leonard Blavatnik - also a jew by the way - made another £75 million donation, which enabled Oxford to found the Blavatnik School of Government.
Prof Hamilton considers the tutorial system as the central part of an Oxford education: while many American Universities have frequent exams to tightly control the students' progress, Oxford provides more personal engagement through tutorials in small groups in order to promote intellectual self-confidence. He encouraged the students to make the most of their education as well as of the experiences they make at Colleges, Clubs and Societies, and then to go on and contribute something to the world.
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