Oxford University dean to speak

SCSU offers many study abroad options for students, but one spoken of less frequently around campus is the Oxford program, which is an association of colleges located in Oxford, England. 

This is an honors program for students and is more expensive than the other programs.  Oxford is an association of colleges in England located in the city of Oxford, England. 

Nathan Crowe, senior dean at the Oxford program in England, is planned to visit St. Cloud State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 in Ritsche Auditorium for a presentation called “Censorship under the Czars.”

“Censorship was a big issue under the Communist government after the revolution, but it was also an issue under the Czars before the revolution,” said David Boyer, a former professor at SCSU who worked with Crowe through the honors program. 

This presentation is expected to be a basic introduction to censorship under the Czars in Russia before the revolution. 

“It will give people information about that specific aspect of Russian history which people don’t know much about,” Boyer said.

Crowe’s area of study is in medieval and renaissance.

He teaches history of those two subjects, but he teaches many other subjects including English, history, archeology, and history of science. 

Crowe is planned to be touring other colleges which are connected to the Oxford program in the U.S. before returning to England. 

“He really is a world-class scholar,” Boyer said. “He knows a lot about the history of literature and philosophy, as well as medieval French and Russian. He is an experienced teacher.”

SCSU has had an honors program for students to study in Oxford since 1987 and it has had 45 students go to study the program at Oxford. 

Oxford offers courses that go back to ancient Greece and Rome up to the Renaissance including classes studying literature, philosophy, art, old English and stained glass. 
“It’s a very cool program,” Boyer said.

Each student that goes to Oxford gets an honors scholarship of $4,000-$5,000, but it costs $16,000-$17,000 to attend classes in Oxford.     

Most students who study in England go to Alnwick. 

Students who wish to attend classes at Oxford will need a GPA of at least 3.5 and will also need a recommendation. 

SCSU can only send five students per semester and most of the time it is only one or two that go per year.

“It is a life changing experience,” Raine said. “In the 20 years I’ve been here, of all the students that go, I’ve seen about 99 percent of them change.  And I call it a ‘one-up’ for a job.  Employers will look at your application a lot closer [if they know you studied there].”
Students will also have an opportunity to meet and speak with Crowe about the Oxford program or his presentation at a reunion that he is having for former Oxford attendees at 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 in the Granite Room.

Sponsors for this presentation include  the Center for International Studies, the Honors Program, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies as well as the philosophy, mass communications, and communication studies programs.