Oxford College Institute Shapes Environmental Education

The 2009 Oxford Institute for Environmental Education (OIEE) began this week at Oxhouse Science Center, science field station of Oxford College of Emory University.

Founded in 1992, OIEE provides an opportunity for science teachers in grades k-12 to collaborate with college biology faculty, gaining new science teaching methods and investigative techniques.

“My colleagues and I look forward each year to the two weeks of OIEE,” says Steven Baker, Oxford professor of biology and OIEE director. “Environmental concerns are global, but education starts on the local level; it is exciting for us to work with the teachers of our region in employing best practices for imparting environmental awareness and methods to their students.”

Teachers must apply to attend OIEE. The 20 who are participating this year were selected from more than 80 applicants and represent schools across Georgia and north Florida.

During the 10-day seminar, which ends on June 19, participants learn the basic principles of ecology in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, methods for applying this knowledge to lesson plans and ways to develop their own schoolyards for environmental education. At a follow-up meeting in the fall, teachers will share their experiences in implementing what they learn this summer and discuss their continuing projects.

The OIEE staff includes Baker as well as Eloise Carter and Theodosia Wade, also of Oxford's Department of Biology. Master teacher for the institute is Sherry Abts, an award-winning science specialist with the Gwinnett County (Georgia) Public Schools.Major funding for OIEE comes from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, with additional support from the Chevron Foundation, Georgia Power Foundation, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Georgia Teacher Quality Program and Wal-Mart. The institute has been awarded the Certificate of Environmental Achievement Award from the National Awards Council for Environmental Sustainability and named Conservation Educator of the Year Award by the Georgia Wildlife Federation.

More information can be found on the Web site, http://www.oiee.oxford.emory.edu/.

Oxford College Friends Provides Gift for Campus

Jane Chambers Bostwick of Atlanta has made a $100,000 gift to Oxford College of Emory University in honor of her late husband, alumnus John Bostwick III, a renowned Emory surgeon. The gift will help fund a new facility for science and mathematics education on the campus in Oxford, Ga.

The 72,000-square-foot building is one of Oxford’s top priorities in Campaign Emory, a comprehensive fund-raising effort to improve aging facilities, build much-needed new ones, fund key programs, and support teaching, learning, research, patient care and community service at the university.

Oxford’s new Science and Mathematics Building will feature multidisciplinary classrooms with the latest educational technology, an imaging theater, student and faculty research laboratories, a greenhouse and gardens, an astronomy observation deck, and outdoor teaching and study spaces.

Alumnus Pioneered Post-Cancer Breast Reconstruction

John Bostwick graduated from Oxford in 1962 and attended Emory College in Atlanta. He completed his residency in plastic surgery at Emory University Hospital in 1975. When he died unexpectedly in 2001, he was director of the Emory plastic surgery program and chair-elect of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and he was about to be named the William G. Hamm Professor of Surgery at Emory School of Medicine, an endowed professorship honoring his late mentor.

A native of Bostwick, Ga. -- which was named for his grandfather, who founded the town -- John Bostwick was among the nation's leading experts in breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. He was instrumental in the development and refinement of surgical techniques that use tissue from a woman's own body to reconstruct her breast.

He and his Emory colleagues were among the first to perform endoscopic plastic surgery worldwide; they worked with manufacturers to custom design many of the surgical tools used today for the procedure. Other surgeons referred to Bostwick’s comprehensive tome on plastic and reconstructive breast surgery, and hundreds of plastic surgeons traveled to Emory to learn techniques at his side. His popular book, "A Woman's Decision: Breast Care, Treatment and Reconstruction," is credited with helping women overcome fear and participate in planning their own treatment.

Committed to the health of Oxford College, Bostwick chaired Oxford’s Board of Counselors, created a scholarship fund for Oxford students, and gave generously to science education, the Oxford Fine Arts Center and other priorities at Oxford College.