HU Professor Selected to Attend Oxford Round Table

Hampton, VA - Dr. Lois Benjamin, endowed professor of sociology at Hampton University, attended and presented a paper at the spring session of the Oxford Round Table from March 27 to April 1 at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Benjamin was one of 40 individuals from around the world invited to the Round Table event. She was the first individual selected from HU to attend an Oxford Round Table.

This year, the Round Table focused on educational issues regarding "at-risk" children. Individuals were identified through a variety of factors: a nomination by previous roundtable participants, recommendations to the Round Table directors and through an individual’s recognized presentations and awards by state and national organizations.

Of the 40 individuals, Benjamin was selected to present her paper "Race as a Stressor in Placing Children at Risk: The Influence of the Teacher in the Lived Experiences of African-American Youth." Benjamin’s paper offered an "analysis of structural forces in the reproduction of racial inequalities in the education system, as represented by the teacher at the micro-level of the classroom." She addressed the influence of the teacher’s expectations, attitude, behavior and perceptions of African-American youth in creating an unsupportive educational environment that contributes to multi-level stresses and poor academic achievements, self-concept and cultural identity.

In developing her paper, Benjamin analyzed over 7,500 college student essays spanning from 1981 to 2004 which answered the question, "What does it mean to be Black in America for you?" Benjamin chose to focus on the reoccurring motif of the influence of the teacher in her paper.

Benjamin is the author of "Three Black Generations at the Crossroads: Community, Culture and Consciousness," "Black Women in the Academy: Promises and Peril" and "Dreaming No Small Dream," an examination of HU President Dr. William R. Harvey’s visionary leadership. She has also served as an executive committee member of the Southern Sociology Society. Benjamin holds a bachelor’s degree from Clark College and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.

Founded in 1989, the Oxford Round Table is a unique forum promoting the open discussion by participants in a collegial "think-tank" atmosphere regarding a selected topic. Selected paper presentations and discussion results may then be published and distributed to individuals, governments and academic institutions around the world.