News
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
Spotlight on Stakeholders: The University of Oxford and Oxford Open Doors
The University of Oxford is pleased to be working in partnership with the Oxford Preservation Trust on the Oxford Open Doors weekend, which takes place on 11 and 12 September. Many University-owned facilities - such as the Bodleian libraries, the four University museums as well as a number of Oxford colleges - will again be opening their doors for this special event.
Now in its fourth year, Oxford Open Doors is the third largest Heritage Open Day event in the country, with more than 45,000 individual visits made over the weekend. A staggering 70 per cent of the visitors have an OX-postcode, so the weekend really is a community event.
Oxford Open Doors is joint initiative between the University of Oxford and Oxford Preservation Trust, an organisation considered by many as the city’s very own National Trust. Ever since its foundation in 1926, Oxford Preservation Trust has remained committed to ensuring a positive future for Oxford, preserving and enhancing the city’s historic character and green setting, whist at the same time recognising its 21st century needs.
Oxford Preservation Trust’s Chairman and the Master of St Catherine’s College, Professor Roger Ainsworth, said of the event: “Oxford Open Doors is now an established event in the Oxford Calendar and we hope the date is already in your diary. Over the weekend we will have the chance to celebrate Oxford and all it has to offer, and with more places and more varied events than ever before, I feel confident it will be a splendid day for us all to enjoy.”
This year's event will be officially opened by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Andrew Hamilton, at the University's Museum of Natural History on Saturday 11 September [9.15am for 10am] at which he will also unveil the Darwin Plinth to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Oxford Evolution Debate. This will be followed at 10.30am by 'Inspired by Evolution', a series of lively ten-minute talks by prominent Oxford academics, open to all, in the Museum Lecture theatre.
Other highlights of the 2010 programme include old favourites such as The Ashmolean Museum, Christ Church Cathedral and All Souls College, where the Chalgrove Brass Band will perform in the Great Quad on Sunday afternoon. Also, keep a look out for the many scientifically themed venues on offer this year, including the university’s new Biochemistry Building and the Centre for Developmental Science, both on South Parks Road.
For more information about Oxford Open Doors, and for details of how to book for the events on offer, please visit the website or pick up a brochure.
