2008 Woodie Awards
Oxford Summer founder dies over summer break
By Ben Williams, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: News
Ernest Hofer, founder of the Oxford Summer Seminar died this summer in Brighton England at 84 years old.
He is a retired associate head of the English department at UMass where he began teaching in 1964. In 1966 he started the Oxford Summer Seminar, A program that sends students to the University of Oxford to study for the summer in small classes with world class professors.
This program was one of the first US programs at Oxford, which now hosts around 30 such programs, according to Jen Adams, current director of the Seminar and
Assistant Professor in the English department.
"[Hofer] continued to run it for 27 years, and he was instrumental at getting high-
profile faculty to teach for the Seminar," said Adams
Frank Hugus, associate provost and director of the International Programs Office, said Hofer was always very supportive of the university's international programs. "He helped this campus become much more internationalized," Hugus said in a UMass news office press release.
Hofer was born in Morristown, N.J., and he spent most of his early years on Staten Island, N.Y. He attended Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned an A.B. and M.A. in English. He received a B. Litt. from Oxford University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 1952 and earned a Ph.D from Cornell University in 1960.
His academic career began in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was an administrator for the University of Maryland's overseas program for American service men and women in Europe and North Africa. At UMass he taught classes on Henry James and modern British fiction. He also served as associate dean of Humanities and Fine Arts.
"I'm honored to be directing the program that he founded so many years ago," said Adams, "and I feel confident that it will survive for decades to come."
Plans are in the works for a memorial service sometime this fall.
Ben Williams can be contacted at bwilliams@dailycollegian.com
He is a retired associate head of the English department at UMass where he began teaching in 1964. In 1966 he started the Oxford Summer Seminar, A program that sends students to the University of Oxford to study for the summer in small classes with world class professors.
This program was one of the first US programs at Oxford, which now hosts around 30 such programs, according to Jen Adams, current director of the Seminar and
Assistant Professor in the English department.
"[Hofer] continued to run it for 27 years, and he was instrumental at getting high-
profile faculty to teach for the Seminar," said Adams
Frank Hugus, associate provost and director of the International Programs Office, said Hofer was always very supportive of the university's international programs. "He helped this campus become much more internationalized," Hugus said in a UMass news office press release.
Hofer was born in Morristown, N.J., and he spent most of his early years on Staten Island, N.Y. He attended Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned an A.B. and M.A. in English. He received a B. Litt. from Oxford University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 1952 and earned a Ph.D from Cornell University in 1960.
His academic career began in Heidelberg, Germany, where he was an administrator for the University of Maryland's overseas program for American service men and women in Europe and North Africa. At UMass he taught classes on Henry James and modern British fiction. He also served as associate dean of Humanities and Fine Arts.
"I'm honored to be directing the program that he founded so many years ago," said Adams, "and I feel confident that it will survive for decades to come."
Plans are in the works for a memorial service sometime this fall.
Ben Williams can be contacted at bwilliams@dailycollegian.com
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