Familiar Faces Among Faculty, Staff Retire

Marvlyn Kirk (left) and Jennie Taylor enjoy a laugh together at the Oxford Organic Farm.

After decades of service to Oxford, three faculty members retired this year: Gayle Doherty, associate professor of physical education and dance; Penelope England, professor of physical education and dance; and Delia Nisbet 92PhD, associate professor of German.

Doherty taught dance and produced a much-anticipated annual performance showcasing the work of her students of dance, but also incorporating participation from members of the faculty and staff. She came to Oxford in 1990. England, who joined Oxford in 1976, taught a variety of physical education and health courses, with emphasis on instruction in tennis and swimming. She received the Fleming Award for Teaching in 1993, the Emory Williams Award for Teaching in 2010, and the Oxford College Alumni Board’s Honorary Alumna Award in 2011. Nisbet joined Oxford in 1982 and through the years taught not only German, but also Italian and French. In 2000 she published a book, Heinrich Heine and Giacomo Leopardi: The Rhetoric of Midrash, and she is at work on another about the German Jewish press prior to and during World War II.

Also retiring are Jennie Taylor, dean of enrollment services, and Marvlyn Kirk, associate director of development. Taylor served Oxford for thirty-six years, joining in 1978 as a member of the admission staff, and rose through the ranks to become dean of enrollment services. She received the Bond Fleming Award for Excellence in Service and, in 2011, the Oxford College Alumni Board’s Outstanding Staff Award.

Kirk served thirty-three years with Oxford’s development office and served for many years as liaison to the Oxford Board of Counselors. She received the Spirit of Emory–DAR Award, the Bond Fleming Award for Excellence in Service, Emory’s Award of Distinction, and the Oxford College Alumni Board’s Outstanding Staff Award.

A sentiment Taylor expressed in her retirement announcement no doubt is shared by the other four, “I have had a long and rewarding time at Oxford, with the decades passing all too quickly. I want to [express] my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to all who have been part of this journey.”