Jay Kauffmann Earns Scholarship to Oxford University
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Jay Kauffmann awarded scholarship to Oxford University
MSA’s English Department Chair, Jay Kauffmann, has been awarded the Charlottesville Branch of the English-Speaking Union scholarship to study creative writing at Oxford University this summer.
Mr. Kauffmann is a veteran teacher at MSA and has guided the English department confidently over the past decade as Chair. Under Mr. Kauffmann’s leadership, MSA students continue to read the classics of the literary canon, learn to write formal academic essays, and to dive into creative writing projects. Mr. Kauffmann is a mentor who works closely with both his students and faculty to ensure their success in the classroom and beyond. Specifically, Mr. Kauffmann teaches our seniors and guides them through the writing and delivery of their Senior Speeches. This Miller School tradition upholds the value of public speaking and introduces students to the rhetoric and style of a good speech. Mr. Kauffmann is a master public speaker himself and has given countless students the confidence to express themselves fluently and grammatically in speech.
Mr. Kauffmann’s excellence extends beyond the classroom. He is an accomplished and award-winning poet and writer who has published extensively in both fiction and nonfiction. His debut novel will be published this April, and it has already garnered excellent reviews. He is currently working on a memoir about his previous career as an international model and will use what he learns at the Creative Writing Program at Oxford to inform this work.
It is also worth noting that Jay is a national-level athlete. He competes in (and often wins) open-water swimming events—sometimes over 5 miles in length. This emphasizes what a well-rounded person he is and how well he manages his time. Mr. Kauffmann balances being an excellent teacher, with being an excellent department chair, with being an accomplished and prolific writer, and with being a great athlete.
Jay Kauffmann will represent the Miller School and the Charlottesville Branch of the English-Speaking Union well in Oxford and take full advantage of the opportunities afforded to him by the generosity of the ESU scholarship.
