Robin Hill

Professor of Art - UC Davis

Robin Hill was introduced to the Oxbow School by a friend whose fish-farmer husband once sold fish to an Oxbow board member. While mentoring a weary and disillusioned high school student, Robin decided to use the Oxbow application as a process of self-discovery for this young woman. The student was accepted and had a life-changing experience at the school. When Robin took her son Wheeler to Camille’s Final Project exhibition, he knew immediately that he wanted to attend. Today, he is a proud OS32 alum. Robin’s love and appreciation for the school is profound—Oxbow changed Robin's son’s life and was a pivotal moment in his growth as a person. He is currently a BFA student at Cal Arts. As a faculty member in the Art Studio Program in the Department of Art and Art History at UC Davis, Robin has a particular appreciation for the value of an arts education before and during college. When not teaching at Davis Robin spends her summers in Cape Breton. Whether on the East or West coast, Robin gardens, swims, collects rocks, and works in her studio. She joined the Oxbow Board of Trustees in 2016.

I want to thank you all for being so supportive and wonderful, thank you for running this incredible program. And half of my acceptance to RISD is because of Oxbow. (Especially thanks to Chris who wrote my letter of rec, to Jennifer who revised my essays, to the admissions team who helped me with my portfolio.

— Jeff Shen, Fall 2014

In the year leading up to Oxbow, I became obsessed with the program, I was entranced with reading testimonials and researching interdisciplinary learning styles. When I arrived at Oxbow I was never disappointed, despite my endless expectations. I will forever cherish the time I spent at Oxbow and the connections I made there. Through Oxbow I was able to hone into the ideas I was thinking about, to refine my artistic process and to see the world in a new light every day of my life. I'm not going to say that without Oxbow I wouldn't be the person I am today, but I will say that without Oxbow it would have taken me at least four years to become who I am after one Oxbow semester.

— Phoebe Dubisch, Fall 2018

The Oxbow School has both a local and national reputation for excellence. Oxbow produces great artists. In its studio, these emerging artists have a community of creative peers who respect one another and foster an expectation to produce thoughtful, sophisticated work.

— Paul Coffey, Vice Provost and Dean of Community Engagement, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

A School Like No Other