Author: ACAN

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio – December 3, 2010 – Antioch College will bring together Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars for “A Family Reunion at the Tent of Abraham: An Interfaith Dialogue in a New Key” at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11, in the College’s The Coretta Scott King Center for Intellectual and Cultural Freedom.

The event is an opportunity to discuss the shared origins of the three religions, the similarities between representations of God in the Bible and Qur’an, and the influence of the Divine on the daily lives of believers.

“In a time when there is so much religious intolerance around the world, this dialogue will provide a model of how we can aspire to the best that lies within each of us,” said organizer Scott Warren, an Arthur E. Morgan Fellow and former professor of philosophy and politics at Antioch College.

Panelists will include:

• Wa’el Azmeh, M.D., Board Member of The Mercy Society/Islamic Center of Dayton and National Board Member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
• Ramzieh Azmeh, M.D., Ex-President of the Dayton Interfaith Trialogue and Board Member of the International Peace Museum.
• Eric L. Friedland, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Judaic Studies, Wright State University, the University of Dayton, United Theological Seminary, and Antioch College.
• Stephen Potthoff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Wilmington College, where he teaches a wide variety of courses on topics ranging from Jesus and early Christianity to Native American spirituality.

For information, call 937-286-8984 or e-mail swarren@antiochcollege.org.

About Antioch College

Originally founded in 1850, Antioch College redefined liberal arts education in the 20th century by initiating an entrepreneurial and experiential curriculum through the development of its hallmark cooperative work program. Many of the now-common elements of today’s liberal arts education – self-designed majors, study abroad, interdisciplinary study, and portfolio evaluation – had an early start at Antioch College. Ownership of Antioch College was transferred from Antioch University to the Antioch College Continuation Corporation in September 2009. The newly independent college will admit its first class in the fall of 2011.

MEDIA CONTACT  
Gariot P. Louima
Director of Communications
937-581-8201
glouima@antiochcollege.org

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio – December 3, 2010 – A group of Antioch College volunteers, primarily alumni, joined with staff to create the Volunteers for Antioch Maintenance Projects, or VAMP, a crew whose sole purpose is to perform building maintenance and repair to get the campus ready for the return of students in the fall of 2011.

VAMP was the brainchild of a number of alumni who were interested in donating at least a week of volunteer hours each month, Julian Sharp, manager of volunteer work, said. “They’re serving the emerging needs of the College.”

The first VAMP project is January 10-21, 2011, when the team will set up a maintenance shop in the Maples firehouse. Volunteers will be assigned work consistent with their skills and physical capabilities. There is work for skilled, semi-skilled, or not quite skilled volunteers.

Volunteers play an increasingly important role in readying the campus for the arrival of the first class since 2008. During the second week of November, a volunteer crew spent five days working in Pennell House, the Units and the Coretta Scott King Center.

They cleaned, primed and painted the porch at Pennell; replaced water-damaged drywall and sealed the glass block windows in the Units; and repaired windows on the south side of the Coretta Scott King Center.

Volunteers included: Jon Baker ’72, Eva Erickson ’11, Tom LaMers ’68, Evelyn LaMers ’69, Tom Sain ’08, Jim Spangler ’74, Garrett Miller ’11, Nat Freeman, Jenn Wheeler, Kyle Prueter, and Josh Miller of the campus facilities staff.

For information, contact Julian Sharp, manager of volunteer work, at jsharp@antiochcollege.org.

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio – December 3, 2010 – A group of Antioch College volunteers, primarily alumni, joined with staff to create the Volunteers for Antioch Maintenance Projects, or VAMP, a crew whose sole purpose is to perform building maintenance and repair to get the campus ready for the return of students in the fall of 2011.

VAMP was the brainchild of a number of alumni who were interested in donating at least a week of volunteer hours each month, Julian Sharp, manager of volunteer work, said. “They’re serving the emerging needs of the College.”

The first VAMP project is January 10-21, 2011, when the team will set up a maintenance shop in the Maples firehouse. Volunteers will be assigned work consistent with their skills and physical capabilities. There is work for skilled, semi-skilled, or not quite skilled volunteers.

Volunteers play an increasingly important role in readying the campus for the arrival of the first class since 2008. During the second week of November, a volunteer crew spent five days working in Pennell House, the Units and the Coretta Scott King Center.

They cleaned, primed and painted the porch at Pennell; replaced water-damaged drywall and sealed the glass block windows in the Units; and repaired windows on the south side of the Coretta Scott King Center.

Volunteers included: Jon Baker ’72, Eva Erickson ’11, Tom LaMers ’68, Evelyn LaMers ’69, Tom Sain ’08, Jim Spangler ’74, Garrett Miller ’11, Nat Freeman, Jenn Wheeler, Kyle Prueter, and Josh Miller of the campus facilities staff.

For information, contact Julian Sharp, manager of volunteer work, at jsharp@antiochcollege.org.

Mark Newman '58 always loved limousines. "They're fun and very impressive, and not nearly as much as you think," said Newman's widow, Diana. The couple bought their cars second hand, and because Mark walked to work and Diana doesn’t drive, the limos were for fun and weekends only.

Some years ago, Mark decided to have his dream car built–a replica of a 1936 Mercedes limo. "It's 22 feet long!" Diana exclaimed. "It was custom built…it was a once in a lifetime thing."

Mark died from cancer on October 23, 2009, just a couple of days after seeing the car delivered. He saw the car with his wife and two friends from Yellow Springs, Dave and Peggy Erskine.

While Mark never got to drive the vehicle, "everyone says at least he got to see it," Diana said.

Diana recently decided to donate the proceeds from the sale of the car to Antioch College. While she isn't an alumna, she calls herself an "honorary member" of the Washington-area association, which often met in her home. 

The car is now at Classic Rides and Rods. All proceeds benefit Antioch College.

Inquiries about the car should be made to Classic Rides and Rods.

The following letter was written in response to a November 29 open letter from the American Assocation of University Professors.

Antioch College has historically been a precedent-setting institution. Today, we are preparing to set yet another important precedent by opening our doors to students in the fall of 2011.

We are grateful that the American Association of University Professors recognizes that Antioch College is a different legal entity from Antioch University. It is, therefore, inconsistent for the association to support a process of employee “reinstatement” for those the AAUP asserts were “laid off” by Antioch University. We should also emphasize that there are commonly understood elementary and clear impediments to the “reappointment” of employees of one legal entity by another, separate legal entity.

Despite the commitment of its trustees and leadership to the fundamental value of academic tenure, consistent with the AAUP “1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure,” the decision of the college to move forward with a faculty hiring process that both embraces Equal Opportunity Employment practice and fundamentally protects the new institution against charges of discrimination and favoritism in hiring has not, as of yet, met with public support from the AAUP.

The events that have led to the opening of the college in 2011 and the reasons for our need to hire faculty today are well documented in the AAUP’s exhaustive investigative report “College and University Government: Antioch University and the Closing of Antioch College” (2009). We do not look to the events of the past few years at the college to be another example of Antioch College precedent setting in higher education now or in the future. Tragic? yes. Precedent setting? no.

As those who have been watching closely will likely acknowledge, no leader of an institution of higher learning, CEO of a corporation, or even a talented opera librettist could concoct the scenario that led to our independence from Antioch University. Yet, the opportunity to revive a truly great college, to remain loyal to the values of liberal education in the arts and sciences and to be steadfast in our conviction that faculty are the core of any institution is worthy of our civic responsibilities and mission.

Antioch College and its leadership remain deeply grateful to the AAUP for its vigilant work to protect the integrity of American higher education and the rights of faculty. We are proud that the AAUP’s president is an alumnus of the college and we are equally proud that some faculty who were employees of Antioch University remain steadfast in their commitment to a future that engages them. We encourage their applications, we recognize their extensive qualifications and commitment to the liberal arts, co-operative education and community governance, characteristics that have been used as criteria in all other searches for positions at the college, 80 percent of which have been filled with people associated with the college when it was a campus of the university.

It should also be noted, that the hiring process for the six tenure-track positions available at Antioch College reflect the unique challenges of our newly incorporated college, but in strategy, design and, execution are consistent with appropriate academic hiring practices of scholarly review. We are grateful to the distinguished panelists who have agreed to serve on our search committees. This process serves the curriculum and is not influenced or driven by donors, a point on which we wish to reassure all those concerned, including the AAUP. Planned appointments will be made by Antioch College’s new president, Mark Roosevelt, who will take up leadership of the college in January.

Matthew A. Derr

Interim President

Antioch College

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Related Links

Board Chair Lee Morgan Discusses Faculty Searches

Faculty Searches Honor the College’s Legacy

Employment Announcement: Tenure-Track Position in Cultural Anthropology

Employment Announcement: Tenure-Track Position in Chemistry

Dear Antiochians,

Last week’s edition of the Yellow Springs News included a story about the complex process Antioch College is engaged in as it recruits and appoints its first group of faculty. Having worked over the past three years to help the college gain independence and to become financially stronger, I am writing to clarify the comments attributed to me and to try to provide some perspective for the continued dialogue I know we will have in the coming months.

When I was a student at Antioch in the late 60s, it was my impression that the college had a quite strong faculty but, as at all colleges, there were some not-so-strong faculty. I assume more recent alumni could say the same, and I regret that my comments could be misconstrued to imply that I and alumni of my own and earlier generations may not respect the work of the more recent faculty.

It is certainly true that in visiting with alumni of all generations, I hear a wide spectrum of opinion on what happened at the college over the past 40 years and, of course, on what the college should do next. It is difficult to find an ambivalent Antiochian on the road. The feelings among alumni about the college are strong and often contradictory – affirming and critical.

To be clear, the board has approved and adopted the hiring process as designed by Matthew Derr, our interim president, in preparation for the arrival of Mark Roosevelt in January. In his work, Matthew sought advice from a wide variety of quarters and we are satisfied with the good work being done to identify the first group of six faculty. The board at no time instructed Matthew to conduct the searches in order to satisfy alumni of any generation or donors.

I am confident the process we have defined for hiring is fair. Further, an open process will enhance the credibility of those who are asked to join the faculty. We welcome applications from former faculty who feel their backgrounds match these vacancies. Their experience and passion would strengthen our prospects for success.

I encourage you to review our search process at antiochcollege.org/employment.

Lee Morgan ’66

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Related Links

On Reopening Antioch College

Antioch College Begins Faculty Recruitment

Faculty Searches Honor the College’s Legacy

Employment Announcement: Tenure-Track Position in Cultural Anthropology

Employment Announcement: Tenure-Track Position in Chemistry