Friday October 10th the Austin chapter will hold its fundraiser at the home of alums Tim Eubanks and Harley Gambill. We will provide an update on Non Stop, have time for folks to craft fundraising appeals to their friends and family. Wine and cake will also be available for sale to benefit Non Stop. At the event folks will be encouraged to go online and make their donation.
For more information contact Tim Eubanks at teubanks
UPDATE: I have attempted repeatedly to contact Tom Faecke, the University’s CFO. I am strongly urging him in my role as a Trustee that he agree to the reasonable and entirely sensible plan of alumni representatives walking through the campus and taking an inventory of what currently exists on the Antioch College campus. I will remind him that we can easily remove caches of books and papers that we deem valuable, making sure that there is no fire hazard, while still securing our history and legacy.
Noreen Dresser, one of the co-chairs of the Facilities committee, was recently in Yellow Springs for a couple of days to review the current situation on the ground. She has prepared a most enlightening a report, with constructive suggestions on moving forward in collaboration with the Village of Yellow Springs. As many of you know, Noreen has many years experience with facilities and building management, and is quite passionate about making sure the buildings on our historic campus are secure, undamaged, and ready for rehab as soon as we have secured an agreement for the transfer of the campus to the College Board Pro Tem. After the Alumni Association Executive Committee and our Facilities Committee have an opportunity to digest the report, we will share her findings and suggestions for next steps with the community.
Intrepid alumni on the ground in Yellow Springs recently discovered that the University’s clean-up crew has been throwing out books and pamphlets. Many thanks to Gerry Bello ’97 and Tim Noble ’02 for making
this discovery, and to Gerry for calling me. As I said to him then, the idea of books being tossed is like a knife in my heart. These books are emphatically *not* subpar items, such as broken furniture or mold-covered mattresses, that would have to be discarded no matter what. These books and papers, many of them irreplaceable, are a catalogued and erstwhile organized treasure trove of our shared history, and as such, are priceless. They are also part of the legacy for future generations of Antiochians, some of whom are preparing to start classes right now with the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute. No Antioch alum can condone this action; it must stop.
The Alumni Board’s Facilities Committee had asked Milt Thompson for the chance to walk through campus and take an inventory. Milt’s boss, Tom Faecke, has not authorized Milt to pursue this sensible, easily-achieved plan. We recognize that Mr. Faecke is working on a limited budget and is carrying out the task he was assigned of cleaning out and securing buildings, but we strongly urge him to permit the Alumni Board’s
authorized representatives to remove caches of paper and memorabilia rather than pitch books and records, regardless of their historic value.
The Alumni Board facilities committee offers to work with the University to halt this needless destruction, and to agree to the common-sense solution of having representatives of the alumni take inventory. Yes, we can avoid misunderstandings and still protect the campus against fire by letting authorized alumni representatives walk through the campus and take inventory. The University Board of Trustees, on which I sit, in its June 7th resolution to start the planning for separation of the College from the University, acknowledged that the future of Antioch College rests on the shoulders of its alumni. We cannot build a future without the incredible work and materials of alumni of past generations.
We are still ashamed to let it die!
–Nancy Crow, ’70
President, Antioch College Alumni Association
Hi Folks,
The Faculty lawsuit has been moving forward steadily, though quietly. I’ve taken the baton from Peter Townsend in coordinating communication, and thought that we’re way past due in providing an update on the various pieces of the legal puzzle that have been unfolding during the past few months.
a) Some may know that Eric Bates, one of the ACCC negotiators, was deposed June 26th. Due to the confidentiality agreements between the ACCC and the University in their negotiations, the text of the deposition has not yet been released. University attorneys are still reviewing the text of the deposition, and it should be released soon. We’ll post it as soon as it’s made available.
b) The Greene County judge has not yet ruled on the University’s motion to dismiss the Faculty lawsuit. There is no legal deadline for him to do so, and his ruling could come tomorrow or months from now.
c) We’re moving ahead with depositions, and have scheduled two Trustees to be deposed in early September. Other Trustees and the Chancellor are in the cue.
d) Faculty counsel sent a request to University counsel for electronic documents on July 11. Most importantly, the request asked the University to produce all e-mails to and from the Chancellor starting in January of ‘07. We have received a written response, and should be receiving the documents shortly. At that point we will have to review what has been released, to examine critical absences, and may have to seek the court’s help in compelling production of relevant electronic documents, including, if necessary, forensic retrieval.
On behalf of the faculty I’d like to thank all of you who have supported us in this legal action. The process is long and painstaking, and of course very expensive, but I’m convinced that the lawsuit (a) has been a primary force in keeping the Board and University at the negotiating table, and (b) has played a very important role in excavating the Board and University processes that led to the closure of the College. I hope you will continue to show your generosity in this effort to get at the truth and to bring about an autonomous, viable and thriving Antioch College. Contributions for the Faculty Legal Fund can be directed to the College Revival Fund folks.
For the Faculty,
Bob Devine
The Antioch College Alumni Board of Directors announced that it has named the first 5 members to the College Board of Trustees Pro Tem. This initial group includes Matthew Derr ’89, Atis Folkmanis ’62, Frances Degen Horowitz ’54, Lee Morgan ’66, and Barbara Slaner Winslow ’68. These first five members represent a broad range of skills, but share steadfast dedication to Antioch College.
More members will be named shortly. While naming the first members of the Board Pro Tem is an exciting step, it is a step that is done in tandem with the Task Force working to effect a separation of Antioch College and Antioch University. Last week, we reported that the Task Force had hired consultants to assist with legal and financial issues.
The initial members of the Board Pro Tem have been idenitified by the Committee on Trustees. The Committee on Trustees included representatives from the Alumni Board, the Antioch College Continuation Corporation, Nonstop, and the broader alumni community. It drew on the previous work of the Governance Committee to identify candidates for the first Board of Trustees to focus solely on Antioch College in over thirty years.
In this extraordinary moment in the history of Antioch College, you have been invited by the Antioch College Alumni Association Board of Directors, the elected body representing over 17,000 college alumni, to serve as a member of the Antioch College Board of Trustees Pro Tem. [Download]
As a member of the first board devoted exclusively to leading Antioch College in forty years, you are asked to lead the College in partnership with its key stakeholders through the current crisis, and to lay the foundation for its return to prominence and leadership as a residential liberal arts college based in our long-standing tradition of academic excellence, community governance and cooperative education. Further, this is a call to re-create an independent and thriving Antioch College that adheres to its historic mission while growing and adapting to the ever-changing social, technological, environmental and financial opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.
For more than a year, college alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends from the Village of Yellow Springs and around the world have committed themselves to sustaining the vision, spirit and soul of Antioch College in preparation for the opportunity to appoint a board of an independent college. The community is grateful for your willingness to accept this weighty responsibility and stands ready to support you. We pledge our talent, time and financial resources to restore Antioch College’s historic stature and reputation.
In the tradition of Antioch College, and in keeping with the trust this invitation represents on the part of our community, we call upon the Board Pro Tem to acknowledge and honor the essential role that community governance will continue to play at Antioch College. In preparation for the conclusion of the pro tem period of board leadership in thirty-six months, the Alumni Board further calls upon you to engage the community in the process of transitioning to a permanent Board of Trustee structure, and to continue to reflect a commitment to community governance in the vision, mission and by-laws, of the corporation that will ultimately own and govern the College.
In June of 2007 and again in June of 2008, the Alumni Association affirmed its commitment to the future of Antioch College in the form of resolutions passed by those in attendance at reunion and by the Antioch College Alumni Board. We ask that you review these resolutions carefully and consider the valuable insight they can provide to you as you begin your service.
Finally, you are called upon to take the measure of your success as a board from Horace Mann’s exhortation, in the same fashion that all Antiochians have for generations: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
August 14, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Warren 767-9971 or Chris Hill 767-2327
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NONSTOP LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTE PRESENTS FALL ACADEMIC OPEN HOUSE
On Thursday August 21 at 7:30 p.m. the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute will present a Fall Academic Open House at the John Bryan Center gymnasium, 100 Dayton Street in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This event is free and open to all.
Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute, founded by the former faculty of Antioch College, offers open-source post-secondary educational experience for learners dedicated to innovation, social responsibility and community involvement, both locally and globally. Pursued as an alternative door into higher education or as a means of continuing life-learning interests, Nonstop provides participants with an exciting program of courses, study groups and workshops. The Institute will also host Nonstop Presents!, a semester-long festival of public lectures, films, exhibitions and performances.
The Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute (Nonstop) and Nonstop Antioch (the movement to organize former faculty, staff, students and alumni of Antioch College to keep its soul alive and operating in Yellow Springs), which works closely with Nonstop, are not affiliated with or sponsored by Antioch University or any of the Antioch University campuses or related organizations.
Although Nonstop courses are not currently accredited, their structures and requirements adhere to national crediting standards. Students will maintain Learning Portfolios documenting each course and providing a future opportunity to petition accredited institutions to accept Nonstop Faculty-evaluated course work as transfer credit.
The Institute will offer a wide range of classes in many different disciplines, including anthropology, art, chemistry, communications, dance, journalism, philosophy, theater, political science, and writing. Courses and special events will be scheduled throughout the week with some offerings in the evenings and on Saturdays. At the Open House attendees will be able to interact with faculty one-on-one and receive copies of the course syllabi. There will also be tables set up for people to pre-register for classes, donate to Nonstop Antioch, offer housing or jobs for students, and share expertise. For those unable to attend this event, Fall course information is available at 937-319-4001, email inquiries or on the Web at nonstopsintitute.org. The mailing address for the Institute is P.O. Box 444, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.