Category: news

Antioch University and ACCC Have a “Productive Meeting”

ANTIOCH COLLEGE

News Release
March 18, 2008
Upon receipt

Antioch University and ACCC Have  “Productive Meeting”

YELLOW SPRINGS, OH Representatives of both Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation announced that they had a productive meeting today in their ongoing negotiations over the possibility of transferring the assets of Antioch College to the ACCC.

Art Zucker, chairman of the University Board of Trustees, and Eric Bates, co-chair of the ACCC, issued a joint statement on the status of talks. “Everyone is working together to come up with an agreement that will best serve both the College and the University,” they said. “The confidential negotiations are continuing with urgency.”

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI, STAFF, FACULTY AND STUDENTS PICKET ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE REVIVAL FUND, INC.

 

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI, STAFF, FACULTY AND STUDENTS PICKET ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY;
Urge Trustees to stop stalling in talks to keep Antioch College open

For Immediate Release

CONTACT

443-864-0514 | press

March 15, 2008–Residents of the Village of Yellow Springs and vicinity and Antioch College alumni, students, faculty and staff staged an informational picket today to urge Antioch University and its Board of Trustees to negotiate in good faith toward creating an independent, ongoing Antioch College.

In December of 2007, the University Board of Trustees began negotiating with the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) to transfer Antioch College and all of its assets to the ACCC. These negotiations, say alumni leaders, have been undermined by a few members of the University Board of Trustees and its Chancellor, Toni Murdock.

“The University leadership is sending out misleading messages, breaching the confidentiality that they have imposed on the negotiations while insisting that the ACCC remain silent,,” says Ellen Borgersen, Vice President of both the Alumni Board and the College Revival Fund, Inc., a 501(c)(3) that has raised over $18 million dollars to date for a continuing, independent Antioch College with tenured faculty and unionized staff.

She continued, “The last straw was on February 22, when Interim College President Andzrej Bloch was sent back to campus from a University Trustees meeting and announced that the College would close on June 30, 2008. He acknowledged that negotiations with the ACCC were continuing, but claimed that the ACCC ‘agreed’ that the College would have to close. That was absolutely not true. In addition, the University Board of Trustees unilaterally sent out a damaging and misleading press release claiming that Antioch College would be closed for the 2008-2009 school year.”

This past weekend, College alumni met with students, faculty and staff to discuss next steps. What emerged from this weekend was a plan for Non-Stop Antioch. Alumni will support students, faculty and staff, financially and otherwise, in their efforts to keep Antioch College alive and open in Yellow Springs next year. If the negotiations with the ACCC are successful, Antioch College will continue, without interruption, on its beautiful and historic campus. If no deal is reached, Non-Stop Antioch will operate at another location in Yellow Springs, and fight to return Antioch College to people who will carry its great history and traditions forward in the 21st century.

“Non-Stop Antioch means Antioch College for our time, and Antioch College for all time,” Borgersen said.

Since the University Board of Trustees announced the suspension of operations in June 2007, alumni across the country have rallied to their alma mater’s defense. Alumni chapters have grown worldwide. The alumni are continuing with its fundraising and planning efforts. For additional information on the Antioch College Alumni Association and the College Revival Fund, Inc., visit the Antioch College Alumni Association web site, www.antiochians.org.

ANTIOCH COLLEGE FACULTY RE-FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY

Faculty Voice Unqualified Support of “Non-Stop Antioch” To Keep Antioch College Open

For Immediate Release. March 11, 2008 3:45 PM

March 11, 2008—Members of the Antioch College faculty today announced that they have re-filed their original lawsuit against Antioch University and its Board of Trustees. They had withdrawn their lawsuit without prejudice in November of 2007, which meant that it could be re-filed at any time.Ninety percent of tenured faculty members who are currently teaching and wish to be part of Non-Stop Antioch filed for a permanent injunction against the Antioch University Board of Trustees in the Greene County Ohio Common Pleas Court. The legal request for injunctive relief asks the court to enjoin Antioch University from suspending College operations, from terminating the employment of the College faculty, from disposing of any College assets, and engage with the ACCC to amicably complete their negotiations allowing the ACCC to take responsibility for the college.

After the Antioch College faculty withdrew their lawsuit in November, an alumni group known as the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) formed to negotiate with Antioch University for ownership of Antioch College.

Two weeks ago, the University unilaterally announced that they would be suspending operations of the College for the 2008-2009 school year, even though negotiations to keep the college operating continued with the ACCC.

Antioch College Professor of Philosophy Scott Warren said “It’s clear that the University Board of Trustees is not negotiating in good faith. That leaves us no other choice but to re-file our lawsuit.”

The lawsuit alleges that the Board failed to govern the institution properly. First and foremost, the Board breached their contractual responsibilities by declaring a state of financial exigency and suspending College operations when less drastic measures were available. The faculty complaint also alleges that the University Board of Trustees violated contractual obligations set forth in the Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures that require consultation with College faculty, and that require minimal external publicity about internal College financial matters. The faculty suit also asserts that decisions made by the Board of Trustees in 2004 and 2005 seriously damaged College enrollment, and that the June 12, 2007 public suspension announcement further damaged the College. Finally the lawsuit alleges that Antioch University currently has a less drastic solution than closing the College, in the form of an offer to take responsibility for the college and keep it running. The lawsuit alleges the Antioch University Board should honor their financial and contractual obligation to operate the College responsibly, by relinquishing ownership of the College to the ACCC who will keep the College operating.

Former College President and current Professor of Communications Robert Devine said that announcements from the University leadership were “messages of dubious origin and of dubious meaning” and that the Interim Antioch College President “has consistently obfuscated, distorted and misrepresented the situation.”

Last weekend two alumni groups, the Antioch College Alumni Association and the College Revival Fund, met with students, faculty, staff and Yellow Springs townspeople to discuss next steps. The College Revival Fund committed $1 million to support “Non-Stop Antioch.”

“Non-Stop Antioch means just that,” says Anne Bohlen, Professor of Media Arts. “We hope that the negotiations between the Board of Trustees and the ACCC are ultimately successful, but the Antioch University administration and the Board of Trustees have repeatedly demonstrated their unwillingness to resolve the situation despite an Alumni fundraising effort that raised 18 million dollars to alleviate financial deficits. They have consistently refused to negotiate with the College Faculty and our institutional governing bodies as required by their contractual obligations. They have regularly engaged in demoralizing tactics and have been especially eager to publicly defame the College faculty and students and we are taking legal action to redress the situation. Non-Stop Antioch means we are not going away, and with the support of the Alumni are planning to continue to offer Antioch’s excellent liberal arts and experiential education program into the near future.”

Since the University Board of Trustees announced the suspension of operations in June 2007, faculty, alumni, students, staff, and Yellow Springs townspeople have mobilized to keep the historic 155-year-old institution from closing. More information about the faculty lawsuit can be found on the website http://collegefaculty.org.

Anne Bohlen
937-760-7834
atbohlen

Susan Eklund-Leen
937-361-8092
susaneklund

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI COMMIT TO “NON-STOP ANTIOCH”

— United Alumni Vow College Will Remain Open —

For Immediate Release

CONTACT: 443-864-0514 • press

March 2, 2008– The Boards of the Antioch College Alumni Association and the College Revival Fund (CRF), Inc., met this weekend and resolved to keep the legendary Antioch College alive and open in Yellow Springs, Ohio for the next academic year and beyond. In response to the Antioch University Board of Trustees’ unilateral announcement that the College would be closed on June 30, 2008, alumni met with students, staff, faculty and townspeople to plan for “non-stop Antioch.” Alumni Board President Nancy Crow said, “We will not let it die.”

Ellen Borgersen, Vice-President of both the Association and the CRF, told students in an on-campus meeting that the alumni are ” ready to say that Antioch College will be open in Yellow Springs next year, no matter how the on-going negotiations between the University Trustees and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) turn out. We have willing and eager faculty, a dedicated student body and. The CRF has committed at least $1 million to unconditionally support them.”

Negotiations between the ACCC and the University Trustees continue, Borgersen said, “and we are hopeful that they will succeed. If they do, we’ll be ready to run the College on this campus without interruption. If they don’t, we’ll find someplace else in Yellow Springs to operate, and we’ll to fight to reclaim the campus and the College’s other assets from a University administration that seems bent on destroying everything Antioch has ever stood for.”

“But it’s time to stop pretending that the University is negotiating in good faith with the ACCC,” she added. “The University is clearly trying to force people to abandon hope and leave, knowing that it will be impossible to bring the College back once that happens. This is not only bad faith, it is untenable, and Antioch alumni will not stand for this deceptive behavior.”

The Alumni Board also directed its Legal Committee to “explore all legal avenues to protect the name, assets and reputation of Antioch College,” and resolved to “support, financially and otherwise” any legal actions that might be brought by faculty, students, staff, donors, and others with an interest in the survival of the College. The faculty already filed a lawsuit against the University and the Board of Trustees. It was withdrawn without prejudice last October, which means that it can be re-filed at any time.

“The alumni are working to continue Antioch College,” says Alumni Board President Nancy Crow. “The alumni are resourceful, passionate, energetic, and most importantly, persistent. Antioch College provides a unique and important education for America’s future leaders. Its survival is important not just for the Antioch and Yellow Springs communities, but for everyone who values liberal arts education and the critical role it plays in producing engaged citizens and vibrant democracies.”

Vice-President Ellen Borgersen adds, “The University Board of Trustees and the University Chancellor Toni Murdock should know that we are not going away. Non-Stop Antioch means Antioch College for our time, and Antioch College for all time.”

Since the University Board of Trustees announced the suspension of operations in June 2007, alumni across the country have rallied to their alma mater’s defense. Alumni chapters have grown worldwide. The Alumni Board is continuing with its fundraising and planning efforts. For additional information on the Antioch College Alumni Association and the College Revival Fund, visit the Antioch College Alumni Association web site, antiochians.org.

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI BOARD VOWS TO CONTINUE FIGHT TO KEEP COLLEGE OPEN

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

For Immediate Release

CONTACT: 443-864-0514 • press

ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI BOARD VOWS TO CONTINUE FIGHT TO KEEP COLLEGE OPEN

–Meeting February 29th — March 2nd to Consider Next Steps–


Yellow Springs, Ohio, February 26, 2008– Just a few days after the Antioch University Board of Trustees unilaterally announced the closure of Antioch College for the 2008-2009 academic year, the Antioch College Alumni Board announced a renewed commitment to its ongoing and unprecedented efforts to keep the College open.

“The Board of Trustees’ announcement, released as the Antioch College Continuation Corporation was in the midst of good-faith negotiations with that Board, was ill-timed,” said Alumni Board President Nancy Crow.

Alumni Board Vice-President Ellen Borgersen added, “The announcement appears designed to break the resolve of the many dedicated alumni who support an open, independent Antioch College.”

She went on to say, “This strategy has completely backfired. We will not let it die.”

When asked about next steps, Borgersen said, “The Alumni Board is considering a number of options, including legal remedies and direct action. We welcome alumni input as we move forward.”

The Alumni Board is scheduled to meet this weekend, February 29-March 2, at the College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The agenda includes an open discussion of strategy, where alumni will continue the discussion of direct action and communication strategies, and will determine immediate next steps to be taken by the 17,000-member Alumni Association. All alumni are invited to attend these meetings. A final schedule and link to a live stream of audio from the meetings will be made available on the Alumni Board’s web site, www.antiochians.org.

Crow continued, “The University has made it clear that it does not intend to operate the College after June 30, 2008. The alumni are here, with an abundance of energy, vision, talent, and commitments of at least $18 million that will be available to an open and independent Antioch College. We fully intend to pick up the pieces, engage thousands of alumni, and shape the next 155 years of Antioch College.”

Since the University Board of Trustees announced the suspension of operations in June 2007, alumni across the country have rallied to their alma mater’s defense. Alumni chapters have grown worldwide. The Alumni Board is continuing with its fundraising and planning efforts. For additional information on the Antioch College Alumni Association and its College Revival Fund, visit the Antioch College Alumni Association web site, www.antiochians.org.

Antioch College Supporters Call for Good Faith Negotiations by Antioch University

Supporters of Antioch College call on Antioch University to negotiate in good faith over the future of the college. The university issued conflicting statements Friday about the state of talks that could keep the historic college open.

Andrzej Bloch, Antioch College Interim President, stated Friday in an open meeting at the college that Antioch University trustees did not hold a vote on the future of Antioch College. However, a university press release the same day stated that Antioch College would not be open at the start of the 2008-2009 academic year.

Initial reports in the media stated negotiations to transfer authority of Antioch College to the recently established Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) failed. Sources close to the talks indicate that negotiations continue, and the Board of Trustees have expressed a willingness to continue discussions with the ACCC.

Meeting Sunday, members of the coalition of college supporters known as the Antioch College Action Network (ACAN) rejected the University’s statement that the College would suspend operations June 30. ACAN understands that Antioch College will not operate under Antioch University beyond June 30th, but that does not preclude operations under the new corporation ACCC. While hopeful of a positive outcome to the negotiations, ACAN is committed to developing bold, creative initiatives and actions to support continuous operations of the college.

Alumni raised $18 million in cash and pledges to keep the college open, and the nine members of the ACCC have personally pledged $8.5 million. The trustees have thus far balked at the ACCC’s offer to acquire the college.

According to Antioch University’s own press release, the Board of Trustees continues to negotiate a possible transfer of Antioch College to the ACCC. If this transfer is successful, it is possible that Antioch College will begin operations under the new corporation for the 2008-2009 academic year.

If Antioch College is transferred to a new corporation, Antioch University would not be responsible for the decision to resume operations under a new corporation for the 2008-2009 academic year.

ACAN members believe that by publicizing the apparent closure of Antioch College on Friday, February 22nd, Antioch University administrators may not have acted in the previously agreed upon mutual good faith and may have damaged delicate negotiations, demoralizing the college community.

ACAN members are asking the Antioch University administration to publicly address these issues: 1) the inconsistencies between Bloch’s statement and the university’s press release; 2) the source of the statement that Antioch College will not operate in 2008-2009; and 3) the Trustees’ plan for the continuation of the negotiations with the ACCC.

ACAN members also call into question the experience, competence and objectivity of the Feasibility Work Group charged by the trustees with evaluating the ACCC proposal. The Work Group includes members who have demonstrated public hostility to the college, none of whom attended the college, and none of whom has expertise in private residential liberal arts education.

University chancellor Toni Murdock, who serves on the Work Group, was the subject of no confidence votes by the faculty, staff and students of the college, as well as by the faculty of Antioch Seattle, where she previously served as president.

ACAN is an independent collective of autonomous alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Antioch College and villagers of Yellow Springs. ACAN is a grassroots movement working collaboratively for a continuous and sustainable future for Antioch College. ACAN has no affiliation with Antioch University, the Antioch College Continuation Corporation, the Antioch University Board of Trustees, or the Antioch College Alumni Association. ACAN is responsible for the content of this statement. For more information about ACAN visit http://saveantioch.org/


The following people signed on to this statement between 02/25/08 – 04/15/08.

Matt Ornstein (Maples 94-96)
M. Vetter ‘74
Drew Cobucci
Vanessa McDonnell ‘02
Callie Cary ‘84
Lesley A Pownall Bahr “83
Eric Gottlieb
Wendy Lanner Rossen ‘68
Mark Heise ‘07 McGregor Grad
Pat Edwards ‘70
Maya Daurio
Richard Campbell
James Russell
Ralph Wells
Shadrach A. Stanleigh ‘87
Christine wands
Kate Sterling
Harold L. Yarger ‘62
J. Greg Williams ‘95
Marianne Connolly ‘80
Jaimie Weihrich ‘81
Robert Kolodny ‘62
Beth Moloney ‘95
Sara D. Brown
Peter McGraw ‘65
Rosemary Linares
Raina Daniels
George Bohichik
David Raphael
Joan Kleban ‘73
Katherine Anne Stansbury 73-77, ‘87
Allan L. Jones
Jane Rago
Suzanne (Zann) Avery ‘92
Deborah Schuessler (Horowitz) ‘75
Megan Reynolds ‘95
Flan Fry ‘58
Jan BenDor, ‘67
Rosann Rayome Goldblatt ‘81
Mandy Stone
Randy Reiss 94′
Kim Corfman
Tom Bingenheimer ‘70
Joseph Smith
Evan Keraminas
Shannon McKeehen
Lillian Duran
patrick kelly
payrick kelly
Joanna Vaughn
Michael E. Gage ‘71
Ellen Samson LaBarbera ‘71
Daniel Solis y Martinez ‘06, CG ‘05- ‘06
William Parke-Sutherland ‘06
Maribeth Joy McManus
Janis Crystal Lipzin
Bernard Kaplan
Emily Sepik
Mitch Kaplan ‘71
Bert Ellentuck
Alexa Hardy ‘08
Joel Ellinwood
Roman Rossell
Phillip Hough
Amy Monaco
Carl H. Haag
Kenneth Frederick
Sylvia Stanat
Joseph G. Zinman
mark t watchman
Jennifer Vorih, ‘86
Marc J. Masurovsky, ‘77
Elizabeth Richards ‘06
Stephanie Knol ‘01
Stacy Gochnour ‘92
Patricia Dair ‘74
Kyle Bennett ‘95
Susi Gregg Fowler
Basia Miller, ‘59
Miriam Sagan
Jude Filler
Sharon Levine
Lucy Carol Davis
Nina Bennett
Barbara Solow
Lydia Gibson ‘97
Shelley Powsner
Richard Maizell, Psy.D. ‘74
Laurie Powsner
Andrew Barnes
Kelly Connolly ‘03
Janice Brown Meltzer ‘69
Donna June Katz
Elizabeth Foster Oktay ‘59
carol milliman
Hope Anne Nathan
Tom Boothe ‘91
Kenn Chandler
Mark Sheppard
Carl Hyde
Cynthia Chernoff
Lisa Deiches
Britney Myer
Yubecca Bragg ‘97
Ilse Moon ‘53
Alexander Borowicz ‘11
Michael-David (Rogers) BenDor, ‘67
Marj Dole ‘46
Ruth Moore Halcomb
Mary Bennett
Tom Ayrsman ‘79
Maurya Orr ‘04, CG ‘04
Shelley Sperling
Don Wallace ‘60
Leisa Schaim ‘01
Nathaniel Clark
Tim Eubanks
Chad Johnston
Barbara Naidoff Lewis ‘71
Barbara Esbin
Art Dole
Kim McQuaid
Valeda Stull, 2002
Robin Heise-Director of Financial Aid
Calista Tompkins Hendrickson ‘63
Marjorie Jensen ‘07
Amy Campbell ‘07
Jeff Wood ‘88
Stephen L. Wasby
Charlie Doering ‘77
Anne Marie Garti
Priscilla Zink
Judith Church
Donald Stanat
abby pike
Peter Townsend
David Hodges ‘71
Richard Noble ‘68
Robert Abrams
Caeli Good
Kristen Swanbeck
Sara Eklund Payne
Miriam Rushfinn
Ann Frye
Michael Casselli
Johnny Wilson
Otha Davenport
Lucy A. Wollin
Alexandra Kesman ‘08
Michelle Hansen
Barry Rogers ‘78
Kim-Jenna Jurriaans ‘08
Monica Friedman ‘96
Dave Ream
Stephanie Scott ‘89
Tim Noble ‘02
Mark Weiss
Dorothy McCurdy Keeler
Michael I. Vickers, ‘69
Ed M. Koziarski ‘97
Reva Borenstein Metzger
Paula Kreisberg Ulrich ‘59
Margaret R. Lynd ‘70
Jessamay Kroth ‘97
Robin Simons ‘92
Steve Andrews, ‘63
Jennifer S. Peters
Cynthia Beth Rubin ‘72
Barbara Kasper
Tekla Taylor Lagway
Alan Siege
Ian McPhaden
Dan C. Shoemaker, ‘92
Anne Turyn
Brian Springer
Rowan Kaiser ‘05
beth gutelius ‘00
Amy Shaw ‘97
Jane Slater, Class of ‘80
susan greene ‘77
Carl E Ulrich ‘59
Laura Fathauer ‘95
megan rosado ‘97
Ed Trippel ‘92, CG ‘93
Matthew Baya ‘92