Category: news

Though whomever wrote the headline missed the fact that we’re not closing, folks have been saying this is the best national coverage we have received.

Antioch Closure Ends Chapter in Higher Education by former faculty member John McChesney reports.

Alumni Fury at Antioch

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/25/qt

Antioch College, which is slated for shutdown after the next academic year, held its reunion this weekend and many alumni emerged from meetings with the leaders of Antioch University more angry than ever about the closure plans, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported. Alumni and professors — many of whom are deeply distrustful of the university’s board and administration — are trying to raise money independently and find ways to change the institution’s governance. Details are on the Web site called Save Antioch.

ACTION ITEMS FROM COMMUNITY MEETING
June 23, 2007
This document is the result of a community process facilitated by Antioch College Community Government, past and present.  The role of Community Government is and has been to facilitate communication and collaborative decision-making with staff, students, faculty, and alumni to make Antioch College reflective of its community.
Today, Antioch College students, alumni, faculty and members of the Yellow Springs community came together to form plans to rescue Antioch College from immediate suspension of operations. This is a working document, and does not represent foreclosure on further discussion, generation of options, or action.
We would like to add that it was our education at Antioch College and our experience with shared governance that made this process possible.
As community members, we invoke the spirit of Horace Mann when we say, “Be ashamed to let it die!”

FINANCE
Overall goal: Create a work group of alumni board with Antioch College development office members.

Fundraising internally with alumni
1. Everyone should write a check NOW to the College Revival Fund (CRF)
2. Call all your friends and family NOW and ask them to write a check to the College Revival Fund
3. Create email mailing list with info and a way to pledge money to distribute a packet including a pledge card, case statement, statement from CRF, and goal of fundraising campaign, 1-2 articles about college revival
4. Create volunteer committee for phoning and mailing alums

Trustworthy utilization of money
1. Create a sustainable business model
2. Let donors earmark money for specific purposes
3. Clarify if the money is going to the operating budget or to the endowment
4. If donors feel uncomfortable giving cash at this time they should consider pledges
5. Clarify the relationship to the University
6. Transparent accounting

External Fundraising
1. Conference call within 1 week of interested participants
2. Development of email list
3. Mapping of history and relationships
4. Low-hanging fruit strategy

GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL

Participatory Government and Representation

1. The erosion of shared governance has set the stage for our current situation.
2. Suspension of Antioch College operations would compromise the powerful tradition of participatory governance for which the college and community are so well known.
3. Any action to maintain operations and revitalize the college must actively include the broader Antioch Community (students, staff, faculty and alumni) and its structure of shared governance:  Community Government, Comcil, Adcil, Faculty Senate, Union, etc.
4. The revitalization of Antioch College rests on an affirmation and strengthening of our culture and practice of direct participation in decision-making processes.

Legal Action that can or should be taken
1. Identify Antiochians willing to be part of a legal team and/or willing to provide pro-bono legal support
2. Define the specifics of college autonomy; what would be relationship and oversight between proposed board of governors and college trustees?
3. Pursue proposed merger with McGregor so that local adult education would benefit the College
4. Investigate conditions of subsidy from Antioch University: how much?  How long? Conditions of subsidies?
5. Legal action is not being taken for compensation, but with the purpose of keeping Antioch College open.

Legal University Relationship to college
Mission: we need to maintain the heart and values of Antioch College which has as its locus and can only have its locus on the campus here in Yellow Springs.
1. Must create an autonomous board with the understanding that the relationship to the university remains to be defined
2. Invite a current board member to participate on the new board
3. Campus needs to be a combination of the college and McGregor with the idea that all are members of the community and we are defined as a single entity
4. Create an Antioch college with a McGregor school as an adult education wing of the college
5. Define current situation as a reduced level of operation, and the level increases as funding increases
6. Maintain physical plant and declare moratorium on property development and speculation

COMMUNITY CULTURE AND  COMMUNICATIONS

Communicating effectively with each other
1. Antiochians.org is live – develop as central communications portal for Antiochians
2. Create communications task force to coordinate and advise community members in performing essential communications functions to support the College revival effort
3. Establish local or regional alumni chapters where there are none and strengthening those that already exist
4. Establish a conduit for communications from Campus
5. Process/Edit/Disseminate information to/from Antiochians and other groups

History
1. Create narrative history of how Antioch got into position its in now
2. Attach narrative to web site where people have access to history with FAQ and possible wiki
3. Creation of writers group for people who are interested in helping college and whose primary skills are in writing

Supporting Yellow Springs, faculty, and students
1. Write letter the editor of YS News
2. Hold town meeting within 2 weeks
3. Hold next meeting of this group on Wednesday June 27, 2007 at 7pm at Coretta Scott King Center
4. Put pressure on the University to hold itself accountable to the village of YS and its economic stability
5. Create positive community spirit to spread via signage, slogans, a web site, and more community held events
6. (Long-term) involve YS residents in campus activities and open campus facilities (art building gym, theater, library, King Center, photo house) to the greater YS community
7. Hold a welcome-back festival for returning students in the fall of ‘07

Communicating Effectively with Media
1. Create a value statement
a. dynamic slogan
b. media talking points
c. framing the message
2. Producing media
a. website
b. video/photo documentation of this process
c. visual media
3. General PR strategy
a. create press release
b. Nominate spokespeople
c. disseminate to local and national news outlets

— Community Government on behalf of the Antioch College community

Hey all,

Chad Johnston here. I’m going to give a brief update on what’s been going on here at the 600+ person reunion. The common theme is: Be ashamed to let it die!

The alumni board is committed to the College having its own board…details forthcoming.

The alumni board has created the Revival Fund, administered by the Alumni Association. Give some and then give more! Please make you check payable to “College Revival Fund” and deposit in any branch of US Bank to account #: 130 110 698 524.  You can also send your check to:

Rick Daily, Treasurer

Antioch College Alumni Association

Antioch College Alumni Office

795 Livermore Street

Yellow Springs, OH 45387

Antioch Community Government had an immensely productive community meeting today…probably the most effective meeting I have ever seen on campus. We broke up into work groups to discuss and action item the following issues:
Governance
Communication
Fundraising/Finance
The work that came out of these groups were amazing. This is Antioch College at it’s best.

Stay tuned for videos of events, announcements on the next steps, and the action plan from the Community as facilitated by Community Government. We’re in the library now hammering it out…this is very cool and we will prevail!

Thank you all…and seriously, if you ever thought that there was a time to give, now is it…

Sincerely,

Chad Johnston

Hello Mr. Lawry,

Jimmy Williams is an integral part of the Antioch community and a knowledgeable point of access to the strands that tie Antioch’s past to Antioch’s future. I am saddened to see that his importance has been overlooked by this administration.

I am also amazed and appalled to hear that you don’t believe a dedicated Dean of Students is important to student recruitment and retention. Who else is there to act as a direct connection between the students who pay for the experience and those who work for them: you, Mr. Lawry, and all of the offices you oversee.

I’m sure Mr. Williams will make out fine without Antioch, and I’m sure you will save some money without a Dean of Students (or his secretary), but I believe the Antioch community got the short end of the stick on this decision.

Sincerely,

Forrest Gray

Class of 2000