Date: 7/9/2009 to 8/9/2009
By Diane Chiddister
Reprinted with permission from the Yellow Springs News
If you ask Matthew Derr how many hours per week he spends on his job, he’s stumped. During a recent interview, he made an earnest attempt to answer the question before giving up.
“I lose track,” he said. “My whole life is Antioch.”
As the chief transition officer for the Antioch College Continuation Corporation, or ACCC, Derr is the boots on the ground for the revival of Antioch College. These days, after last week’s announcement that the Antioch University trustees and ACCC reached an agreement to transfer the college, Derr is the one whose immediate job is to make that revival happen. In his 20-year career as a fundraiser and college administrator, he never expected to have on his plate the responsibility for opening a college, Derr said this week, and the task would be overwhelming except that the ACCC pro tempore board provides clear direction.
“What I rely on is that this is a collaborative effort,” he said.