Save Antioch College

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/07/02/the-antioch-college-comeback.html

US News & World Reprot The Antioch College Comeback July 02, 2009 04:19 PM ET | Jessica Calefati | Permanent Link | Print Call it a comeback. After having its operations suspended for the past two academic years, Antioch College will begin admitting new students as soon as 2011, Inside Higher Ed reports.

Leaders of the failed college’s alumni association and the Antioch University Board of Trustees announced on Tuesday a plan to make the college independent of the university that closed it. The deal gives the college ownership of its campus, its $19 million endowment, its name, its literary journal, and, most important, total autonomy from the university. In return, the university will receive $6 million from the college’s alumni and other donors.

Antioch’s departure and return have been as controversial as its history. Founded in 1852 by Horace Mann, the college played a part in the abolitionist movement and was one of the first institutions to admit students regardless of gender or race. In the 1900s, Antioch was one of the first colleges to promote co-op education, a system in which students alternate between learning in the classroom and learning through on-the-job work experience. The college’s famous alumni include Clifford Geertz, Stephen Jay Gould, and Coretta Scott King.

Though the college’s campus is designed to accommodate 2,700 students, it saw fewer and fewer students enroll in the years preceding its temporary closure. Many members of the Antioch College community also resented the college’s association with Antioch University, an entity created to run branch campuses across the country that offered mostly graduate-level courses. When the university decided to suspend operations of the college, many members of the Antioch College community argued that the university was sacrificing the very foundation of the institution.

Since the announcement, many alumni have pledged to increase the size and frequency of their donations to the college.

Tags: colleges | Antioch College

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This is the most current AP article. I believe it’s been updated twice since the announcement. It’s being published nationally and I’ve logged about 30 individual hits found by google, although I’m sure there are more.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsYzqgNohSwzZzona8nUCgvdtW 8wD9958B1G0

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alumni group to pay $6M for Ohio’s Antioch College By JAMES HANNAH ? 1 day ago

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Antioch University agreed Tuesday to transfer the campus of financially strapped Antioch College to an alumni group that plans to turn it into an independent school.

But any reopening of Antioch College is at least two years away and hinges on a list of conditions.

The university temporarily closed the Yellow Springs college a year ago because of financial problems caused by declining enrollment, a heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment.

Antioch College is known for its pioneering academic programs that produce students with a passion for social activism. The college was the flagship of Antioch University, which also has campuses in Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Calif., and Keene, N.H.

The alumni group, called the Antioch College Continuation Corp., has agreed to pay the university $6 million for the campus, located about 15 miles east of Dayton, and the college’s endowment.

The transfer of assets cannot occur until a list of conditions have been met, including approval from the state attorney general’s office and university bond holders. The target date to implement the agreement is Aug. 31.

The alumni group said it would be about two years before the college could accept students because it will take that long to get regulatory approval, fix the campus and put the educational program in place.

“While our journey has been long and difficult ? and is not yet complete ? we are committed to continuing the hard work ahead to complete the transaction,” said Art Zucker, board chairman for the university.

Claire Van Ummersen, vice president of the American Council on Education’s Center for Effective Leadership, which offers development programs for higher-education administrators, said it’s unusual for a group of alumni to buy a college.

Van Ummersen said the group will face challenging tasks that will take time to accomplish, including hiring people to run the college, raising money in a difficult economic environment and launching a marketing campaign.

The college is the alma mater of Coretta Scott King, “Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling and two Nobel Prize winners. It didn’t give grades, encouraged students to develop their own study plans and combined academic learning with experience through a co-op program in which students leave campus to work in various fields.

Matthew Derr, chief transition officer for the alumni group, said the Antioch educational model will evolve but will remain a rigorous liberal-arts program with the co-op component.

Derr said fewer than 100 students likely will be enrolled the first year. And only some of the existing campus buildings will be used when the college reopens. New faculty members will be hired, along with some who taught at Antioch previously.

Students and graduates have a fierce allegiance to the college, citing the co-op program, the friendships they formed and the school’s track record of producing notable graduates.

After each graduation ceremony, graduates recited in unison the phrase coined by the late school President Horace Mann, an educator and a statesman who advanced the cause of universal, nonsectarian public schools: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

Over the years, activism and civil disobedience became part of the school’s fabric, with anti-war protests and weekly peace vigils in the 1960s. In 1994, students took over a campus building to protest plans to turn it into an admissions office instead of a student-activity center.

On the Net: a.. Antioch College: http://www.antioch-college.edu/ Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://philanthropyjournal.org/news/nonprofit-news-roundup-july-2-2009

PHILANTHROPY JOURNAL

Nonprofit news roundup for July 2, 2009

July 2, 2009

Alumni agree to pay $6 million for Antioch College Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio, will become an independent school when the campus is transferred to a group of alumni paying a price of $6 million, The Associated Press reported June 30 (see Antioch University story). The college was closed two years ago because of financial problems and likely will not reopen for at least another two years.

THE ARTICLES LINKS TO AP ARTICLE:

Alumni group to pay $6M for Ohio’s Antioch College By JAMES HANNAH ? 1 day ago

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Antioch University agreed Tuesday to transfer the campus of financially strapped Antioch College to an alumni group that plans to turn it into an independent school.

But any reopening of Antioch College is at least two years away and hinges on a list of conditions.

The university temporarily closed the Yellow Springs college a year ago because of financial problems caused by declining enrollment, a heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment.

Antioch College is known for its pioneering academic programs that produce students with a passion for social activism. The college was the flagship of Antioch University, which also has campuses in Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Calif., and Keene, N.H.

The alumni group, called the Antioch College Continuation Corp., has agreed to pay the university $6 million for the campus, located about 15 miles east of Dayton, and the college’s endowment.

The transfer of assets cannot occur until a list of conditions have been met, including approval from the state attorney general’s office and university bond holders. The target date to implement the agreement is Aug. 31.

The alumni group said it would be about two years before the college could accept students because it will take that long to get regulatory approval, fix the campus and put the educational program in place.

“While our journey has been long and difficult ? and is not yet complete ? we are committed to continuing the hard work ahead to complete the transaction,” said Art Zucker, board chairman for the university.

Claire Van Ummersen, vice president of the American Council on Education’s Center for Effective Leadership, which offers development programs for higher-education administrators, said it’s unusual for a group of alumni to buy a college.

Van Ummersen said the group will face challenging tasks that will take time to accomplish, including hiring people to run the college, raising money in a difficult economic environment and launching a marketing campaign.

The college is the alma mater of Coretta Scott King, “Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling and two Nobel Prize winners. It didn’t give grades, encouraged students to develop their own study plans and combined academic learning with experience through a co-op program in which students leave campus to work in various fields.

Matthew Derr, chief transition officer for the alumni group, said the Antioch educational model will evolve but will remain a rigorous liberal-arts program with the co-op component.

Derr said fewer than 100 students likely will be enrolled the first year. And only some of the existing campus buildings will be used when the college reopens. New faculty members will be hired, along with some who taught at Antioch previously.

Students and graduates have a fierce allegiance to the college, citing the co-op program, the friendships they formed and the school’s track record of producing notable graduates.

After each graduation ceremony, graduates recited in unison the phrase coined by the late school President Horace Mann, an educator and a statesman who advanced the cause of universal, nonsectarian public schools: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

Over the years, activism and civil disobedience became part of the school’s fabric, with anti-war protests and weekly peace vigils in the 1960s. In 1994, students took over a campus building to protest plans to turn it into an admissions office instead of a student-activity center.

On the Net: Antioch College: http://www.antioch-college.edu/ Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Includes mention of Hassan Rahmanian

http://www.ysnews.com/stories/2009/07/070209_iran.html

YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS

July 2, 2009

Iran turmoil hits home for some

By Diane Chiddister

When Nacim Sajabi had her first child several years ago, she surprised herself by speaking to her baby in Farsi, the language of Iran, her mother?s homeland. While Sajabi?s mother, Farzaneh Mader, and her aunts and grandmother had spoken Farsi to Sajabi as she grew up in Yellow Springs, she most often responded in English. But the birth of her firstborn seemed to spark inside her some deep connection with the language she didn?t even know she had.

?It just came out of my mouth,? Sajabi said.

While she has never been able to visit Iran, Sajabi longs to go there. The influence of the Persian traditions of her mother, aunts and grandmother ? with their generous hospitality, their love of family, and their appreciation for their homeland?s beautiful poetry ? has been profound in her life, Sajabi said, and has shaped her in many ways.

?I feel a huge part of me is missing,? she said, regarding her inability to visit Iran. ?I feel if I go to Iran I would feel at home.?

Sajabi is one of several current and former Yellow Springs community members who have been watching recent events in Iran very closely. While much of the world has been riveted to the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of Iranians risking danger by protesting what they perceive to be the corrupt election of President Ahmadinejad, these Iranian-American villagers are paying special attention. They still have family and friends in Iran, along with an intense connection to a country that, while they may not have lived there for decades, in some ways is still their home.

Longtime villagers Parviz Dadras and his wife, Harriet, who both have dual U.S./Iranian citizenship, drove to Columbus on the day of Iran?s presidential elections and cast their votes. They were excited by the country?s outpouring of support for reformist candidates and the possibility that Ahmadinejad would be defeated. The quick announcement of his victory was disheartening, but Dadras again felt heartened when Iranians took to the streets after the much-disputed Ahmadinejad victory.

?Initially when I saw the reaction in the streets, I was very proud. I saw reason for hope,? he said.

Retired now as professor of mechanical engineering at Wright State University, Dadras initially came to this country in 1966. He received his Ph.D in 1972 and also married that year, and he and his wife then lived in Iran for four years. At that time he taught at a university in Tehran, which became a ?hot spot? of the 1979 revolution, he said. He and Harriet returned to this country in 1977, two years before the revolution. Like several other villagers interviewed, Dadras emphasized that the 1979 revolution was initially a blend of progressive concerns, after which the Islamic faction overpowered the others. While he had every intention of returning to Iran, when the Islamic faction gained control of that country, Dadras felt he could no longer go back. He and Harriet came to Yellow Springs in 1978, raising their daughter, Danielle, here.

The hope he felt at the recent Iranian protests turned into sadness as he witnessed the beatings of protestors and the gradual weakening of the resistance. But he wasn?t surprised, Dadras said, because the state?s security forces are everpresent.

While disappointed to see the resistance to Iran?s authoritarian rulers dissipating, Dadras feels grateful that his family is safe. He was able to contact his brothers, who live in northwest Iran, and inquire after their health. He asked his family only questions about their safety, he said, because, with the state-sponsored surveillance, his family could be compromised if he asked political questions.

But even though the resistance has been quelled for now, Dadras believes the Iranians? desire for democracy remains strong and will surface again. Iranians have been struggling for more than 100 years to achieve a democracy, he said, and he still remembers from his boyhood newspaper photos of the executions of resisters. Underground efforts protesting authoritarian rule were taking place then and they may continue to this day, he believes.

?In historical terms, something will happen,? he said. ?Whether it?s in five years, 10 years, or more, who knows??

The 1979 revolution also shaped Hassan Rahmanian?s life. Raised in Tehran, he studied at the University of Tehran and was active in the student efforts of the time. Rahmanian had left the country to study in the United States shortly before the revolution, he said, and though he wanted to return to Iran to take part, his academic advisor advised against it. Like Dadras, he initially supported the student-led progressive elements of the 1979 revolution, but felt disillusioned and heartsick when the Islamic faction took control. Because he later organized protests against the Islamic rulers here in this country, he was blacklisted from returning to Iran, and has been in this country ever since. A longtime Antioch College faculty member and leader of the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute, Rahmanian recently began a new job at Pacifica Institute for Graduate Studies in California.

The demands of his new job mean that, while he is passionately interested in the recent events, he hasn?t followed them as closely as he might otherwise, he said in a recent interview, and he no longer has close family in Iran. Rahmanian receives much of his information from his wife, Azadeh, who has siblings in Tehran. She had been unsuccessful in reaching them by last weekend, he said, but she keeps trying and stays closely tuned to news sources. Azadeh Rahmanian was unavailable for comment.

Overall, Rahmanian said, while he is saddened by news of protestors? beatings and deaths, he was heartened by the mass outpouring of resistance.

?It?s a sign of hope that something is happening,? he said.

While President Obama has been criticized by some for not taking a more aggressive stance against the crackdown, Rahmanian believes the president has struck the right tone. Obama is trying to respect Iranians? wishes, Rahmanian believes, adding that a more aggressive response by this country could backfire.

The Bahá?í religion colors many aspects of the lives of Nacim Sajabi, her mother, Farzanah Mader, and her aunt, Farideh Tahririha, who with her daughter, Mahshad, has recently moved to Yellow Springs. The three women explained that Bahá?ís are taught not to be involved in partisan politics, because the unity of all people is a basic tenet of their religion. Consequently, they did not discuss their response to recent Iranian events in terms of their political preferences.

However, they care deeply about human rights, especially since the Bahá?ís have been persecuted by the Iranian governments since the religion began in 1844. Religions other than Islam are somewhat tolerated by Iranian leaders because the prophets of those religions were born before the Islamic prophet Mohammed, but the Bahá?í prophet, Bahá?u?lláh, was born after Mohammed, so that religion is singled out for persecution, according to Mader.

Consequently, some 20,000 Bahá?ís have been martyred, and the religion?s followers continue to face many kinds of discrimination in Iran, including lack of access to higher education and jobs, the women said.

While Mader left Iran on her own accord when her father sent her to England for higher education in 1968, her parents were forced out during the 1979 revolution. They began getting phone calls telling them that, because they were Bahá?ís, they should leave, and that their house would be burned, Mader said. Thinking they could come back after a few months, the couple took only two small suitcases and left their property and all their belongings behind. Their house was confiscated by the government, and her mother never returned, Mader said.

Being raised with these stories of persecution and the Bahá?í emphasis on world unity has affected her profoundly, according to Sajabi, whose sensitivity to the struggles of the world was broadened by her marriage to her husband, Cyprian, who is from Uganda. A Montessori teacher, Sajabi has chosen as her life?s work teaching children, and she especially cares about teaching virtue education. Perhaps if enough children learn ethical behavior at a young age, she believes, humans can finally find a way to live together in peace.

Sajabi?s religion teaches her that the recent turmoil in Iran is part of an overall movement toward human rights and equality that human beings will someday attain, Sajabi said. However, while she believes equality and justice will ultimately prevail, she is saddened by the violence involved in reaching that goal.

?We see people protesting in the streets for their rights. People are fed up, they don?t want their rights violated,? Sajabi said. But the turbulence will someday end, she believes.

?Whether you are Bahá?í or not, these are the principles that humanity is destined to embrace,? she said.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com

picture caption: Villagers with family and friends in Iran have been watching the recent turmoil in that country closely. Among them are, shown above from left, new village resident Farideh Tahririha, holding her great-nephew Sameer Sajabi; Nacim Sajabi, who was raised in Yellow Springs, with her son, Mateen; and Mahshad Tahririha and her aunt, Farzaneh Mader, Nacim?s mother.