Who’s Afraid of Antioch College…and Why Are They Trying to Shut It Down?

by Revolution Newspaper ( revolution.sfbureau [at] gmail.com ) Thursday Aug 9th, 2007 9:13 PM

The move to close Antioch is part of the assault on the rebellious legacy of the 1960s—and part of attempts to shut down critical thinking and dissent on campuses today.

In late June, Antioch College’s Board of Trustees announced their decision to close the college in 2008. Antioch is well known—and, in the halls of power, hated—for a progressive, open-minded approach to education. Its academic program combines classroom learning with work experience and community involvement. Founded by progressive Christians as a secular college in 1852 in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Antioch from the beginning sought
to include Black people and women among students and faculty. A saying by founder Horace Mann became the school’s watchword: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” [Read More]

Antioch College Alumni Association Proposal for Governance and Fundraising to the University Board of Trustees

August 8, 2007

Antioch College Alumni Association

A Proposal for Governance and Fundraising
to the University Board of Trustees

2007 – 2008
I. Introduction

This proposal was written by a group of alumni on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Antioch College Alumni Association to be presented to the University Board of Trustees in advance of its emergency meeting to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 25-26, 2007. This document represents the alumni commitment to secure the future of Antioch College as an undergraduate, residential, liberal arts college, on its historic campus in Yellow Springs.

This is a good faith effort to save Antioch College. We call upon the University Board of Trustees and all those who care about the College and its unique place in American higher education to assist us with the efforts outlined in this proposal. Remembering the legacy inherited from Horace Mann, Arthur Morgan, and countless others, we assert that Antioch College, having faced financial adversity many times throughout its history, will again thrive.

II. Mission Statement

To rebuild Antioch College as a financially stable and vibrant liberal arts college providing a model education based on its traditional values of academic rigor, celebration of diversity, community governance, cooperative education, free and open inquiry, intellectual freedom, and mutual respect.

III. The Shared Challenge

The Board of Directors of the Antioch College Alumni Association can lead a broad based effort to raise sufficient financial support to ensure the future health of College. This financial support is only available to an Antioch College with independent administrative leadership in charge of its own future and with its own Board of Trustees. The current model of governance has not served the needs of the students and faculty of Antioch College or the University.

IV. Priority Goals

The goals, objectives, and implementation steps below comprise our approach to moving the process of saving Antioch College along quickly in order to avoid prolonging the effects of the proposed closure. These priority goals establish our firm commitment to independent governance for Antioch College and our full acknowledgment that the alumni must take principal responsibility for raising the funds necessary to secure the future of the College.

1. To re-establish Antioch College as the autonomous institution it was for more than 130 years.

Objectives:

A. To transfer governance of the College from the University Board of Trustees to the Board of Directors of the Antioch College Alumni Association on July 1, 2008.

Implementation steps:

1. As instructed by the Antioch College alumni at Reunion and as defined in the unanimously accepted Revival Resolution, our elected Alumni Association Board of Directors is charged with negotiating the transfer of governance with the University Board of Trustees.

B. To secure the assets of Antioch College and separate them from those of the University.

Implementation steps:

1. Obtain an independent and complete audit of the restricted and quasi-endowment, and document any and all restrictions attached to those funds for the use of Antioch College.

2. Identify and negotiate the transfer of all assets historically and programmatically associated with Antioch College on its campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio, including, but not limited to: its historic name and reputation, restricted and quasi-endowment, campus land, campus facilities, auxiliary programs, Glen Helen, WYSO, teaching faculty, staff; and, where deemed appropriate, the assets of all Antioch University campuses where the establishment of those programs and the development of those facilities was achieved with the financial support and direction of Antioch College leadership.

3. Obtain an independent and complete audited financial statement for Antioch College including any and all liabilities that are directly associated with the administration and operation of the College.

C. To establish a temporary Governance and Administrative Transfer Council (GATcil) to negotiate the process with the University Board of Trustees over the next ten months led by the President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Implementation steps:

1. The elected Alumni Board of Directors will determine the size and composition for GATcil and the scope of its duties related to negotiating and preparing for the transfer, including the appointment of the new Antioch College Board of Trustees for July 1, 2008 and the search for a College president to be appointed on the same date.

D. To clarify and define any future relationship of Antioch College with the University, and specifically with University programs in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Implementation steps:

1. GATcil will negotiate with the University Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of the University, the future of the programs in Yellow Springs. In particular, great effort will be exerted to respect and meet the needs of students, staff, and faculty in all programs.

2. Continue current fundraising efforts while planning for the launch of a comprehensive and sophisticated five-year fundraising program emphasizing capital, annual, and planned giving.

Objectives:

A. To develop fundraising goals based on our aspirations for the future of Antioch College, not simply the present emergency born of the plan for suspension of operation.

Based on study of a cohort of 10 liberal arts colleges of similar stature and with which Antioch College traditionally has shared applications for admission, the Alumni Association projects the need to secure an endowment of $100 million by FY13 to be competitive for students and faculty. However, these projections need to be informed by a transparent and thorough audit and review of the current state of institutional finances.

Implementation steps:

1. The Alumni Association Board of Directors will select a small group of experienced alumni fundraisers to conduct a feasibility study and a specific fundraising plan to be presented at the October meeting of the University Board of Trustees.

2. Alumni Association Board of Directors will investigate the potential value of retaining professional fundraising counsel.

3. Upon successful completion of governance negotiations, fully integrate College fundraising staff and resources with the Alumni Association’s College Revival Fund.

B. Ensure that the current funds raised for the College Revival Fund earn income.

Implementation steps:

1. Form an investment committee of the Alumni Association composed of experienced finance talent who can provide oversight of current funds raised.

V. Other Goals Related to the Transition

During our planning process and in our conversations with supportive alumni and other stakeholders, additional overarching goals emerged for the immediate future.

These goals are:

• To end the continuing damage to the historic and valuable reputation of Antioch College by quickly resolving the issues of governance in order to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of Antioch College as in institution of higher education with a tenured faculty.

• To request that the University Board of Trustees instruct the Chancellor of the University to cancel the plan to establish a “Design and Development Commission” and to cease any present or ongoing efforts to develop or liquidate assets.

• To quickly undertake a concerted effort to repair the damage done to the reputation of Antioch College by developing a comprehensive public relations response to the recent events, presumably by engaging a professional communications firm.

• To undertake a marketplace study in preparation for launching a new and comprehensive enrollment planning model for Antioch College, presumably by engaging a professional admission recruitment marketing firm.

VI. Vision of Antioch College

Having avoided any suspension of operations and having retained its students and fine faculty, Antioch College celebrates the 160th year since its founding in 1852. It is a stable and financially healthy residential liberal arts college ably led and with an enrollment of 800 students and a small but, dramatically increased endowment of $100 million or $125,000 per FTE. The physical plant of the College has been greatly improved through a combination of fundraising and fiscally responsible planning.

The Antioch College curriculum, led by a tenured faculty, provides a rigorous academic program of study in the context of important real-world issues and it exposes students to a variety of transformative processes for positive change. The curriculum is delivered through the three cornerstones of an Antioch College education: academics, co-op, and community.

Antioch College attracts a diverse student body and maintains a civil environment with respectful debate in which students learn how to engage and make meaningful change in the world. An Antioch College that embodies the historic mission of Horace Mann in educating students to win victories for humanity is truly a reality once again.

VII. Business Plan

Under development as of 08/08/07.

Letter to UBoT from Nancy R. Crow, President of the Antioch College Alumni Association

By Nancy R. Crow, President of the Antioch College Alumni Association. Tuesday, August 7, 2007

To: Chairperson Art Zucker, Members of the Antioch University Board of Trustees and Members of the University Leadership Council

From: Nancy R. Crow, President of the Antioch College Alumni Association

Date: August 7, 2007

I write to you on behalf of the Antioch College Alumni Association Board, the elected representative body of the 17, 000 or so Antioch College alums. We are looking forward to the August 16th webcast and of course to the August 25th special Board of Trustees meeting. Many of us have received our notices and have responded and are making our travel plans. Like you, we want this meeting to be productive, to move the agenda of rebuilding our Antioch College forward, and to find ways to raise funds and other support for our alma mater. We also agree wholeheartedly with your statement published in the Yellow Springs News that “it is critical that we have the participation and support of Antioch College’s key stakeholders in this process.”

However, we believe in order to garner the support and participation of the “key stakeholders in this process,” “key stakeholders” have to be both invited and allowed to participate in every step of the process, and as of now this has not taken place. Therefore we propose the following:

1) A conference call should be scheduled between now and the 19th of August to review and refashion the agenda that the Antioch University Board of Trustees has proposed. In addition to the Antioch University Board of Trustees Executive Committee, which sets the University Board of Trustees agenda, both the Executive Committee of the Alumni Board and representatives from the key stakeholder groups you have identified, that is, faculty, staff and students and Yellow Springs Community, should be invited to this discussion. If you want stakeholders’ participation and support, the agenda must reflect the interests of all the stakeholders and not just one group.

2) In order for the August 25th meeting to have a positive outcome, we strongly urge you to rethink a number of your statements and agenda items:

a) It is not conducive for a productive meeting to begin by saying in advance that any position taken by this Board of Trustees is “irreversible,” and to warn invited participants that only certain discussions at this meeting will be allowed. Why not let all the stakeholders discuss the parameters of the Board agenda before the August meeting begins?

b) The two hour open mic does not seem likely to lead to a positive outcome. Two hours, with five-minute time limits allows for 24 speakers, that is, if there are no pauses, time between speakers, technical glitches, people going over their time allotment and so forth. An open mic, with board members listening to one speaker after another, with no organization and no coherence will just lead to greater frustration and alienation. Furthermore, Mary Lou LaPierre’s remarks about the possibility of “disruptive and disrespectful” participants did not set the best tone. Perhaps we could think of other ways to use this two-hour framework. For example, why not allow the alumni representatives to present their ideas? Why not allow a former board chair or former trustees to present a proposal? Why not allow the faculty and the student representatives some time to present their points of view as well? And if there are other stakeholders who have presented you with proposals, have them be invited as well. In this way there can be a range of proposals for all of us to discuss in the afternoon session.

c) Finally we urge you to rethink the idea of a closed meeting. It is our heartfelt belief that had this board notified all stakeholders, alums, major donors, faculty, staff, former college presidents, former trustees and board chairs, the Yellow Springs community last fall, when there was the first realization of the depth of the financial crisis, and called upon all of us to work together to find a solution, there would be greater unity, participation and most important solutions to solving the college’s problems. The more the University Board shrouds itself in secrecy, the greater the alienation from the very stakeholders it needs for the future of the college.

We look forward to working with you. We want a positive outcome at the August 25th meeting, as well as at the October joint University Board of Trustees and Antioch College Alumni Board meetings.

Yellow Springs Council Ponders What to Do About Impending Closure of College

By Aaron Keith Harris, Staff Writer, Xenia Gazette. Tuesday, August 7, 2007

YELLOW SPRINGS — Antioch College alumni urged the Yellow Springs Village Council Monday night to join their fight to halt the planned closing of Antioch College next year, while council members discussed how the village should approach an upcoming meeting with the Antioch University Board of Trustees.

Village Manager Erik Swansen and Council President Karen Wintrow were invited to and plan to attend a “stakeholder discussion session” with the university board in Cincinnati on Aug. 25.

The session will be closed to the media and the public and will include only those invited by the university. Earlier the same day, the board plans to have a town-hall style meeting, which is open to
the public.

“I want to find out exactly what it is that’s going to happen and get a handle on the community impact it’s going to have,” said Village Manager Erik Swansen.

Wintrow said she would take the “discouragement of the village” to the Cincinnati meeting, but that the university’s finances, governance and operations “are not issues for Yellow Springs village government.”

Council member Judith Hempfling criticized the Cincinnati meeting as undemocratic, saying village council should have been asked to choose which members to attend. Hempfling also said she was concerned about
the transparency of the process since the stakeholder meeting would be held “in secret.”

Don Wallace, of the Antioch College Alumni Association, presented a letter from his group to council urging them to act to keep the college open and stop the loss of jobs, including those held by tenured faculty.

“If the college is your number one employer, how is that not an issue for council that those jobs continue to exist?” said Rory Adams-Cheatham, a recent Antioch college graduate and current community manager.

Yellow Springs Expects a Tax Loss of $140,000 with Antioch Closing

By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer, Dayton Daily News, Tuesday, August 07, 2007

YELLOW SPRINGS — Village and school officials expect about $140,000 of income tax revenue to disappear when Antioch College closes next year.

The village government will see the biggest loss. Village Administrator Eric Swansen said he expects to lose $100,000 in income tax collections when the college closes its doors next spring and 160 jobs and 300 students leave town.

Yellow Springs raises about $1.25 million each year from a 1.5 percent income tax. The village general fund budget is about $1.5 million.

“It’s obviously a concern that is going to have to be addressed,” said councilwoman Karen Wintrow.

Villagers barely passed an 8.4-mill property tax levy in November 2006 to help the government keep up with growing expenses and aging infrastructure.

Wintrow worries some village amenities could suffer because of the loss of revenue.

“For a community our size we offer a lot of services,” Wintrow said, citing a large park system and one of the area’s few public pools as an example.

The Yellow Springs Exempted Village School District won’t feel the same impact as the municipal government while the college is shut down.

The district, which has a $7.3 million operating budget, raises about $1.2 million a year from a 1 percent income tax.

Superintendent Norm Glismann said the district may only lose $40,000 of income taxes when the college closes.

“That’s if everyone lost their job and moved out of the area,” Glismann said.

Antioch College Alumni Association Agenda for University Board of Trustees Meeting on 8/25/07

Approved by the Alumni Board on its August 2, 2007 Conference Call

We will ask the University Board of Trustees to cooperate with us in good faith on the following:

1. Maintain the on-going operation of Antioch College past June of 2008, even at a reduced level.

2. Keep the College facilities in use, halt steps to shut the College and suspend all consideration of liquidating Antioch College assets

3. Establish a self-governing, independent College Board of Trustees with members initially selected by the Alumni Board in collaboration with the College President and other key stakeholders.

4. Give full consideration to the business plan that the Alumni Board will develop through a planning process and with the assistance of experts in the field, which will be presented in advance of the October University Board of Trustees meeting.

5. Hold a joint Alumni / University BOT meeting in October to discuss the implementation of the business plan and set timelines, tasks and a reporting calendar to assure the robust operation of Antioch College for the next 100 years.

We will also ask that the University Board of Trustees give full consideration to these issues:

* The maintenance and use of College buildings and other facilities
* Potential McGregor bond default if the College is closed
* Impact on College and University accreditation if the College is closed
* Moral, ethical and legal commitment to the Coretta Scott King Center as a core function to be maintained in any reduced level of College operations