Please set aside time to watch this video. With their jobs on the line, it took incredible courage for the faculty to speak up like this. For those hungry for information on how we got to this difficult position, this video is maybe the best source yet.
The Antioch College faculty press conference during reunion at 1:00pm Saturday, June 23. It is offered in its entirety, minus the first 5 seconds or so.
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.
For Immediate Release
Antioch Alumni Vow to Keep College Open, RAISE $424,000 IN 18 HOURS
Yellow Springs, Ohio, June 25, 2007 – More than 700 Antioch College Alumni spanning seven decades gathered to celebrate this past weekend and affirm their commitment to keeping Antioch College alive and open.
Galvanized by the Antioch University Board of Trustees’ June 12, 2007 announcement that the College would suspend operations as of July 2008, hundreds of alums dropped everything and made their way to their alma mater in Yellow Springs, Ohio to see how they could help.
In a series of passionate meetings over the course of alumni reunion weekend, an action plan was launched. The plan was developed through Antioch College’s characteristic and distinctive community governance process, which incorporates the voices of faculty, staff, students, and members of the Yellow Springs community, as well as alumni. On Saturday, June 23rd, Alumni Board treasurer Rick Daily challenged alumni to raise $40,000 by the end of the reunion weekend. Within 18 hours, the drive raised more than $424,000 for the initial contribution to the College Revival Fund.
The Alumni Board called for the creation of a College Board of Trustees that will be autonomous from the Antioch University Board of Trustees. Reunion attendees are returning to their communities to raise additional funds from alumni and friends. Antioch alumni have also launched a Website, www.antiochians.org to facilitate communications among far-flung alumni as well as students, staff, faculty and friends of the College.
If you are interested in making a donation to the Antioch College Revival Fund, please mail donations to: College Revival Fund, U.S. Bank, 266 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Please indicate for deposit into account no. 130 110 698 524. Contributions are tax-deductible. Correspondence concerning your donation should be addressed to: Richard W. Daily LLC, 215 Union Boulevard, Suite 300, Lakewood, CO 80228.
Contact Information:
Nancy Crow ’70 ncrow@penberg.com
Antioch Alumni Board President (303) 839-1204
Athena D. Turner-Frederick ‘82 kaarak@aol.com
Antioch Alumni Board Member (814) 644-7351
Kristen Pett ‘90 klpett@sbcglobal.net
Antioch Alumni Board Member (818) 774-1142
It has been widely reported that the Antioch Community was outraged as they converged on campus this weekend for the largest reunion in recent history. In the purest Antioch tradition of turning outrage into action, we came together in what will surely be considered an historic moment.
Approximately 15 past and present Community Managers put forth a strategy to utilize the talents and energy of the more than 500 passionate and dedicated people who attended the reunion. Current CM’s presented the framework during Saturday’s Community Meeting, and attendees then divided into workgroups to focus on specific actions.
The CM’s then got to work to transcribe and unify the efforts of the afternoon into a single document and pledge cards. Within 20 minutes of the reading of the document, $100,000 had been raised. Within 18 hours, that number was in excess of $424,000.
In an impressive show of unity across generations, alumni, students, faculty, and staff worked together to create a vision for the future. Our collective will to struggle against threats to end the Antioch College legacy inspired several days of intense planning and hard work; the strongest demonstration of the Antioch education in shared governance and respectful, democratic process.
As we return to our respective corners of the world, there is an incredible shared sense that we will win this fight for our values and our institution, if for no other reason than that we must.
Please donate to the College Revival Fund
USBank Account #130 110 698 524
Rory Adams-Cheatham, Community Manager 07-08
Chad Johnston, CM 01-02
Shannon McCarville, CM 02-03
Dietrich Delrieu-Schulze, CM 01-02
Tim Noble, Administrative Council 01-02
Taos Pueblo Poem
to the community in honor of the Antioch Northern New Mexico Co-op Learning Community and read by Nancy Crow to the community:
Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe in, even if it is a tree, which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.
Hold On!!!
Alumni Fury at Antioch
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/25/qt