ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2007
(DATELINE) – In Chicago, they held a picnic. In Columbus, Washington DC, Yellow Springs and Los Angeles they held screenings of the beloved 1960’s film, “The Antioch Adventure.” In Boston and San Francisco, they met at Antioch alumni members’ homes. Antioch College alumni came together across the country in a historic coordinated effort, and in the process, raised over $5.3 million in cash and pledges for the College Revival Fund. This brings total giving to the College Revival Fund to $7.8 million in less than three months since the University Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations at the historic college.
These national events were part of Support Antioch College Weekend, a coordinated weekend of seminars, fundraisers and activities sponsored by 20 chapters of Antioch College alumni across the country August 17-19. This weekend was designed to raise awareness and rally alumni and supporters of Antioch’s historic mission of liberal arts education, in the face of a unilateral decision by the University Board of Trustees to close the College at the end of the 2007-08 school year.
“This is the first time Antioch College alumni chapters across the country have joined forces for a weekend of concentrated activity,” Nancy Crow, president of the Antioch College Alumni Association, said. “The time for action is now, and our alumni are making their voices heard.”
Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, has been a bastion of American liberal arts education for more than 150 years. It has been a pioneer in cooperative education, community governance, student body diversity, and free and open inquiry.
On June 9, 2007, the Antioch University Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations at Antioch College as of July 1, 2008, asserting that financial exigency warranted a necessary and justifiable budget curtailment at the College. On June 24, 2007, the elected Antioch College Alumni Association Board of Directors, representing more than 17,000 College alumni, unanimously accepted a Resolution for the Revival of Antioch College.
The resolution expresses the alumni’s commitment to the uninterrupted continuation of Antioch College as an institution of higher education with a tenured faculty, and charges the Alumni Board of Directors to negotiate conditions with the Antioch University Board of Trustees and the President of Antioch College that will ensure the short-term continuation and long-term viability of the College, its physical plant, and its unique educational mission.
The Alumni Board has established a College Revival Fund to raise the financial resources necessary to save and strengthen the College. It is this fund that has drawn together hundreds of alumni who support the continued operation of the College.
Support Antioch College Weekend coincides with three significant events:
- The canceled August 16 webinar by the Antioch University Board of Trustees explaining its decision to suspend College operations.
- The University Board of Trustees meeting August 24-26 in Cincinnati.
- The first week of fall classes at Antioch College August 27-31.
“Since the announcement of the closure, new chapters have sprung up and gone into overdrive,” Crow said. “Chapters have posted alumni testimonials on YouTube, written letters and editorials of support, and reached out to alumni in their areas to enlist their involvement in the campaign.
“We are asking our alumni and supporters to visit our website, www.antiochians.org, to find out how they can get involved to keep the College open,” Crow said. Paraphrasing Antioch College founder Horace Mann’s famous credo, “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity,” Crow urged alumni, “Be ashamed to let Antioch College die!”