Tag: chapter meeting

Washington, DC Chapter Meeting – November 21, 2009

With Morgan Fellows Susan Eklund-Leen and Beverly Rodgers. Also in attendance Risa Grimes & Micah Canal.

Full summary of this meeting is provided below.

Meeting of DC Area Antioch Alums, Nov. 21, 2009
UDC School of Law, room 205    2-5pm

Guests from Yellow Springs:
Beverly Rodgers and Susan Eklund-Leen, newly named Morgan Scholars
Risa Grimes, Director of Advancement
Micah Canal, ’08, Director of Annual Giving

Audience of approx. 60, including 3 current Alumni Board members, former AC president Joan Straumanis, and former Board chair Larry Pearl.  The meeting was chaired by former Trustee and College Alumni President Karen Mulhauser.

Bev and Susan are both former AC co-op advisors, and have been hired with three other ex-faculty to help design the curriculum for the new Antioch College.  The others are Scott Warren, philosophy professor; Anne Bohlen, film and media; Jean Gregorek, Literature.  Science reps have yet to be hired.  The Morgan Scholars (sometimes called fellows) were chosen by a search committee of people from the Alumni Board (AB) and the Board Pro Tem. (BPT).

Bev began by explaining what the Morgan fellows are. “The curriculum belongs to the faculty.  Since we do not have students until 2011, the Board felt it imperative to have faculty in place to develop the curriculum.”

They are scheduled to have the concept in place by Jan. 2010, the actual curriculum by June.  An admissions director will be hired in June, with a view to admitting students in the fall of 2011.

They are also tasked with presenting symposiums during the year, planning at this point one on the Daily Struggles of Immigrant Workers, one on Native Americans, and one on Restorative Justice.  There are plans for a Reunion in June, and there will be a symposium on Civil Rights then.

The Scholars are not involved with fund-raising or the business plan.

Bev said their research so far included looking at the history of liberal arts education, and data from the American Association of Colleges and Universities’ ten year report.  It said colleges must prepare students to “think critically and creatively to solve existing problems and anticipate future ones.”  Looking at the needs of employers, they said students must be able to communicate well. The co-op program is well suited to these goals.
There will be a core curriculum in which all students will participate.  The “studies” element – women, black, Hispanic, gender, etc. – will be incorporated into every class.

There are no fixed ideas as yet, because the scholars are actively seeking alumni input.  The email addresses for everyone now are: first initial, last name, @antiochcollege.org.
brodgers@antiochcollege.org; seklund@antiochcollege.org

You can read more about the Morgan Scholars at alumni.antiochians.org

They are still looking at starting a 3-year program to a B.A., which with a full-year calendar would be only one term less than a 4-year program.  At least 3 co-ops would be included.  This would enable tuition to match state colleges @ about $25,000 a year. They are looking at returning to the four quarter system with two divs, A and B.

Susan spoke of the value of the co-op program and how it is different from an internship, with real responsibilities.  Several people in the audience felt the need to interrupt and talk about their co-op experiences as validation of her point! The new co-op program would recognize that in the future people are more likely to have 10 jobs over their lifetime as opposed to one career, that people will need to be more entrepreneurial and flexible.

The new college will also require at least 3 hours a week of on campus labor (Berea College model).

Language training will be a requirement and possibly also living abroad as with AEA.

The core curriculum will probably include a first year seminar on Democracy, globally and locally.  Students will learn to write and to make oral and public presentations.

– – – – – – – –
Questions and comments included:
Would there still be federally funded work programs on campus (i.e. student subsidies); 2008 grad Zach Gallant said many of the FWSP jobs paid for 40 hours of work when there were really may be only 3 hours – his job was “refilling sex supplies.”  (Older grads did not know the college supplied condoms, etc.)  It is not clear at this point what federal funds we may qualify for.
Should co-op and classroom be more integrated, such as with having counselors meet together with the student instead of separately?
Will graduation be guaranteed?  Where will the students come from?  How many faculty and students?
Why not more emphasis on math and science?
Some urged more flexibility; others interested in more academic rigor and standards.
One recent grad said bad experiences with co-op should be studied, that the tough experiences need to be addressed.  He also wanted political activism to be addressed in practical ways.

Risa said the appeal of the curriculum would be tested on high school students before being put in place.  “We know where those students are – the non-conforming students.”
There will be between 90 and 120 students the first year, and 15-20 faculty.  Accreditation is required and to get it you must guarantee solvency, i.e. graduation.
Not all the buildings will be open when the college opens.

Barbara Esbin asked whether the Board planned to hire a President and present her/him with a curriculum, or whether the new president will have a role in designing the new school.

Bev said that is a big debate; probably a president would not be attracted by a blank slate but would want to see a degree of enthusiasm and a dynamic environment.

Local alum Patrick Masterson addressed the audience to talk about how to revitalize the DC Chapter.  He has volunteered to organize some “fun stuff”: talks, social get-togethers, etc.  Ideas are welcome. Other volunteers are needed to contact local alums, update the mailing list, etc.  There are over 1000 Antioch alums in the DC area.
People to contact:  patrick@potomacgroupLLC.com
Karen:  kmulhauser@consultingWomen.com

Risa said there are now 20 strong chapters around the country and 15 that need help.  We are considered a strong chapter.

Money:
$15 million has been raised for college seed money; $700,000 for the annual fund (i.e. operations.) $2.8 million is needed for the annual fund.  The Capital Campaign is targeted at $10 to $15 million over five years.
The participation rate, based on the total number of living alums, is now 4%.  Foundations will not help us until we show a 25 to 40% participation rate.
The average four-year college has a 50% participation rate.  Everyone was urged to give, even if it is a small amount, in order to boost our rate.  Risa noted that both she and Matt Derr have pledged $10,000 to be paid out over several years.  She also said Matt’s title has been changed to Acting President.

Christian Feuerstein said there is a Facebook page called Chase Community Giving.com that will give $25,000 to Antioch if we get a lot of votes. apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/

Happy Thanksgiving
Megan Rosenfeld, note taker.

Boston Chapter Meeting – November 15, 2009

With Morgan Fellows Scott Warren and Anne Bohlen and Chief Transition Officer Matthew Derr in attendance.

Discuss the summary and the meeting on the ‘Tell Horace’ forums here

Meeting Summary (.DOC & .PDF formats available, as well as text below)

December 4, 2009

Scott Warren

SYNOPSIS OF THE MEETING OF THE BOSTON ALUMNI CHAPTER ON NOVEMBER 15, 2009

The meeting of the Antioch College Boston Alumni Chapter with Matthew Derr and Morgan Fellows Anne Bohlen and Scott Warren produced a great number of suggestions, concerns, and good ideas.  We will make every attempt to deliberate on each of the points made during the discussion to determine how we might incorporate them into the planning and design of the concept and curriculum for the new Antioch College.  Following is a synopsis of those ideas and comments, which I have tried to organize by various relevant categories.  I have also put key words in bold, so as to help focus attention on central points.

  1. Calendar
    1. The possibility of a three-year program leading to a B.A., with the further possibility of a three-year/two-year program that would lead to a Masters degree after a total of five years:  some alumni were skeptical of whether a 3-year program would provide sufficient time to deliver an adequate program.  Others actually found the idea appealing, especially if the Internet could be used on Co-op to continue and finish courses begun on campus.  Others found the 3-year program to be attractive on a cost basis, offering more students access to Antioch.
    1. Some alumni thought it important that students be allowed to transfer between “Divs.”
    1. A number of alumni also felt strongly that the calendar include a “C-Div” for the sake of building and maintaining community.
    1. Finally, the idea was raised that perhaps Nonstop might serve as a good option for students who wanted to wait a year between high school and college.
  1. Curriculum
    1. There was strong sentiment during the discussion that science and math should be important components of the new curriculum.
    1. One alumnus emphasized that even more important was a strong component on the relationship between science and technology.
    1. One idea suggested creating an incubator culture for the sciences in the context of student entrepreneurship, as had been done in Antioch’s past.
    1. Yet another alum recommended pursuing partnerships in the sciences with other institutions, given the issue of limited resources.
    1. It was recommended that the curriculum focus on issues that graduates will have to face, like sustainability, global warming, and environmental issues.
    1. Another suggestion was that the curriculum be focused on a limited number of integrated themes, such as human ecology, arts, literature, and life skills.
    1. One alum suggested looking at Tufts University and their concept and practice of “juried classes” in their experimental college.
    1. Many alumni/ae felt strongly that the global dimension of the curriculum was absolutely crucial.
    1. Another comment suggested that science offerings be focused on the environment, again given the resources issue.
    1. It was suggested that perhaps a “freshman seminar” be explored.
    1. One alumna thought it would be a compelling idea to have a program that focused on the global economy, and especially the question of labor in that economy.
    1. A number of alums felt strongly that the College continue to have cross-cultural requirements.
    1. Finally, there was general support for the concept of “hybrid courses,” which would begin in the classroom on campus, and then continued on-line when the student went on Co-op.
  1. Faculty and Pedagogy
    1. There was strong consensus that the College should hire faculty with a serious passion for the liberal arts and experiential learning (to which we added that they should also be versatile and able to work across disciplinary lines, and also committed to integrating issues of diversity into the core of the curriculum).
    1. Some alums suggested that the faculty should be kept small, especially at first, and that the College make extensive use of guest faculty from the alumni and other institutions.
    1. There was also mention of the pedagogical importance of involving students in the very question of “how to learn,” so that they become truly active learners.
  1. Community
    1. There was overwhelming consensus that community and community governance continue to be central values of the College program.
    1. Some alums stressed the importance of maximizing use of the internet, facebook, etc. to create an on-line community to supplement and complement the face-to-face on-campus community.
    1. Some concern was expressed about whether a 3-year program would vitiate the possibility of a strong community.
  1. Co-op
    1. Again, there was obviously universal support for the centrality of Co-op to the future of the College.
    1. The main question raised was what should the Co-op program look like, and how might it be different from the program of the past.  (There was some definite support for the concept of having students move from local to national to global Co-op experiences, as long as flexibility was allowed for the varying developmental stages of students).
  1. Access and Support

    1. Alums responded positively to our strategic and principled decision to make the College not only accessible to all interested prospective students, but to ensure the perception of accessibility as well.
    1. A few alums stressed the importance of making sure that all students, no matter their financial status, have access to computers and the internet.
    1. There was animated and enthusiastic support among the alumni/ae for ensuring that the College offered substantial academic support services, and especially that we be supportive of different learning styles and personalities.
  1. Process and Transition
    1. As the transitional process moves forward, a few alums suggested that the College explore developing partnerships with Wilberforce College and Central State University.
    1. Another suggestion involved exploring the creation of a kind of Chautauqua program, somewhat like the Summer Institutes of the past, to enhance the cultural life of the College and to involve alumni and others in contributing to that cultural life.
    1. Many alums stressed the importance of using focus groups of high school and college students to test the appeal of any proposed program and curriculum (which is currently part of the planning and design process underway).
    1. Finally, an intriguing idea was suggested concerning the possibility of offering “short courses” to the public during the second year of the transition, both as a way of generating extra revenue for the College, and of keeping intellectual life alive on campus next year.