Tag: events

COMMENCEMENT 2008

Commencement Speaker and Program of Events

Antioch College will host its 156th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 26. The Commencement ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. outside on the campus north of Antioch Hall. In the event of rain, the ceremony will take place in Kelly Hall, in Main Building.

Antioch College is pleased to announce that Mr. James (Jimmy) Williams will be addressing our graduating class.

James Williams, Jr. was born in Harlem Hospital on March 16,1952. He was raised in Newark, New Jersey during the “wild and crazy 60s” and is the eldest of five children.

After graduating from Weequahic High School (where he was a city track champion) in 1970, Mr. Williams attended Middlebury College in Vermont where he was one of a small number of students of color. Jimmy was an All-Conference football running back, and graduated in 1974 with a B.A. in American History and a minor in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art.

For the past 32 years, Mr. Williams has served at five colleges and universities including Middlebury College, Brown University, Davidson College, Antioch College and St. Lawrence University, where he currently serves as the Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Multicultural Recruitment. In the field of college admissions Jimmy is regarded as an authority on the recruitment and retention of students of color and speaks regularly on the subject at conferences around the country.

Mr. Williams came to Antioch College in September 1989 as the Dean of Admissions. Under Mr. William’s leadership, in the admissions office, Antioch experienced great success in recruitment and retention of students. Mr. Williams served as Dean of Admissions until 1995, when he was reassigned to student services.

Between 1995 and 2007 Mr. Williams held several significant positions at Antioch including Director of Multicultural Affairs; College Affirmative Action Officer; Special Assistant to the President; Associate Dean of Students; Dean of Student Life; and Dean of Students.

PROGRAM OF EVENTS
Friday, April 25

Senior Projects in Video and Film
12:30 – 3:00 p.m. in the Little Art Theatre

Reception for Graduating Seniors and their Families
3:30 – 5:00 p.m. in the Herndon Gallery

Family Cookout for Graduating Seniors, their Families and the Faculty
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in front of the Antioch Union

Senior Party
10:00 p.m. in the Birch Space

Saturday, April 26

Commencement Exercises
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. outside on the north campus of Antioch Hall

Reception
An informal reception open to the public will follw the exercises in Herndon Gallery

Student of Color Graduation Celebration
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Coretta Scott King Center

Complimentary coffee will be available on the steps of the Antioch Union on Saturday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

No tickets are needed for the Commencement Exercises if they are held outside.

Other events for Commencement weekend are being planned. Upon arriving on campus you will receive details about events other than those included here and information regarding an indoor ceremony in the event of rain.

NYC Alumni Chapter Direct Action: Dan Fallon Appreciation Day

See the Photos!  About 10 alums staged a successful “direct action” event in New York City today in front of the building housing the Carnegie Foundation, where Dan Fallon works (On Madison Ave. between 49th & 50th). Declaring it “Dan Fallon Appreciation Day,” the group gave out flyers and daffodils. Linda White performed with a huge puppet in the likeness of Fallon and Matt Arnold played a horn. As Fallon came into work, he shook hands with the demonstrators and allowed a photo to be taken of him and the puppet. Thanks to all who participated, but especially to Mike Casselli and Noreen Dean Dresser who coordinated the event. –Larry Rubin


New York Times Article Published: “The College That Would Not Go Gently”

by Patricia Cohen for the NY Times, April 20, 2008

AS any student at Antioch College can tell you, our view of reality is socially constructed. What we consider to be truth is often just a reflection of the power structure, a single narrative propounded by a privileged class that must be countered by alternative narratives. Put simply, there is more than one side to any story. –Read the Article.

Chicago Alumni, Along with One Current Student on Co-op in Chicago, Leaflet Outside the Annual Conference of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association

Chicago alumni of Antioch College, along with one current student on co-op in Chicago, leafleted Friday outside the annual conference of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (of which Antioch University is a member) to draw the national educators’ attention to ongoing efforts to keep Antioch College open. Conference attendees, who were trustees, administrators, and professors from colleges and universities across the country, expressed support for the college’s continuous operations. Representatives of at least seven institutions, including one college president, signed postcards to Antioch University trustees, encouraging the trustees to remain open to all avenues to save the college. Many of the educators were unaware of Antioch’s plight before the event, expressing concern and surprise over the situation – others mistakenly believed that the college had already closed. Numerous Ohio educators were very familiar with the situation and expressed solidarity with the college (“this could happen to us” said a representative from the University of Dayton). There are plans for another leafleting Monday at the conference. Video of the Friday action is now available.

Leafleting Event in Chicago – Friday, April 11, 2008

What: ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI- CHICAGO CHAPTER LEAFLET AT the 113th Annual Meeting of The Higher Learning Commission; Exhort University Board of Trustees to Meet With ACCC and to Implement the “10-10” Plan

When: Friday, April 11, 2008

Where: 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., 113th Annual Meeting of The Higher Learning Commission, Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago IL USA 60601

Why: Members of the Antioch College alumni-Chicago chapter invite members of the media to join them as they pass out leaflets at the 113th Annual Meeting of The Higher Learning Commission at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. They are demanding that the University Board of Trustees meet with the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) face-to-face, Board to Board, as soon as possible. The Higher Learning Commission is a regional accrediting body for colleges and universities and Antioch University is a member.

Recently, Antioch University forfeited an agreement to create an independent Antioch College by dragging out negotiations in an effort to profit from the College’s current difficulties.

“The issue is not about money – it’s about time,” said Eric Bates, co-chair of the ACCC, which was formed to negotiate independence for the historic liberal arts institution. “As a result of the University’s repeated foot dragging it would now be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to receive the necessary regulatory approvals to continue operating the College next year as a separate entity. Through its needless delays, the University has squandered a historic opportunity and created a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

While the University chose to forfeit the ACCC’s offer of $12.2 million for the College, the group emphasized that there is still one alternative that would enable the College to continue operating next year. More than a month ago, the ACCC offered to make an immediate contribution of $10 million in return for ten seats on the nineteen-member University Board of Trustees. This plan has been dubbed the “10-10” plan. The offer stands in stark contrast to the dismally low contributions by the current board, which reportedly totaled less than $25,000 in the current fiscal year.

The ACCC noted that it has yet to hear a response to its “10-10 plan,” which it is still prepared to discuss. “This is the only remaining arrangement that can enable the College to continue operating next year while creating a truly philanthropic board for the University,” Bates said. “This is not a hostile takeover – it is a remarkably generous and well-intentioned offer by an experienced and supportive group of alumni, six of whom are former University trustees. We remain mystified as to why the board has not acted on this win-win solution that could be enacted within a matter of hours.”

Ellen Borgersen, Vice-President of the Antioch Alumni Board and Acting President of the College Revival Fund, Inc. (CRF), said in a statement: “The suspicion that the University Board of Trustees was negotiating in bad faith and not interested in saving the College has, unfortunately, been confirmed. Over the past four months, the ACCC labored mightily to put together an offer that would be a win-win solution for the University and the College, as well as for the community and for everyone who believes in what Antioch stands for.”

Since the proposed closure of historic Antioch College was announced last June, the CRF has raised over $18 million to date for a continuing, independent Antioch College with tenured faculty.

Contact: press

More Info: antiochians.org

JOIN THE YSO PICKET OF THE UNIVERSITY’S MCGREGOR SCHOOL CAMPUS

Join us! 11AM to 1PM, Saturday, March 15, YSO residents and other local folks, students, faculty, union members and other staff, and alums will picket the University at its McGregor campus, 900 Dayton Street, in Yellow Springs. We will demand that the University Board of Trustees negotiate in good faith toward creating an independent, ongoing Antioch College.

It would help the harassed coordinators if those coming from out of town could make their own arrangements for transportation and places to stay, but a contact person for out-of-towners will soon be identified.