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Dave Larsen writes about higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > February > 26 > Entry
Antioch College alumni plan to fight closure, again
(Dayton Daily News photo near Antioch College campus on Saturday.)
YELLOW SPRINGS - Alumni of Antioch College and their supporters said today they plan to “pick up the pieces” and fight Antioch University trustees’ plan to close the college for one year after June 30.
Their announcement comes after Antioch University trustees decided Friday, after two days of meetings in Los Angeles, that they reconfirmed their original June 2007 decision to close the college, this time for one year instead of four years as initially planned. The University board of trustees said negotiations could not be completed in time with the Antioch College Continuation Corporation, a non-profit corporation which wanted to take over the school and create its own board of trustees.
The Antioch College Alumni board, the group that raised $18 million in pledges this fall for keeping the college open, sent out a statement Tuesday, Feb. 26, announcing a “renewed commitment to its ongoing and unprecedented efforts to keep the College open.” Their plans include possible legal steps or “direct action,” it said.
The alumni board is calling on its 17,000 alumni to make a pilgrimage to Yellow Springs this weekend, Feb. 29 to March 2, for a meeting on campus to organize its next move.
From the group’s statement:
“The Board of Trustees’ announcement, released as the Antioch College Continuation Corporation was in the midst of good-faith negotiations with that Board, was ill-timed,” said Alumni Board President Nancy Crow. Alumni Board Vice-President Ellen Borgersen added, “The announcement appears designed to break the resolve of the many dedicated alumni who support an open, independent Antioch College….This strategy has completely backfired. We will not let it die.”
They say they have an abundance of “energy, vision, talent and commitments of at least $18 million” that will be available to an open and independent Antioch College.
A separate grassroots group of alumni and Yellow Springs residents called the Antioch College Action Network also sent out a statement saying they supported a fight to keep the college open. ACAN describes itself as a coalition of Antioch College community members—students, faculty, staff, alumni, villagers and friends—dedicated to a vibrant, humane, self-governing and self-sustaining Antioch College.
A quick summary of recent events:
After voting in June to suspend college operations, trustees reversed the decision in November after the college’s alumni board raised $18 million to keep the college open.
The group had to meet a series of deadlines on transferring some of the raised money to the school. It gave $2 million to Antioch University immediately.
But when some major alumni donors balked and the alumni were unable to meet a second deadline in December, the board took the arrangement off the table and gave the $2 million back, Antioch College President Andrzej Bloch explained Saturday in a interview.
Trustees then decided to explore the deal with ACCC, which formed out of the group of hesitant donors and also includes alumni, former trustees and Yellow Springs residents Lee Morgan, owner of Antioch Publishing, and Steve Schwerner, former Antioch dean of students. The ACCC and the Alumni Board, while separate groups, have members in common.
ACCC said in a statement late Friday its negotiations with the board continue on a deal to let it operate the college.
Bloch said Saturday the board moved after the ACCC’s plan was “not ready for acceptance,” but that their negotiations had been narrowing.
“From the documents I’ve seen, they needed to get through some financial issues involving assets,” Bloch said.
You can read more about that in my Sunday, Feb. 24 follow-up story .
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Antioch College
Comments
By bob
February 26, 2008 8:18 PM | Link to this
TRY VIETNAM FOR FUNDING. I AM SURE THEY WILL HELP OUT.By ChristianF
February 26, 2008 8:50 PM | Link to this
Whoo-hoo! Thanks for the trolling! In other news, reports of Antioch College’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Antioch College: alma mater of Rod Serling, Leland Clark, Coretta Scott King, Lawrence Block, as well as two Nobel prize winners.By Pharm78
February 27, 2008 6:51 PM | Link to this
Very nice site!By Leon Harrison
March 5, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this
Gee, you mean parents won’t willingly pay to send their student spawn to Antioch for dumbass activist PAC classes, and are bitchin’ about tuition? They want them to learn and study useful stuff to get real non-government jobs?By Oldprof
March 10, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
I still say that Yellow Springs has the right and responsibility to put the Antioch campus up for auction. Antioch’s administration has allowed the property to deteriorate and it’s now an eyesore in serious need of repair. Note that the Antioch system has plenty of cash to build a brand-new facility for their McGregor school on the outskirts of Yellow Springs; the delapidated condition of the main campus can only be the result of willful neglect.By Oldprof
March 10, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
Hey Leon and bob—if we say “Clinton” enough times, will your heads explode?