Antioch University in Yellow Springs could move to south Dayton

Antioch University Midwest is putting its Yellow Springs building up for sale, the private school’s interim chancellor announced in a letter yesterday.

The school has hired a national real estate firm to find potential buyers while also looking for a facility in “more robust markets, such as south Dayton,” wrote William Groves, interim chancellor of the Antioch University system, which has its administrative offices in Yellow Springs.

RELATED: Antioch University president talks building sale and move

“With the demands for more flexible pedagogy, we must also re-think how we use our facilities to best meet our students’ needs,” Groves said.

Officials from Antioch University and Yellow Springs Exempted Village Schools have discussed the idea of the Antioch building becoming a district school, said superintendent Mario Basora. The school district currently has no plans to buy the property though, Basora said.

RELATED: Ohio college presidents meet in Washington, D.C.: Here’s what they’re saying

Yellow Springs High School is directly across the street from Antioch University.

The Antioch University relocation will be done in a way so students’ studies are not disturbed, Groves said. A meeting where details of the move will be discussed is scheduled for Thursday.

In the letter, Groves also wrote that the university is seeing an increase in enrollment, that accreditation for its programs is secure through 2024 and that the school has already raised $1.2 million in its three-year, $5 million fundraising campaign.

A year ago, Antioch University announced it would disband its boards of trustees at all five of its U.S. campuses while making major leadership changes as part of a reorganization. The reorganization also included the elimination of campus presidents in Yellow Springs, New England, Los Angeles, Seattle and Santa Barbara, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

RELATED: Wilberforce University announces layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs for employees

The private, non-profit Antioch University system, including the Yellow Springs campus, AUM, separated from the historic liberal arts college now known at Antioch College around a decade ago.

Antioch University Midwest isn’t the only campus up for sale in the Dayton area.

Wilberforce University announced in January that it was looking to sell about 10 acres of campus, including two buildings, for $7 million. Rather than relocating, Wilberforce officials put part of campus up for sale so they could use the money to pay off some of the school’s debt.

About the Author