Antioch College chronology
1852: Antioch College founded
1862: Antioch College closes because of financial problems
1865: Antioch College re-opens
1951: Coretta Scott King graduates from Antioch
1965: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gives commencement address
June 2007: Antioch University board of trustees declares state of financial exigency for Antioch College and resolves to suspend college operations on June 30, 2008
November 2007: Trustees announce plans to reverse decision after alumni raise $18 million to keep college open through 2010
December 2007: Alumni fail to meet funding deadline
February 2008: Trustees reaffirm original decision to close the college
June 2008: Antioch College closes on June 30
July 2008: A task force of alumni and trustee representatives agree on framework to create a new, fully independent Antioch College
January 2009: Trustee and Antioch College Continuation Corporation boards approve letter of intent
June 30, 2009: Agreement announced to create new, independent Antioch College
Sept. 4, 2009: Final documents signed to transfer college campus and other assets from university to new Antioch College
YELLOW SPRINGS — “Welcome to Antioch College,” declared Matthew Derr to a cheering crowd on Friday, Sept. 4, at a ceremony to establish new, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs.
Derr, chief transition officer of the college, was among the officials who signed an agreement transferring the historic Antioch College campus and other assets from Antioch University to the new college.
“We’ve made the world of higher education richer today. This morning there was one Antioch and now there are two,” Derr said.
The Antioch College Continuation Corp. paid $6.08 million for the campus, its endowment and the Glen Helen nature preserve, according documents released in January.
The 750-page closing documents signed Friday were the result of 14 months of negotiations, said Richard Detweiler, president of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and mediator of the task force to create the college.
“What better example of the Antioch tradition than fighting for what you believe in and this resulting in a renewed, independent Antioch College,” said Toni Murdock, chancellor of Antioch University.
Founded in 1852, Antioch College closed in June 2008 because of declining enrollment and other problems.
A crowd of several hundred people wearing everything from suits and ties to tie-dyed T-shirts watched the public ceremony.
“It’s a day that some people didn’t believe would ever come and it’s just glorious that we’re able to get the keys back to our campus and be able to begin anew,” said Anna Hogarty of Yellow Springs, a former Antioch College employee.
An alumni reunion will be held Oct. 2 at the new college. “There’s no group of alumni in the world who want to celebrate more than we want to celebrate,” Derr said.
Plans call for a small, first-year class in fall 2010.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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