Letter from Nancy Crow, 6/13/08

To the alumni of our beloved Antioch College:

As you have no doubt heard by now, this past weekend, in Keene, New Hampshire, the University Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Alumni Association to create the process, plans and resources to secure Antioch College’s independence from Antioch University, with its own board of trustees. The resolution also calls for the alumni to craft a business plan for the transfer of assets from the University and a timetable for implementing that plan.

– News Stuns Alumni, Faculty, and Staff In Depth, Breadth and Timing –

Keene, NH, June 7, 2008-Today, in a surprise announcement, the Antioch University Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Alumni Association to create the process to secure Antioch College’s independence from Antioch University, with its own board of trustees. Additionally, the resolution calls for the Alumni Board to craft a business plan for the transfer of assets from the University.

**Faculty and College Revival Fund Taking Immediate Steps to Keep the Spirit of Antioch College Alive and Fight Runaway University Board of Trustees**

Yellow Springs, Ohio, May 9, 2008 –Alumni,faculty and staff renewed their commitment to fight to save Antioch College, the 154 year old liberal arts institution known for its groundbreaking educational innovations, in the wake of the announcement today that final talks between the Antioch University Board of Trustees and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation had failed. “We are outraged at the Board’s decision to suspend College operations rather than accept an extremely generous offer that would have kept the College open and put the entire University on a sound financial footing,” said Ellen Borgersen, Acting President of the College Revival Fund, Inc. “Nonstop Antioch will keep up the fight by supporting the dedicated faculty and staff who have committed to keeping the spirit of Antioch College alive here in Yellow Springs, and pursuing legal action against a runaway Board of Trustees that has abandoned its institutional mission and breached its fiduciary duties in many ways.”

ANTIOCH COLLEGE CONTINUATION CORPORATION

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Lyn Chamberlin

Yellow Springs, Ohio—May 9, 2008  –  The Antioch University Board of Trustees today rejected an offer by a group of major donors and educational leaders to contribute nearly $16 million to keep the doors of Antioch College open.

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.

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.