I am more than a little disappointed that continued financial exigency is a part of the agreement. The original declaration of financial exigency was based on (a) rapidly declining enrollments (in which the
Board played a major role), (b) large deficits (made larger by Board policy with regard to depreciation and COLLEGE endowment growth), (c) projected continuing decline in enrollment and revenue (cast as pessimistically as possible), and (d) cash flow problems. Continue reading Letter from Bob Devine ’67
Tag: closing
Letter from Priscilla (Kip) Klein Zink ’63
I can’t remember when I’ve been prouder of being an Antiochian: proud of alumni who raised $18 million in 125 days, proud of students who refused to bail when the going got iffy and the pipes got leaky. I am grateful to faculty who so espoused the values of Horace Mann that they have hung in when salaries were cut, when names were black-listed during Joe McCarthy’s rampage…and now, when tenure is spelled “tenuous.” I bask in the reflected glory of past Antiochians… Stephen Jay Gould, Coretta Scott King, Eleanor Holmes Norton. Hey, I once grilled a hamburger in the C-Shop for Rod Serling and shared a chemistry class with Mario Capecchi! (I would be delighted to sign autographs.) An anti-bumper sticker person at heart, my little Honda now sports a sticker that proclaims “I ‘Heart’ Antioch College.”
There is much that I regret. Immature below my years, I did not march when we invaded Vietnam. I did not understand civil rights. “What difference does it really make what fountain they drink out of? where they sit in the bus?” (Until my date and I were refused service in a restaurant because we were a mixed couple.) I graduated third from the bottom of my class and had to make up those grades before I even dared apply to graduate school. I was accepted only because of the support of one professor (Dr. Bill John, who believed that nobody can be that hopeless!) and because of my Antioch degree. Some of us are really late bloomers!
I like to believe that I did eventually bloom because of my Antioch heritage.
I desperately need our current crop of students to make up for my shortcomings. They cannot do this if Antioch closes. Not understanding that Antioch was in difficult straits financially, I stopped contributing when I retired. Big mistake. Now I’m in, believing that even the modest contribution I can afford…multiplied by tens of thousands of alumni…can make a difference. When all of the hoop-la dies down, Antioch will still be struggling against financial difficulties. Anyway, understanding that ongoing financial support is critical to the survival of the values that shaped our lives, I am dedicated to spreading the guilt around.
I listened online to the whooping, hollaring, whistles and applause that greeted the announcement that the closing had been suspended. But within hours, the objections and suspicions had begun to emerge…and although they made good points, they may be premature. We were told that there is much to be worked out. I have learned that it pays immeasurably to first listen…and then listen some more. It is crucial that we continue to air our questions and doubts, but let’s give the new plan a chance. It can always be amended.
Priscilla (Kip) Klein Zink, 1963
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, How Say You?
This weekend, the future of Antioch College is sitting in the hot seat of a court room. Antiochians, Yellow Springers, Alumni, members of the Board of Trustees (BOT), and many reporters with pen at hand have come to witness a decision that could be either a death sentence or an Antiochian Renaissance. No one, not even BOT members, knows what the decision will be, yet everyone has strong feelings about the outcome. Some people think that the Board’s decision to close is unlikely to be reversed. Others believe that the Board will keep the college open. Gina Potestio, a first year, is, “trying to stay optimistic, and hearing the feedback from the upper-level students saying it’s going to close is a little hurtful after seeing … what everyone’s doing for us.” Many students are in denial about the possibility of Antioch closing. “I just really didn’t want to think about [the closing],” explains James Kutil, a second year student, “so, I’ve kind of been in a numb panic, because the school closing means a lot to me.” There is still a gut feeling that the college just can’t close.
Continue reading Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, How Say You?
Antioch Panel Speaks at Wittenberg
“In my mind, Antioch has a soul,” mused Antioch College professor Scott Warren to a small audience gathered at Wittenberg University last Wednesday. Community members Jeanne Kay, Scott Warren, Scott Sanders, and Wittenberg professor and Yellow Springs resident Laurie Askland comprised the panel in order to openly discuss the circumstances regarding the closing of Antioch College.
The panel started off with college archivist Scott Sanders, presenting pieces of Antioch history to illuminate parallels between the college’s current financial situation and those of its past. According to Sanders, the year 1880 saw no graduates and concerned alumni and students met with the college’s Board of Trustees in order to prevent the closure of the college. Sanders also described the events of the summer that led to the announcement of closure as “surprising” and elaborated upon the efforts of friends and alumni of the College to prevent the suspension of operations that is planned for July 1, 2008.
Jeanne Kay, a second-year globalization major at the college, providing a student perspective to an intimate crowd in the Wittenberg auditorium, lamented the wave of “bad press” over the summer, following the announcement of suspension of operations. Kay stated her concerns about limited operations, facilities, and the number of students on campus, but she disputed the sentiment parlayed in newspapers across the country that campus culture has had a negative effect on the retention rate of the college. she pointed to the 100 percent retention rate of the incoming class and the fact that the second-year class has had half of its original students return to campus even after the news of suspension of operations as indicative of the environment of tolerance resplendent on campus.
Scott Warren reminded the audience of the economic implications of the college’s closure to the community of Yellow Springs and the Miami Valley. Laurie Askland, a town representative and professor of Women’s Studies at Wittenberg University described the college as the “heart” of the village. “It became clear to me how much the fabric the community I lived in was linked directly to the college,” she said.
Warren further described the measures currently undertaken by the campus community and Yellow Springs to prevent the suspension and panelists listed their favorite websites for news and background on everything Antioch.
A week after the event, it becomes evident the wave of direct action, generated by alumni and friends of Antioch college since this summer, has found its way to the Wittenberg community. Students that were present at the panel discussion have contacted Wittenberg faculty and facilitators to inquire after ways start campaigns to effective fundraise for Antioch College.
“I’m taking one day at a time”
The announcement by the Antioch University Board of Trustees to suspend the operations of Antioch College in 2008 has had resounding consequences across the entire college campus. Staff reductions have created tension as the workloads of former staff members are distributed among those who endure, students find limited access to resources, and rumors about the closing or persisting float back and forth across campus.
During the three months following the announcement of suspensions, the staff of the school has been whittled down to a bare minimum. Many areas of the Antioch College infrastructure have experienced staff cuts. Offices such as the admissions office were the most obvious choices for staff reductions, but other areas of the college have been impacted as well. Employees in the Academic Support Center, Physical Plant, Olive Kettering Library, and development office have also been fired.
The fact lingering in the minds of all of the college’s faculty and staff is that, under the current board decision, all are facing an uncertain future in terms of employment. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of faculty jobs in higher education has increased by over 50% between 1981 and 2001, while the number of full time positions has actually decreased by 9% of the total positions.
Reactions among staff to the pending closure, and the effect it may have upon their career is largely cautious.
“It’s so up and down, I don’t know what to tell you,” said Carolene Minter of the Financial Aid Office at Antioch. “I wish I had a concrete answer.”
Many staff members are unwilling to make solid plans for the future. “Some things you control, and some things you can’t. I’m taking one day at a time,” conceded Marcia Brim, college custodian and steward for the Local 767 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine workers of America (UE 767). “[Antioch] has educated me in a way no other place could,” the 37-year employee added.
Some staff members are entitled to severance packages upon the termination of their employment, especially those who are represented by labor unions. Severance packages often include additional payment after termination, payment for unused sick days or vacation days, and insurance possibilities.
Staff without severance packages may find it increasingly appealing to search out new employment, as there is no economic benefit to remaining at an institution with an uncertain future. Former Interim Director of Admissions Jennifer Rhyner has taken this approach. Rhyner recently left the Antioch College admissions office to pursue a new position in the Financial Aid department of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. “I really enjoyed working with her for the last couple of years,” said Angie Glukhov, Director of Admissions for Antioch College.
Conversely, former Admissions Counselor Brad Choate was fired three months ago and has had little success in finding a new job. Choate, an alumnus from 2005, joined the admissions team after discovering his love of academia while on co-op. “I had made the decision that I wanted to continue to work in higher education. I haven’t had much luck pursuing that end, though,” Choate said. After applying for some ten vacancies in varying positions, he was turned down each time.
“I only wanted to work at small liberal arts schools with similar values to Antioch’s,” Choate mentioned. Certainly, such institutions are a dying breed in a world of increasingly market-driven institutions of higher education. “I think my experience with Antioch was a bonus rather than a detractor,” he said.