WE HAVE YOUR BACK
A Message from Supporters of Community Governance
For every generation of Antiochians there comes a defining moment – a moment to stand up for our shared values and to use our strength in the service of our vision. Continue reading We Have Your Back
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
I think that getting the Trustees to agree to lift the suspension is a great victory, and one that should not be downplayed. True, it’s not over yet. Perhaps the best way to articulate our situation is that we’ve cleared the first hurdle. But it’s also the hurdle we had to clear before we can get to any of the other hurdles.
As for the future of the college? I don’t know. There are a lot of factors—such as recruitment (a word I detest for its military connotation, by the way), curriculum, financial exigency, and where the power will go when the College has it’s own board—that could still cause us serious trouble. As I see it, it all comes down to how the Board of Trustees intends to handle these issues.
“But I’m also an optimist. I think we’ll manage it, with the Trustees and despite them” Continue reading Letter from Lincoln Alpern, 1st Year Student
To the Editor,
My feelings about the current state of affairs are very mixed. I applaud all the people – on both boards and those on no board – for their tireless labors of love and generous contributions, to bring us to this point.
On the other hand, I’m very suspicious. The same people seem to still be in charge. The same ones who have ripped us off for years. I see people who don’t identify with our traditions, and who want to destroy the college, still holding the bulk of the power. Continue reading Letter from Joni Rabinowitz ’64
Research: Kim-Jenna Jurriaans & Brian Springer
“Based on projections of enrollment, if we would have gone beyond the next year, there weren’t going to be more resources to cover expenses.” So says Antioch University CFO Thomas Faecke, in response to the question what his personal reason was to support the suspension of operations at Antioch college in 2008. “There was a fear that the university would become insolvent and that was primarily because of the deficit of the college,” he adds. Presented with this scenario, on June 9th, the vast majority of the members of the University Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations at the 155-year-old college.
“I think in the early 90s, it wouldn’t have occurred to anyone to close the college and keep the university open,” says Ann Filemyr, a former journalism professor, interim Dean of faculty and serving vice president at the college until 2005. “At that time, the college was clearly considered as the center of Antioch University.”
