On August 19, Alumni in SE Michigan and NW Ohio are Gathering for Save Antioch Weekend
August 5, 2007
Dear Antiochian,
Your elected Alumni Board opposes the announced plans of the Antioch University Board of Trustees to suspend operations at the College in June 2008. The Alumni Board is dedicated to preserving Antioch College as a “school that changes lives” and intends to reverse this edict. An Alumni Resolution, passed unanimously at Reunion 2007, states: “The Antioch College Alumni are committed to the uninterrupted continuation of Antioch College as an institution of higher education with a tenured faculty.”
As you may have heard, the trustees plan to close the college, dismiss staff and faculty (breaking labor contracts and academic tenure), and reopen four years hence with a “state of the art campus for the 21st century” (despite claims of not having the financial assets to keep the College open or refurbish its buildings now). What you might not know is that the University Leadership Council’s stated plans for reopening the College as “Antioch University Yellow Springs” include opening the campus to real estate development (specifically, as a retirement community) and subjecting the curriculum to yet another unnecessary redesign process by consultants and focus groups. There is no evidence of the University’s commitment to preserving Antioch’s distinctive model of undergraduate education (Academics, Co-op, and Community Governance) or its legacy of creating active citizens for a democratic society.
On August 19, alumni in SE Michigan and NW Ohio are rallying as part of a national effort to save our alma mater from closure. Our short-term goal is to convince the University trustees to reverse this process. The long-term goal is to secure complete fiscal and administrative autonomy for Antioch College. At Reunion 2007, the Alumni Board began filing for 501c3 organizational status (now complete) to achieve these purposes, and immediately (in less than 24 hours!) raised $425,000 dollars toward these ends. That sum (in the specially dedicated College Revival Fund) has grown to over $625,000 with an additional $2 million in pledges should the college remain open.
Antioch College is not dead! Its demise is neither preordained nor irreversible. Simply put, now is the time for all good Antiochians to come to the aid of their alma mater. The situation is changing daily, as your Alumni Board, alumni and friends around the country work vigorously to save our College. Please join us on August 19 to hear the latest report from Alumni Board members Terry Blackhawk and Tendaji Ganges, to record video testimonials about your Antioch experience (combating recent bad press about our school from George Will and others), to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and to find out what you can do to save Antioch College.
Join Horace’s Posse! Be ashamed to let it die!
E. Dan Ayres, (’66) Ypsilanti Jan BenDor, (’67) Ypsilanti
Terry Blackhawk, (’68) Detroit Anita Hoffman Ehrenfried, (’71) Farmington Hills
Tendaji Ganges, (’71) Flint Jennie Knaggs, (’01) Detroit
Bobbie Lewis, (’71) Royal Oak Dan C. Shoemaker, (’92) Bowling Green
Laurie White, (’77) Ann Arbor Michael-David BenDor, (’67) Ypsilanti
When: August 19, 2007; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Where: Pittsfield Township Administration Building, 6201 W. Michigan Ave., Ann Arbor 48108
SW Corner of Platt & Michigan, 1/2 mi. west of US-23, exit 34, one exit south of I-94 junction.
Enter from Platt or Mich. Ave
Contact: lonawhite; tblackhawk; tganges.
Visit: www.antiochians.org established by the Alumni Association, June 2007.
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