Stephanie Irwin Gottschlich writes about higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2008 > March > 11 > Entry
Antioch faculty, round two
The “important announcement” from Antioch College faculty that was supposed to happen yesterday is back on, for today at 3:45 p.m. in McGregor Hall on campus.
Antioch College faculty sent out a notice yesterday, March 10, asking the media and others to come to Yellow Springs to hear their plans for the fight to keep the college open and save their jobs. They canceled it later in the afternoon. My colleague Scott Elliott, who writes about K-12 education, wrote about it here on his blog, Get on the Bus. I was out yesterday.
But today the faculty plan to give it another go. I’ll be there and will post the news here right away.
So do I have any predictions about what this announcement is all about?
Last time the faculty acted in unison, they took legal action. They sued Antioch University, corporate parent of the college, in Greene County Common Pleas court. They sought an injunction against the university/college assets, fearful that administrators were planning on selling off the college’s replete portfolio of assets that includes land, WYSO radio license, Glen Helen Nature Preserve, etc. (there was rampant skepticism among college folks about the trustees’ intentions at the time). The faculty dropped the suit when it looked like the alumni, who had raised $18 million in pledges for keeping the college open, were going to hammer out a deal with the university to keep it open.
But as we know from the news on Feb. 22, the university trustees decided to go ahead and close the college for one year in July. Back to square one for the faculty, whose contracts end in June (they get paid through August).
But this time, I’m not sure what to expect. The Antioch College story has had so many twists, turns and total surprises that it has become unpredictable. I’m shrugging my shoulders here.
Come back around 5:00 p.m. today and I’ll try to have an update.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Antioch College
Comments
By victor mickunas
March 11, 2008 12:40 PM | Link to this
My prediction: Antioch College faculty are declaring war on Antioch University administration. At this point they have tried everything else; lawsuits, negotiations, press releases, delaying tactics. The gloves must be coming off now?By Starcastic
March 11, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
Perhaps they’re going to secede from the Union. Unfortunately, I dont think the Antioch Public Safety Department has enough manpower to take on the Army. Sorry hippies, welcome to the job market.