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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2007 > November > 08 > Entry
Antioch Gets Good (Re)Start
Here’s a link to a news story in a professional journal about the decision to try to keep Antioch College open: http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/05/antioch
And here’s an editorial appearing in the Dayton Daily News of Friday, Nov. 11:
The Antioch College alumni association has done impressive work, coming up with enough money and pledges so that the university trustees have decided to try to keep the college open, after all.
The university announced last summer that the liberal arts college would be closed in 2008 for at least four years, because of declining enrollment, decrepit facilities, massive debt and a pathetic endowment. But some alums still believed that there must be enough emotional commitment to Antioch to keep the venerated school funded.
Others were saying that the heart of the financial problem was that Antioch alums — idealistic to an arguable fault — are not people who make big money. But now there’s $18 million (in cash and pledges) to cast doubt on that assumption.
It’s only a start, but it’s a good one. The alumni association says there’s more where that came from.
In pursuit of funds, the alumni association was certainly helped by the closure announcement itself. Though widely criticized at the time by alums, the announcement did clearly communicate the message that this was serious.
Helping, too, most likely, was all the public gloating by conservative critics of the school. Good old American polarization raised its head: The more something is hated, the more it is loved.
Still, there are a lot of remaining problems. For example, because of the closure announcement and pre-existing issues, the school now has to convince authorities that the college is still a real academic institution, that it’s providing quality services. With one-professor departments and the promise of more cuts, that will be a challenge.
Meanwhile, the school will remain in an official emergency situation, which means that the administration will have special powers to eliminate faculty positions. Potential teachers and students (and students’ parents) will have difficulty knowing what to think about the future of the school.
Impressively as the Antioch community has pitched in, this, too, must be said: Antiochians aren’t talking much publicly about the Antioch issue the outside world is talking about. That, of course, is the campus’ reputation as a politically repressive left-wing bastion, a place where liberals must walk on eggshells, the politically uncommitted have to keep their doubts to themselves, and conservatives … yeah, right, conservatives at Antioch!
Discussion among Antiochians focuses more on university decisions of recent years, including the adoption of a new kind of curriculum that seemed to leave everybody confused, or worse.
Without doubt, the internal critics raise good points. The university trustees seem responsive to some; they have agreed, for example, to move in the direction of granting the college its own board of trustees. That reform is widely seen as necessary if the members of the college community — including financial contributors — are to believe the university is truly committed to the college’s survival.
Still, the school’s situation is so dire — with enrollment having dropped from a couple thousand to 230 over 30 years — that Antioch needs to attack all its problems, including the political reputation.
For all anybody knows, Antioch might have had better luck with recruitment if it had gone ahead with the plan to close for a few years, toward the goal of getting a fresh start, with a physically refurbished campus and a new plan.
But that would have wreaked havoc with the lives of current students and faculty. And that plan was destined to be met with skepticism about whether the rebirth would ever happen.
So now the idea is to get a fresh start on the run. That will be taxing on everybody. The motivation is intense, on the part of students, faculty and, it turns out, fundraisers and givers. That’s a large part of the battle, but only part.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Higher Ed
Comments
By Robert Devine
November 8, 2007 9:47 PM | Link to this
Mr. Gottlieb. I appreciate your thoughtful editorial and the attention you’ve given to Antioch College’s plight. There are several points in your editorial, however, that deserve further clarification. 1) When Antioch was accredited by the North Central Association several years ago, the curriculum and faculty were noted as strong points. While finances and University/College governance were cited as areas needing attention, the accreditors had positive response to Antioch’s curriculum, the ability of the faculty to deliver it, and student satisfaction with the program. Our first step in remaining open is working with the Ohio Board of Regents to recover certification to offer a degree. Given the same strong academic program and the generous commitment of our alums to providing the financial resources necessary, that should not be a major problem. 2) We are moving quickly, on every level, to resolve the “emergency” status of financial exigency. 3) It’s easy to joke about Antioch’s culture of commitment, but the truth is that there are indeed conservatives at Antioch College. Among our students there are children of military and law enforcement parents, staunchly religious students, and students who embrace and act upon conservative ideals. The challenge that Antioch affords all of its students is the disciplined encounter with difference — including political and ideological differences and worldviews. That’s part and parcel of a liberal arts education. More importantly, Antiochians are talking publicly about having two Nobel prize winners among our ranks, and having had 3% of our students last year recieve Fulbright awards. What might be characterized externally as a “leftist bastion” is actually an educational institution that develops critical intellectual capacities and leadership in its students. 3) Antioch College’s enrollment has actually been relatively steady for several decades. After the steep decline of the 70s (from 2470 down to 400), the College stabilized at around 600, and has remained in that neighborhood for several decades. In the mid-90s there were several years of sharp attrition that dropped the College’s enrollment back below 500, but for the second half of the decade enrollment climbed steadily, attrition decreased to the lowest levels in the College’s history, and the institution raised record amounts of funds. The narrative of steady decline leaves out this period of growth. The recent decline in enrollment happened in just two years. Concurrent with the implementation of the Board-imposed curriculum, the enrollment dropped by 50% in just two years — from 600 to 300. In any other business that would be considered a management and leadership problem, and leadership would step down or be removed. You’re absolutely correct that getting a fresh start on the run will be taxing on all involved. It seems to me that our alumni, our faculty and our students are up to the challenge. Bob Devine, College Professor and Former PresidentBy Kenneth Huber
November 9, 2007 1:44 AM | Link to this
A successful fund raising effort in a period of months by Antioch?s alumni provided the leaven in their negotiations with the college?s board of trustees that led the board to lift its suspension on the college next July. This was a tremendous victory for Antiochians everywhere. But as alumni board member and Yellow Springs resident Steve Schwerner said at last Saturday?s community meeting where the news was announced, ?The easy part is now finished. Now the difficult part begins.? More of the fund raising leaven is required, much more. But another kind of leaven is no less critical to bringing Antioch back to the vibrant college it once was, and this is trust —- trust between supporters of the college and its trustees. While trust is an absolute necessity, it remains in short supply, primarily because the trustees have yet to engage the Antioch community as an equal partner in the planning and decision-making that are required for rebuilding the college. The trustees continue to treat these processes as their sole prerogatives and to deal with the college in a top-down manner, an approach that seems based on the old child-rearing maxim that children should be seen and not heard. In this regard, the agreement between the alumni and the trustees contains the following standard: ?We expect and will model civility and respect in the interrelationships between and among all parties to foster reconciliation and enhanced cooperation.? The agreement refers to the closing of some facilities, a reduction of faculty and staff, and the curtailment of some student services in the immediate future. The trustees have not yet shared the specifics of the contingency planning for these cutbacks. If they are to meet their commitment to model civility and respect, they need to include community members —- those directly affected, those required to put forth the effort and to make the sacrifices —- in the processes of planning for its revitalization, and to include them fully. This essential change would replace the current atmosphere of rumor and anxiety with one of open communication and trust. Antioch is only a vestige of its former self, but the remaining core of students, faculty, and staff is outstanding in its competence as well as in its commitment to save the college. If any group can realize this impossible dream, it is they. All they require is for the trustees to cease excluding them from the hard work of this historic endeavor.By Christian Feuerstein
November 9, 2007 4:16 PM | Link to this
As members of the Antioch Alumni Association, we are heartened by the recent lifting of the suspension at Antioch, and are very proud of the global network of dedicated Antioch alums who have come to the ringing defense of their alma mater in the last four months, raising, as you point out, more than $18 million in pledges and donations to keep Antioch alive. However, two points in your column today need clarification: (1) “…..because of the closure announcement and pre-existing issues, the school now has to convince authorities that the college is still a real academic institution, that it’s providing quality services.” Antioch remains a fully-accredited and vibrant institution. While our faculty is limited, you will not find a more dedicated and passionate group of scholars on the planet. If your son or daughter had the choice of listening to a teaching assistant in an overflowing lecture hall or learning, first-hand, alongside a tenured professor in their chosen discipline, which would he or she choose? This is, and always has been, the deep and sustaining value of an Antioch education. (2) Antioch has always been an easy target for those who prefer labels to innate understanding. The “repressive left-wing bastion problem” is a figment of the imaginations of those who choose to think so, and does not exist in the minds of legions of Antioch alumni/ae. Those of us who have had the great privilege of being educated at Antioch know, without question or hesitation, that Antioch challenges all viewpoints and all ideological stances. Antioch doesn’t teach tepid allegiances to half-hearted movements. Antioch teaches broad exploration and rigorous critical thinking. We’ll take humanity over partisanship anytime.By Horace
November 10, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this
wHEn THE DUST SETTLES IT will become clear that Antioch University has sold Antioch College down the river. Always read the fine print. This is a real estate grab and nothing more.