August 9, 2007

Editorial

To build trust, begin again

At Monday’s Village Council meeting Kathryn Van der Heiden, a psychotherapist, used a professional metaphor when speaking of the challenges facing Antioch University. When there’s a conflict between people, she said, the worst thing you can do is to cover your ears and refuse to listen to the other side. In doing so, even if you find a solution, that solution lacks credibility.

That metaphor seems an apt description for the upcoming Antioch University Board of Trustees special meeting. In calling the meeting, organizers cited the lack of trust that many Antioch College stakeholders feel toward the trustees since the decision to close the college, and the need to rebuild that trust. Unfortunately, the process of moving toward that meeting seems to have undermined trust even further.

First off, the trustees are, metaphorically and almost literally, putting their hands over their ears by refusing to put on the Aug. 25 agenda the option of keeping the college open. Since the announcement on June 12 that the college will close next year — with the possibility of reopening four years later -— countless Antioch alumni, staff, faculty and villagers have thrown themselves into keeping it open instead. They have displayed tremendous passion for Antioch, and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. To simply ignore this source of energy, talent and commitment seems wrongheaded and, frankly, a little bit dumb.

The board and university leaders have repeatedly said they won’t change their decision to close the college, as if changing a decision shows weakness. But of course it takes courage to reconsider a decision, and sometimes, especially in the light of new information, it’s the reasonable thing to do. Surely the Antioch leaders recognize that they now have new information. First, they’ve discovered the commitment that Antioch has inspired in its alumni, faculty and friends. Second, they’ve found that little Antioch College has somehow inspired devotion on the national stage. A spokesperson recently said university leaders expected the national media’s interest in Antioch’s closing to be over within 72 hours after the June 12 announcement. But two months have passed, and it’s not over yet. Antioch trustees, you have far more resources at your disposal for saving the college than you realized.

The process of bringing stakeholders to the Aug. 25 meeting has also undermined trust. There’s no good reason why all stakeholder groups — including faculty, staff, students and villagers — couldn’t have chosen their own representatives, rather than having ones chosen for them. Being given a choice, far more people would feel an actual stake in the meeting’s proceedings, instead of feeling manipulated. It’s hard to figure out exactly how organizers got this part wrong, but they did.

We’re all good people here, and everyone cares about Antioch. Perhaps the meeting’s organizers got bad advice. Whatever the reason for the missteps, there’s still time to turn them into steps in the right direction. Trustees, put the option of keeping Antioch College open on your meeting agenda. Make the whole meeting open — your secrets have served you poorly so far. Invite more stakeholders, and don’t worry about who they are.

So perhaps the Aug. 25 meeting might end up a little messier, a little more out of control. That would, of course, be in the spirit of Antioch, especially if the meeting also includes lively debate, soul-searching dialogue and a common effort toward winning a victory, if not for humanity, at least for Antioch College.

—Diane Chiddister