Efforts at independence forAntioch College move ahead
By Diane Chiddister
Efforts to create an independent Antioch College moved forward last
week with a resolution issued jointly by the college alumni board and
Antioch University Board of Trustees that charged a task force to prepare
a letter of intent for college independence as soon as possible.
The resolution, released on July 17, was unanimously approved by the
alumni board and by the executive committee of the trustees, according
to Alumni Board President Nancy Crow in an interview on Tuesday.
What’s significant about the resolution, according to Crow, is
that “We have a true collaboration. We really are working together.”
The current process began earlier this month with conversations between
two representatives of the alumni board and two representatives of the
trustees, aimed at reaching agreements to achieve college autonomy.
The conversations were in response to a resolution passed by the trustees
at their regular June meeting that asked the alumni board to create
a process for college independence. Two other alumni attempts over the
past year to achieve independence for the college were not successful.
The task force consists of alumni representatives Lee Morgan of Yellow
Springs and St. Cloud, Minn., and Matt Derr of Natick, Mass. The board
of trustees is represented by Antioch alumnus Dan Fallon of New York
City, who is recently retired from the Carnegie Foundation, and Jack
Merselis, a retired physician of Williamsburg, Mass., and an alumnus
of Antioch University New England.
New to the process is Great Lakes Colleges Association President Rick
Detweiler, who is serving as an “honest broker” in the process,
acting in the capacity of a facilitator, advisor and spokesperson, Detweiler
said in an interview on Friday.
“The effort has gone forward well,” he said. “I personally
feel optimistic.”
The task force meets “very regularly,” Detweiler said, either
in person, via conference call or e-mail, since it first met on July
2. While no deadline has been established, everyone agrees that “speed
is of the essence,” he said.
The efforts toward college independence are being supported by two grants
that total $100,000. The Mellon Foundation has given the university
a $50,000 grant to aid the process and that grant was matched by the
Morgan Family Foundation, according to the July 17 press release.
The grants and the presence of GLCA bring to the process of creating
an independent Antioch College both “resources and legitimacy,”
according to Crow.
Areas of agreement
What’s new about last week’s resolution, according to Detweiler,
is that it is the first time the alumni leaders and university trustees
have clearly stated areas of agreement.
The points of agreement include that “the establishment of a separate
non-profit corporation with 501(c)3 status and governance by an independent
Board of Trustees represent the best avenue to vigor and longterm sustainability
for Antioch College”; that Antioch College operations should resume
“at the earliest possible time”; that alumni and trustees
will collaborate in developing a plan for an exchange of assets that
“does not jeopardize Antioch University’s accreditation,
creditors or its financial well-being”; that endowment funds restricted
for use by the college shall go to the college; and that endowment funds
restricted to university use shall go to the university.
The agreement also states that the alumni will provide the trustees
with an outline of an “expertly advised business plan” for
the college, and that the alumni will form a “pro-tem Board of
Trustees in preparation to assume fiduciary responsibility for Antioch
College.” It also states that all parties agree that there is
only one corporation, which was founded in 1852 as Antioch College and
changed to Antioch University in 1977.
Acording to Crow this week, the alumni are working hard to identify
members of the college’s board of trustees, and will probably
start with a “core group” of trustees, which she hopes to
see assembled by next week.
The alumni are moving quickly because “we are not starting from
scratch,” Crow said. “We are building on everything that
has been done in the last year.”
Work to be done
The resolution also identifies areas that remain in question, and requests
that the task force collaboratively address these: 1) “the definition
of the future real estate of the college”; 2) “the definition
of other future college assets”; 3) “the status of any tax-exempt
bond principal that is specifically associated with the college”;
4) how the name and trademark associated with Antioch College and Antioch
University shall be used; 5) future fund-raising efforts by both parties;
and 6) the rights of either party in the event of dissolution or change
of mission.
The GLCA is an alliance of Midwestern liberal arts colleges whose purpose
is to help strengthen the tradition of liberal arts colleges generally
and its member colleges particularly, Detweiler said. As such, he brings
to the process “the perspective from higher education.”
GLCA member colleges include Oberlin, Earlham, Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw,
Dennison, Kalamazoo, Kenyon, Wabash, and Wooster. Antioch College has
been a member since the 1950s, according to Detweiler.
Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com
