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WYSO versions of Saturday 08/25 afternoon sessions
By Horace | August 27, 2007
WYSO has uploaded their recordings of the Saturday afternoon sessions of the Antioch University Board of Trustee meetings in Cincinatti. These are almost certainly higher quality than the versions from our streams. Thanks again to WYSO for providing this wonderful resource.
These recordings were found here on WYSO’s audio archives website.
Also Ed M Koziarski posted a great summary of this meeting, I’m including that below
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:25:38 -0500
From: Ed M Koziarski <edk@homesickblues.com>
To: Save Antioch <saveantioch@lists.antiochians.org>
Here’s paraphrased notes from the afternoon stakeholder session of the Board of Trustees of Antioch University:
Antioch board of trustees closed stakeholders session 082507
Art Zucker: this afternoon’s session in response to what we heard this morning decided over lunch to include the press for this session and for tomorrow mornings session presentation by former trustees 7:30 9 am also board has decided to offer some stakeholders of your choosing to be present tomorrow morning for portion of tomorrow board mtg. jerry and staff will discuss with stakeholders who will be involved.
I’d like to make a statement here: the purpose of this meeting is the first step in the process to develop a plan for future of viable and sustainable Antioch college final decision on proposals will not be made tomorrow. I’d like Dan Fallon
Dan Fallon trustee: about rhetoric surrounding our action. The board explicitly in June considered and rejected decision to close college. board has not decide to close college. Board voting to suspend operations while college reorganized to be financially healthy and sustainable was decision to keep college going. as trustees we never reefer to notion of closing the college. As point of rhetoric it’s valuable for us to keep that in mind.
Jerry Israel: Simpson Scarborough consultant and retired chair of u of Indianapolis Happy to be here great affection for Antioch for many years always wanted to be Phil Donahue. this is listening session board is meeting tomorrow. this is opportunity for more personal discussion. board can speak to questions of clarification regarding matters of fact. Board have not had chance to meet since decision in June. some of you will get to hear what they have to say tomorrow.
Rory Adams-Cheatham: does future include just 2012 or are you considering possibility of uninterrupted operations
Jerry Israel: the board will be in better place though maybe not final place tomorrow. I’ve heard nothing to suggest that they’ve reversed decision but I’ve also heard nothing to indicate they won’t consider other proposals the decision hasn’t been unmade.
Art Zucker: the purpose of meeting board wants to hear input from all stakeholders will then consider proposals and comments from stakeholders as they deliberate working on process for future of Antioch college.
Hassan rahmanian: it would be helpful to me and my colleagues what each trustee would need to see or know in order to change their mind. Otherwise I’m talking in vacuum. I need some expectation on the part of board members.
Isreal: they’ve not met to discuss the criteria. they don’t want to tell what they want to hear and attempt to influence their thinking.
Jerry Zucker: the board wants to hear to listen to proposals from stakeholders. Based on that information and the incredible outpouring of energy toward Antioch will deliberate on best plan for future of Antioch College.
Katherine Jordan: this proposal is for process to get to full plan. this is not the business plan. We can’t develop that in a vacuum. this is plan to get us to next steps.
Rick daily: we have people skilled in higher ed, capital formation, development, working diligently as we speak looking at Antioch’s history to extent we have information available for them. Looking at how best to mold the values of Antioch to meet new millennium. We’re not looking to purple haze of past other than triangle of value Larry Rubin described confluence of community academic rigor and engagement of the world as it is. Our plan focuses around issues of governance. In 2 months we’ve found unparalleled outpouring of support in existence of colleges life. hundreds of alumni have donated time money pledges. Without any promise of anything simply on faith that this can happen we’ve got $8 million. 1 pledge $5 million 2010 another $2.1 million in 3 installments to start next year. not enough to run a college but good start. We think we can return college to place of prominence in nations educational industry.
Money raised on hope for Board of Trustees and alum come together to keep college open under a new college board of trustees.
your structure is untenable responsible for finances of six campuses. preserve incentive to those growing. Strain this puts on association of campuses can be overwhelming. all pledges have been made on the condition that college have own self-governing board of trustees. Way out of self-governing college that doest have to be a weak sister of university bombarded with last minute requests for resource. We want college to be self-governing and self-sustaining.
If we cant get agreement to create self-governing board we cant enforce the pledges the 7-8 million cant be used.
Proposal (Rick daily and Katherine Jordan): college governed by board recruited by alumni and former trustees. Authority over curriculum, endowment, physical plant budgeting and fundraising. we want to recruit best people we can fid in this country to populate this board. Don’t want to tell them restrictions on their power to make on of the great schools in the nation. best curriculums are designed by faculty who know what their doing. University board of trustees has important role in coordinating relationship between college and sister institutions around the nation. new board can address college’s place within university. University trustees may appoint limited university trustees members to college board of trustees. alum committee is vetting trustees to complete by 2008. We want the input of university trustees
Address relationship with Glen Helen, WYSO, Antioch review and Antioch McGregor. King center and Antioch Education Abroad stay Antioch. don’t take on responsibility until we can afford.
University and college create legal structure: maybe separate legal structures, to protect each institution from assuming each others liabilities. Make sure if college cant make it its on its own merits not competition for resources. We want to have college self-sustaining, leave open request for future subsidies.
Biggest concern of 2012 plan: cost of ramping down and up not fully considered in decision to suspend operations. not just ramping of physical plant. Also loss of skill sets that belong to every body in college community. difficulty to rebuild those skill sets. expertise about library, teaching courses. very difficult to reproduce skill sets. To shudder and bring back up again incredibly expensive. continuity of operations is crucial.
Assure continuous accreditation from north central association and Ohio board of regents.
Transition of responsibility to new trustees graduation 08 co-host graduation reunion celebrate new entity. Transition continues as needed based on financial circumstances.
makes development resources available to alum association. Art Zucker told us
Rick daily: we believe 100 million available to us near term. Outpouring of support worth at least 100 million. We can’t do that without support of fully staff developed office. need best information about giving history of alumni and other donors. need to cooperate in publicizing the rebirth of a great college. with those resources we can raise 100 million. need to start now. alumni board can invest development office activities. Mobilize those resources now. money is out there. if we let it lie, shame on us.
any well-founded operation incoming operation needs to understand the issues that are there. if heating plant is wasting 50k a month we need to learn about that. We need to tackle fast. reach formal overall agreement by 2008.
faculty have passed unanimous resolution, union and community government support proposal. we don’t have resolution of support by village of yellow springs but I understand village supports us. were looking for trustee support. this weekend we need development resources. if you need budgetary help we will provide it.
present a fully developed business plan to new board of trustees for them to consider, not to be imposed on them.
Mike Brower: chapters coordinator new chapters every week all since announcement of suspension. New chapters in Vermont, California.
Tim klas, alumni board, class of 71, former record editor. chair of nominating committee. Something lacking from alumni is thanks to trustees for job well done. trustees have managed to inspire alums to unify as never before. Opened own pockets and solicit resources from outside sources. For first time in 50 years growing will students faculty staff and Yellow Springs townspeople to join forces on behalf of institution taken for granted far too long. Seize the moment. take advantage of this opportunity. decide now this weekend publicly to join us in our determination to keep college in continuous operation as cutting edge residential liberal arts college, join us in making this national showpiece for innovation in higher education for next century and a half. Alternative raises specter of Solomon. university and alumni are engaged in tug of war over control of school.
Karen Yellow Springs village council. Given proposal Monday night by Larry Rubin. we have not discussed as a group. council members can only speak for themselves. We are all in support of healthy viable Antioch College. well all do what we can to see that happen.
Steve schwerner: when bill birnbaum became president in 76 I had just stated as dean of students. Quickly became Schwerner’s law if it was an asset it belonged to university if it was liability belonged to college. al guskin worked hard to redo balance of power within university system. its forbidden that when college and university president were same college thrived faculty got raises student population thrived. were going back to era of asset belongs to university liability belongs to college. Under al every Antioch center first purpose was to make money for the college. Everybody knows Harvard University would close school of general studies if it didn’t throw cash into college. mcg was supposed to give 7% of gross receipts to college. when al left move was made to separate notion of first among equals. Now college is losing assets cant sustain itself its residential college sustain population. if anybody thinks 4 years from now if they reopen.
Read Toni’s commencement speech vision of college no tenured faculty not traditional liberal arts college. Board made up of 2 groups: one that wants to see college open, but not financially viable, hopefully presentation change your mind. I think there’s part of board and university leadership wants to close college down weak sister of university. If college gets closed in June it will never come back as it has known. well have university as shell without heart and soul. This is the only shot you have of keeping viable Antioch University.
Duffy, union library staff, alum: its déjà vu. went through no pay in 79. they didn’t declare exigency most people were laid off but they called back. Antioch is intimate place. At my desk I see freshmen come in tell you dream, most of them get to their dream. I see McGregor people do great things too. our students take a lot more care and intimacy. 14,000 alums want to have relationship with. Each entity has its own mentor. McGregor should have own board.
I hear all the time form alumni would give ten times more money to autonomous college.
Dan Kaplan trustee: thank you for serious proposal. how do you get over hurdle of university of ceding control yet retaining liability.
Rick daily: existing liabilities handled thorough cross indemnity agreement. If you create strong college address liabilities. let’s talk to creditors, bond issue outstanding, 2 million liability on 14 million deal, we the new college will indemnify university. they should be legally separate entities. Nightmare would be we create college it dies were still taken down. That’s the layering challenge I think we can meet. intent is to create separate entity wont take university down.
Sherwood Guernsey trustee: university campuses provide 750k provide support college. have you taken that into account.
Rick daily: governing structure within larger structure. we don’t want to forfeit subsidies. Everybody has investment in quality of name Antioch. if best plans fixed liability id welcome that. gives us incentive to help us fundraise.
Janet Morgan trustee: development office activities fund 2007-09. how large do you need?
Rick Daily: We have 250k in the bank. Wads of cash in my briefcase. need 18 staff like before. it should pay for itself. We’re up to that challenge.
Larry stone trustee: how fast establish separate legal entity.
Rick Daily: turnaround of exempt entities of 90 days. We formed college revival fund, inc. it’s underway file in next week and a half. we need to come up with financial plan. need to know whether to say financial plans. If you give us authority to use development office well project 80 million budget. to insure u no residual liability. transfer u to new entity. allow old liabilities to college.
Miguel Santiago ’98: because of alumni reaction Risa development office 13 members can raise 100 million. Risa director of college office of institutional advancement.
Pat mische, faculty: all faculty unanimously supported alumni proposal. we have 11,000 inquires for 2008. admissions has been cut it should be growing. a lot of damage has been done. we need to woo students back. Also we can’t be losing faculty and not have programs for these students to come back to.
Dan young (young’s dairy): missing piece is, you can raise money, keep it open, but what is going to change, what does college look like in 2010, 2012, is it 300 students, 2000 students? I’m interested in having more students, sustainable institution. Students buy ice cream, I want more customers.
Rick Daily: we don’t know yet. we don’t want to disempower board we need to create. Our best estimate now is that we can sustain college at 300 students a year under right circumstance. we hope to publish this plan soon. we don’t have enough data. we have to rely on purloined papers for information. we need sound information sharing. Need to know liabilities how they’re timed so we can have distant early warning system up for hidden liabilities. What we know so far gives us confidence that we can have self-sustaining institution. We’ve done enough to give us confidence that we can ask people for money.
Hal joseph: trustee question: you want to have transition in place by 08 09 but you don’t have business plan. If this division btw other campuses and college takes place what’s the downside for university.
Rick Daily: we’ve only been at this 72 days I think we’ve done pretty good. we may have to go dim. We’re going to have good faith cooperation between these two entities. we wont be debt free. we need due diligence. we need information to have competent planning. university should give college best possible opportunity to be reborn. university looks better present at rebirth rather than taking behind shed and shutting down. governors model were looking at is worth looking at at university level. central governing body has a coordinating responsibility. we have capability of sharing resources technologically. were dealing with crises.
Andrzej Bloch, interim president appointee, dean of faculty, faculty member, I’m an economist. As economist I tell you money doesn’t matter at the end. We’re talking about how money will follow. I like governance system. I don’t like self-sustaining college of 300 students may be financially sustainable but not economically sustainable. University talk about flow of resource money. we need to talk about flow of ideas. very few Antioch students took courses in other units of university. A few at McGregor. more taking courses outside u system than with. haven’t found one university student taking courses in college. we have evening classes. Something wrong with concept of university with now flow of human resources and ideas in the system. not addressed within the alumni proposal. college of 300 students. It’s hardship to deliver any significant depth of courses any variety students need tiny classes independent studies. we need to think of something much bigger more dynamic. don’t know how you can talk about.
Rick Daily: that’s the discussion we want to join you.
Ellen Borgerson: The goal is not 300 students; it’s 1,000 to 1,200 by 2012. I’ve seen skepticism that independence will free up 100 million dollars. People have been sitting on their money. They’re rightly skeptical of university governance structure. The college hasn’t thrived under the university. We know the revival bounce is out there. You can’t solicit for college when the alumni haven’t heard from you. Enthusiasm for college is broad and deep. There’s immediate recognition across generations. Alumni want to reconnect. The deep sense of public purpose and civic engagement, the belief that experience counts, self-governance. There hasn’t been a proper admissions and development driver.
Allen Spalt, Alum: The situation has brought me in touch with young Antiochians. The new grads are a real resource. The North Carolina chapter voted unanimous lack of confidence in the board’s decision to close the college, and unanimous confidence in an uninterrupted college. We can find 300 students a year. The North Carolina chapter wants to support the college. We need to reconsider the decision based on the best available information. That information has changes drastically.
Mike Brower: what’s risk for university? if done right no risk, win-win. satellite campuses benefit from separate board. initial answer 300 interim figure. we should shoot for 800-1200 over a few years. We need more faculty depth. (Andrzej looks skeptical of this?) how do we get more students? more reengage alums more money give.
Karen village council: how deal with facilities land, ask trustees what plans are for future? also for alumni proposal. who would own land. Now owned all by university.
Jerry Israel: trustees aren’t answering question of substance.
village manager: village has with its finances lost our major employer. Antioch is our largest employer. our largest revenue is municipal income tax. without successful college, what happens to village. Heart and soul of community. planning the curriculum, facilities. Encourage you to engage community in the discussion entire yellow springs Miami Township. consider shared use facilities. athletic facilities, arts facilities. be successful. get the community engaged.
village steering committee yellow springs center for arts: vision to build new center. talking to Antioch about use of facilities like theater, south gym. more important is nurturing human capital made yellow springs such a vibrant place. Many creative spirits Antioch faculty. loss would impact art center and village life. create new vibrant college devoted to arts and environmental studies. Hard to imagine yellow springs without Antioch. want to help you keep it alive.
Jerry Israel: are there no annoyances from having college? No beer cans in inappropriate places in on Sunday morning? Not at the colleges I used to run.
village trustee: closing college use students on fire dept, several officers are faculty members. wed like to see college say helpful in yellow springs. Grinnell mill was exciting project for us. facilitate restoration easily. There are more opportunities to collaborate.
mike young: we want Antioch to succeed. Want to know what college wants to be when it grows up. We’ve spent a lot of energy helping to create Antioch University McGregor. I know there’s mixed feelings about that. I want that to be successful. in Columbus when word came out I told people yellow springs won’t disappear. While there’s some sadness or confusion about what were going through McGregor facility will attract new customers new students to our area. keep that in mind. want to make that successful also.
Rory: great to meet trustees. We could probably get along a lot better than we both have thought. it’s insulting to hear sadness. I’m losing my home. Our faculty are losing their homes. I don’t know if connections were made this morning. I thought you were so shocked by how non-disruptive we were this morning. how heartfelt we were. There’s been disruption because we really care about this. this is an enormous part of my life. I cant put into words the feelings that i’m having. People I met through all of this are family I didn’t know that I had. to respond what does Antioch want to be when it grows up. We’re in trouble we need help. We have people want to help us. 11,000 inquiries. Should be notes. Many students enrolled after announcement was made. They came because of why alumni and faculty and staff are doing. They want to come to be involved in things exactly like this: community. We are full-grown. We should get bigger.
Community manager: how we see decision-making and governance structure at Antioch. We see leadership as opportunity for facilitation. help community to recognize its own need. we share responsibility of leadership. Not a top down decision-making. Top down governance is anti-antiochian. shared governance is so effective. Biggest fault to detriment to Antioch’s future is the way the leadership has seen. Coretta Scott King: if organization does not act on its values then it has none. If we can’t manage ourselves in way that reflect the way we want to be in the world were not going to succeed. Governance process should respond to whom it governs. It’s something Antioch Community has wanted for very long time. Even people on campus for two days touched in such a way that they can be passionate and articulate about how Antioch can help them to be better members of the world community.
Rory: we’re not closing Antioch college suspending operations. Antioch would not be Antioch if it did not have faculty tenured faculty unionized staff. it would be a different college same name same place. I would have graduated form it. But it’s not same Antioch. 74 liberal arts school have closed in last five years. Toni said. We shouldn’t be shocked this is happening? That makes it a bigger thing that we need to not let Antioch close. If 75 have closed, we need this one. If we win this all the people fighting are fighting for the institution of tenured faculty for unions for liberal arts schools, for kids who might have gone to Goddard if it stayed open.
Jerry Israel Antioch college alumni should be standing: (most stand) there are deep divisions in the room but everyone loves Antioch. Family issues are harder tan non-family issues. other students.
Beth fourth year graduating in spring: the people who just spoke aren’t students. Students are in full support of Antioch staying open. We have most immediate stake. we need to graduate. we chose Antioch of colleges with better facilities because we know what it has is unique. Exemplary number of PhDs as you’ve heard. We’ve tried to fit into existing curriculum despite ultimately damaging renewal plan. stayed in crumbling buildings. the fact that students are still here is a minor miracle. Antioch is committed passionate intelligent people cost of closing would be losing those people. I consider these people my family. i think that’s unique as a college and would be lost if suspension of operations went forward. To allow us to be more connected to institutional decision-making that’s something we want. we want to be connected to people who make decisions about our homes and our lives. Antioch students have a lot energy to give we want to help recruit we know what the product is we can help sell it we just bought it and we help make it. we can help recruit students. Great things about Antioch: Sexual Offense Prevention Policy, racial abuse prevention policy, and community governance these things would be lost. governance model of trustees disconnected from campus isn’t supportive. we need services this year and we need staff to have incentive to stay on. If there aren’t security guards, food services, student affairs offices. We need these people at least until the end of the year. I’m sure you can imagine consequences like large lawsuits not to mention ethical and moral obligations.
Fela: i’m one of the students came in fall 05 when renewal plan was put into effect. were down to 15. People left because they don’t know whom you are. Their concern: disconnect between us and board - who are these people governing us. Go elsewhere where there’s someone visible who we can access. I’ve been organizing about curriculum. I’m a community organizer from NYC I know what it likes to work with boards I’ve been on boards. I understand your position. We’re here because we want to work with you. there isn’t a division in my mind. we all have in common love for Antioch. It’s really important for people to remember that students aren’t disposable. We feel disposable. we come from all walks of life. Some of us don’t have parents I know i don’t when we come back to Ohio we’re coming home to Ohio we’re coming back to family. As student who attends five meetings a week, goes to class, works a wasp job, and works a Bonner job. If I’ve managed to stick thru this process and all the racism that I’ve faced as a woman of color, you can stick through it too. students want to know who we are. You’re making it hard for us to like you right now. I hope to see you again. please access us. We want to have a conversation with you. if I have to be one of the last people standing at Antioch you will see my face.
Beth: we have been given a waiver to sign. We’ve been told that we won’t be allowed to attend live on campus if we don’t sign this waiver. it says you understand college is closing. includes paragraph seems to demand we give up our legal rights as students who attend 4th year campus. should we consider legal action?
Steve Lawry: we want to speak to community on Monday. Waiver is mandated by Ohio board of regents. it’s to protect they have obligation to legislature and governor and citizens for their responsibility. It’s really about liability Ohio board of regents protecting itself.
who drafted waiver?
Lawry: our legal counsel was involved in this but mandated by board of regents.
Nancy crow: what kinds of partnerships do you envision that college could create going forward that could create revenue for college or expense reduction for the college?
Rory: I’d never been to town council meeting before. Now I’ve been to three. were building relationships that didn’t exist before. I want these relationships to continue.
Dan bartenstein McGregor: the topic of this meeting is future of Antioch College. we appreciate flexibility that alumni association has displayed. attention is properly focused on residential campus and getting it to sustainable levels. Adding adult programs are not job one for revitalized college. We trust McGregor stakeholders would be included in discussions of McGregor’s future. We hope that board of trustees come out of this weekend with announcement that nothing in current plan would harm McGregor’s future.
village board member: Antioch is host to chamber meetings every other month. residents use pool, theater. partnerships and shared facilities. Eric and I meeting with arts group day college closing was announced. Partnerships can be built upon what’s already there.
Dan klas: question to McGregor would it be premature to discuss interactions between college and McGregor. McGregor students might finds useful resources as they have since McGregor was part of college. College students might find resources available for them at McGregor. Develop a 3+2 program for master’s candidates.
Barbara Danley-Haggerty, McGregor: We should talk about shared programs. We have double graduates. We won’t address governance at this time.
Duffy I served people on both sides of Livermore Street. Barb’s union is meaner than our. You have two different cultures between the college and McGregor. Those cultures can learn from each other.
Judith Kintner, P.E. coordinator: I was elected by my 28 non-union staff colleagues. There are 6 entities that are shared by the village: the Glen, WYSO, the library, the theater, the gym and the King Center. If we close any of these entities, it indicates a lack of concern for the community. Over three years at the gym, of 4,490 users, 2,500 have not been Antiochians, and that’s without reaching out the wider community. While the union staff and faculty have an incentive to stay, in the form of tenure or seniority, non-union staff does not. Imagine losing the registrar, student affairs, King Center, facilities, security. Factor into the cost of closing the college, a minimum of 6-month severance package for non-union staff.
Beverly Rogers, faculty: I got my BA, MA and PhD in ten years after the age of 40. I started in Antioch at co-op. this year is the first time I’m reusing a textbook. Faculty are at the top of their game. We took the Renewal that was mandated by the renewal commission. We did it on top of our regular jobs, and we did it a year ahead of schedule. You have able partners in the faculty. We’re not fiscally naïve. We understand the numbers. An alum at reunion asked me what I would do to increase enrollment. I talked about going to my tribe in Oklahoma to finalize plans for an ethnographic field school. We could have brought in participants from throughout the Midwest, and generated income. I chaired the task force for the vision of the King Center, and was its interim director. I met with Coretta Scott King to ask her for the honor of naming the center after her. We have only begun to scratch the surface of the King Center as an educational and outreach tool. We’ve made strides and we are working. We can’t let something named for Coretta Scott King go belly up. Ask those who are doing the job what our recommendations our. We deserve your consideration.
Tendaji Ganges, ’71. From Trenton, NJ. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Antioch but when I got here a guy picked me up in a hearse. Antioch has difficulties and challenges. Always had, always will. So does any community where people are growing and changing and trying to make a difference. We can’t have the dream of what can be unless we keep the one that is. Plans we’ve talked about, we’re at the precipice of being able to make some of the greatest changer to higher education that have ever been done. There more support for the college than ever before. This country doesn’t deserve Antioch but it needs Antioch.
Pat Mische, Peace Studies faculty: How do we get money beyond alumni gifts and enrollment? We get money best not for a sinking ship but for programs, for vision. What does history ask of us now? Horace Mann said in his time it was the abolition of slavery, class equality, gender equality, anti-imperialism, and war prevention. Some of those are still on the agenda, and we face some new questions. Today the challenge is global democratization, shaping global policy. We need to forge ties around the world. Citizenship of the earth. We’ve had faculty working on an eco-campus. The board has approved but not funded this idea. We can be entrepreneurial and add an MA in environmental studies. We need a tenured faculty to have the academic freedom to cover controversial subjects. The faculty can’t be intimidated. Without tenure we lose academic excellence and respect in the academic community. I’ve served on accreditation committees. They look at tenure and professional development for faculty as criteria. We still need undergraduate residential colleges where students learn through interaction. It may be okay for graduation institutions to learn online, but not undergrad.
Greg Williams ’95: We’re at a unique point in history. All eyes of the world are on us. We can write one of two stories. One story is the spontaneous growth and organizing that has emerged to save the college. The other story is that the college suspends operations. If that happens I have no faith that the college with reopen. The bulk of alumni graduated in the 70s. They are at the peak of their earning potential. If the college suspends operations my alumni donations will cease. Many others are like me.
Art Zucker: Any trustees want to speak? (None respond) The board has listened. We will continue in the process of developing a plan.
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