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Antioch College Faculty Press Conference - Refiling the Lawsuit Q&A
By Horace | March 12, 2008
Faculty Press Conference - 03-11-08 - MP3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Faculty Press Conference - 03-11-08 - M4A: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadDirect link to this MP3 here
ANTIOCH COLLEGE FACULTY RE-FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY
ANTIOCH COLLEGE FACULTY RE-FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY;
Faculty Voice Unqualified Support of “Non-Stop Antioch” To Keep Antioch College Open
March 11, 2008—Members of the Antioch College faculty today announced that they have re-filed their original lawsuit against Antioch University and its Board of Trustees. They had withdrawn their lawsuit without prejudice in November of 2007, which meant that it could be re-filed at any time.
Ninety percent of tenured faculty members who are currently teaching and wish to be part of Non-Stop Antioch filed for a permanent injunction against the Antioch University Board of Trustees in the Greene County Ohio Common Pleas Court. The legal request for injunctive relief asks the court to enjoin Antioch University from suspending College operations, from terminating the employment of the College faculty, from disposing of any College assets, and engage with the ACCC to amicably complete their negotiations allowing the ACCC to take responsibility for the college.
After the Antioch College faculty withdrew their lawsuit in November, an alumni group known as the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) formed to negotiate with Antioch University for ownership of Antioch College.
Two weeks ago, the University unilaterally announced that they would be suspending operations of the College for the 2008-2009 school year, even though negotiations to keep the college operating continued with the ACCC.
Antioch College Professor of Philosophy Scott Warren said “It’s clear that the University Board of Trustees is not negotiating in good faith. That leaves us no other choice but to re-file our lawsuit.”
The lawsuit alleges that the Board failed to govern the institution properly. First and foremost, the Board breached their contractual responsibilities by declaring a state of financial exigency and suspending College operations when less drastic measures were available. The faculty complaint also alleges that the University Board of Trustees violated contractual obligations set forth in the Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures that require consultation with College faculty, and that require minimal external publicity about internal College financial matters. The faculty suit also asserts that decisions made by the Board of Trustees in 2004 and 2005 seriously damaged College enrollment, and that the June 12, 2007 public suspension announcement further damaged the College. Finally the lawsuit alleges that Antioch University currently has a less drastic solution than closing the College, in the form of an offer to take responsibility for the college and keep it running. The lawsuit alleges the Antioch University Board should honor their financial and contractual obligation to operate the College responsibly, by relinquishing ownership of the College to the ACCC who will keep the College operating.
Former College President and current Professor of Communications Robert Devine said that announcements from the University leadership were “messages of dubious origin and of dubious meaning” and that the Interim Antioch College President “has consistently obfuscated, distorted and misrepresented the situation.”
Last weekend two alumni groups, the Antioch College Alumni Association and the College Revival Fund, met with students, faculty, staff and Yellow Springs townspeople to discuss next steps. The College Revival Fund committed $1 million to support “Non-Stop Antioch.”
“Non-Stop Antioch means just that,” says Anne Bohlen, Professor of Media Arts. “We hope that the negotiations between the Board of Trustees and the ACCC are ultimately successful, but the Antioch University administration and the Board of Trustees have repeatedly demonstrated their unwillingness to resolve the situation despite an Alumni fundraising effort that raised 18 million dollars to alleviate financial deficits. They have consistently refused to negotiate with the College Faculty and our institutional governing bodies as required by their contractual obligations. They have regularly engaged in demoralizing tactics and have been especially eager to publicly defame the College faculty and students and we are taking legal action to redress the situation. Non-Stop Antioch means we are not going away, and with the support of the Alumni are planning to continue to offer Antioch’s excellent liberal arts and experiential education program into the near future.”
Since the University Board of Trustees announced the suspension of operations in June 2007, faculty, alumni, students, staff, and Yellow Springs townspeople have mobilized to keep the historic 155-year-old institution from closing. More information about the faculty lawsuit can be found on the website http://antiochfaculty.org/
Topics: faculty |
March 12th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
[...] Recording of this press conference is available here [...]
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
The college faculty should be seeking out the shelter of a local church, hall or school to c carry out Non-stop Antioch. They should also convene an Antioch Constitutiional Convention and rewrite the laws for the college as they would exist with its own board of trustees, as well as a Bill of Rights that offers the rationale for the separation of university from College. The law suit should be extended as well to include separate suit regarding the identity of the college and they should obtain the support of the relatives of Mann, and Morgan to file suit against the University for using the college’s name, history, and identity while closing it.
Spring is coming, time for a concert as well..
March 28th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Concert… hmmmm… probably too late, but I wonder why no one has thought to ask big performers that have played at Antioch in the past (or haven’t) to put on a concert benefit for Antioch’s sake (to include faculty). Ani Difranco comes to mind - I’m almost positive she was here a long time ago. Or maybe it’s already been thought of? Just a thought. I know we have some art shows and what-not coming up. I was thinking bigger.