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October 26, 2007 Issue VI Welcome to the sixth issue of "Antioch Update," a weekly electronic newsletter that we are sending to the Antioch community to keep everyone updated on College and University news. It is being brought to you by the University’s Vice Chancellor for University Advancement and the Director of the College’s News & Information Office. The following is a speech given on October 25, 2007 by Art Zucker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, at the opening public session of the Board of Trustees of Antioch University. Trouble viewing this email? Visit the web version. BOARD CHAIR CALLS FOR
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Welcome and thank you all for coming. Most of us here, as your Trustees, are fellow alumni. Our lives were greatly influenced by our College experiences, from Antiochian values. We have seen the signs posted around the campus and in town. We know the goal, we know the importance of this College, and we are here, as you are, in what we hope will be one UNITED effort to save the College. |
This is our opportunity.
Since the Trustees made their decision in June, much has happened. The alumni, students, faculty and staff have been energized and focused on understanding and meeting the crisis facing the College. The Board held a special open meeting just to hear the concerns and promises of renewed commitment. We are dedicated again today to hear and deliberate on the feasibility of the Alumni Board’s plans.
There are three factors that I think are significant, which have opened up an opportunity for all of us to create a future for Antioch College. Because of these three factors we have reached out to each other, to enable this opportunity.
Let me share these with you…
- Mutual acceptance of the financial rationale for the Board's decision,
- Recognition of critical common cause, and
- The Board’s acceptance of the responsibility for the unhappiness caused by the way in which this decision was rolled out.
Let me explain these further:
Mutual acceptance — The Alumni Board and the Alumni Board’s financial consultant recognized and stated in Denver that there was a sound financial rationale for the Board’s decision in June.
Regarding common cause, I’d like to read you a quote:
“Antioch College alumni have a vested interest in a secure university as one element of the plan to revive the college.
The Board of Trustees and the University Leadership have a vested interest in cooperating with College alumni to build trust which will lead to critical financial support.”
This quoted statement was made in Denver by Matthew Derr, class of ‘89, who has led the alumni fund-raising effort.
Thirdly, the Board has accepted responsibility for the unhappiness caused by the way in which this decision was rolled out.
Now here we are today to hear the Alumni Board’s plan for the future of the college. In a very short amount of time, an incredible amount of work has been accomplished by the Alumni Association in the development of this plan. There have been countless hours of effort and energy invested voluntarily by many, many dedicated alumni. In respect of this effort, the Board of Trustees is committed to a very careful evaluation of this plan.
The rest of this Board of Trustees meeting will be dedicated to assessing and evaluating this plan for the future of the college.
With the exception of a minor amount of university business, the entire agenda for this Board of Trustees meeting is dedicated to careful, detailed review, analysis, and assessment of every aspect of this plan.
As we go through this process, we all must remember the common goal that we all have — the goal to have an academically and financially sustainable Antioch College. We are all here, and committed, to save the college
We all know that this is a formidable task.
We want to save the college because we care….
I’m not alone in having a personal love story for Antioch. My life’s successes are the result of my experiences when attending Antioch College. I would expect that everyone else in this room can make a similar statement.
We all care….
From a historical perspective, it is interesting to note that Antioch is founded in pragmatism. Arthur Morgan established this pragmatism with his combining of work and study when he made co-op the core of the Antioch College experience in the 1920’s.
Perhaps we can apply Antioch’s history of pragmatism to today’s reality and the task before us. How we reach our common goal, to save the college, must be informed by the realities we face, financially and otherwise. We remain undaunted by the challenge.
So what do we need to do to save the college?
As I said, in looking around town, I see at lot of the “Save the College” signs. And that’s OK. But I was afraid to look at the fine print—it may say, Goodbye Art.
It’s clear that the only answer is a realistic plan that provides academic and financial sustainability — a plan that is sound and realistically attainable.
We all know this is a very difficult task to accomplish successfully.
We have a choice here. If we allow ourselves to continue to work in the atmosphere of “us” vs. “them”, we will fail.
On the other hand, knowing that in unity there is strength — our unity can be our strength. A unity of cooperation, mutual respect, and support that enables our ability to achieve our common goal — to save the college.
Our work remains formidable, yet less onerous when I realize the great opportunity we have to shape a future for the College that is a reflection of our proud past.
So, we must move forward.
We are all in this together. The Board of Trustees, the University and College Administration, the Alumni Association, Faculty, staff, the students, past trustees, the entire Yellow Springs community, and the local and national press — all of us are in this together — working to build an Antioch College of excellence. It’s time to move forward.