Antioch College Faculty Revolts Against Proposed Closing of School

In an academic revolt, more than half of the faculty of Antioch College are suing their institution to prevent it from closing. Citing “poor governance,” 22 faculty members of the Yellow Springs, Ohio-based private liberal arts college are seeking to prevent the administration from liquidating or dispersing the college’s assets. They filed suit Tuesday in the Greene County Common Pleas Court.Founded in 1852, the college is part of Antioch University, which maintains five other locations — in New Hampshire, California, the state of Washington, and another in Yellow Springs. On June 9, the Antioch University board of trustees voted to close Antioch College in 2008 with a stated goal of reopening in 2012. The other locations will remain open.“The university has horribly injured the college by taking this precipitous move,” a professor of environmental science and geology at the college, Peter Townsend, said. Mr. Townsend, who has taught at Antioch College since 1971, said he did not believe the board was presented with realistic financial information when it made its decision to close. The university’s spokeswoman, Lynda Sirk, did not respond to The New York Sun by press time. But in a report by the Associated Press, she said she had no comment because she had not seen the filed lawsuit. A former trustee chairman, Robert Krinsky, said the suit was to be expected. “The faculty have been deeply hurt” by the announcement of the closing, he said. About the school’s future, he said he was mixed with “hope and pessimism.” On the one hand, he said, the college needs a substantial amount of money to reopen as a high-quality liberal arts institution; on the other hand, he added, many people were working hard to ensure the school can do just that.A professor at Antioch College who joined the lawsuit, Anne Bohlen, said personnel procedures required that the faculty be consulted. She said the board had not implemented the “least drastic means” to alleviate the financial problems at the college and that the closing of the college was a way for the school to cancel its contracts with tenured faculty.A special meeting of trustees, alumni, and others will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, later this month to discuss the future of the college. On the school’s Web site, the chancellor of Antioch University, Toni Murdock, and the president of Antioch College, Steven Lawry, said they “look forward to an open, civil and respectful discussion” at that time.

Antioch College Faculty Revolts Against Proposed Closing of School

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