Published: Saturday, June 23, 2007
Antioch reunion festivities include talk of closing
YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — Antioch College alumni gathered for their annual reunion Friday, with the future of the school known for its offbeat approach to education and social activism as the dominant topic.
President Steve Lawry and other school officials said they would meet with alumni to discuss plans they announced this month to close the private liberal arts college next summer. Antioch wants to raise funds to upgrade and revamp facilities and reopen in 2012.
Lawry has said the plans to reopen will rely heavily on alumni support.
A small, $30 million endowment and heavy dependence on tuition revenue amid declining enrollment hurt operations, the college said. Enrollment has fallen from about 2,000 students in the 1960s to 400 today.
Antioch College, founded in 1852 in this community near Dayton, is the flagship for Antioch University, which has five other campuses in Ohio and on the East and West coasts.
Faculty members unhappy about the closing also plan to meet this weekend to discuss their options, including possible legal action, said Dimi Reber, a retired dance professor and the faculty spokeswoman.
While faculty knew the college's finances had been shaky, "everyone was really shocked that the solution was to close it," Reber said.
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