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Decision On Antioch's Future Postponed

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The Associated Press

Published: October 28, 2007

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio - Antioch College board members postponed a decision Saturday on whether to reverse their decision to temporarily close the college, telling about 200 alumni, faculty and students that they'll continue debating for several more days.

'We are dealing with very complex, long-standing matters of critical importance and we simply need more time to deliberate,' said Art Zucker, chairman of the board of trustees.

The private 155-year-old liberal arts college announced in June that because of declining enrollments, heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment, it would close after the spring term, reorganize and reopen in 2012.

On Thursday, alumni formally asked the trustees to reverse the decision, saying they had raised $18 million primarily in pledges to keep the school going.

Since then, the two groups have been meeting behind closed doors hashing out and debating the alumni proposal.

A decision was expected Saturday, but instead Zucker and Nancy Crow, a trustee and alumni board president, told those gathered at a community center that discussions could continue this week.

The alumni plan calls for raising $25 million in donations to assist the college in the 2008 school year and then a five-year, $100 million fundraising drive beginning in 2009.

The school's current annual operating budget is $18 million.

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