ANNUAL REPORT 2015
PRESIDENT Mark Roosevelt BOARD OF TRUSTEES Frances Degen Horowitz ’54, Chair Barbara Winslow ‘68, Vice Chair David Goodman ’69, Secretary Edward H. Richard ’59, Treasurer Shadia Alvarez ’96 Thomas Carhart ’74 Charles Fairbanks Atis Folkmanis ’62 Jay Greenspan ‘76 Joyce O. Idema ’57 Maxwell King Jay W. Lorsch ’55 Maureen Lynch Malte von Matthiessen ’66 Sharon Merriman ’55 Lee Morgan ’66 Sharon Neuhardt Elise Roenigk ’64 Sylvia C. Turner ’67 HONORARY MEMBERS Kay Drey ‘39 Terry 0. Herndon ’57 Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton ’60 ANTIOCH COLLEGE ALUMNI BOARD James Hobart ‘58, President Megan Rosenfeld ’69, Secretary Sarah Buckingham ’08 Shelby Chestnut ’05 Laura Ann Ellison ’89 Barbara S. Esbin ’75 Christelle Evans ’94 Gordon Fellman ’57 Bernard Guyer ’65 Charlotte Boyd Hallam ’60 Tim Klass ’71 Glenda Cox May ’81 Susan Jean Mayer ’79 Tanya Mink ’64 Karen Mulhauser ’65 Jiliana Ordman ’98 Larry Pearl ’55 Megan Rosenfeld ’69 Mark V. Reynolds ’80 Allen Spalt ’66 Paula A. Treichler ’65 David Vincent ’65 Deborah L. Warfield ’94
From the President Dear Antioch Supporter, Fiscal Year 2015 was another banner year for the recreated Antioch College. In a year of many victories, two seminal events stand out: the graduation of our first class since independence coinciding with the celebration of an alumni reunion for the ages. On the pages that follow, we’ll highlight other campus-wide achievements that occurred from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015 and how they align with our strategic vision. This vision continues to be supported by an ambitious strategic Mark Roosevelt, President plan that we have closely followed as we continue to make the final push for Early Initial Accreditation. AC/2020: A Strategic Plan for Antioch College outlines six broad goals through which the College’s mission, vision, and learning outcomes will be realized over the next three years of the eight-year plan. I am very proud of the strides we made in 2014 and 2015, and am confident in the College’s ability to continue to flourish in the face of all challenges, old and new. Our Board of Trustees, Alumni Board, and valued alumni from all generations make our advances and milestones possible. Together, they have stepped up to support Antioch College and our historic recreation. And together we are working to ensure that Antioch alumni and students are increasingly proud of their College – and that future generations can come to Antioch to receive a rigorous liberal arts education, driven by the belief that scholarship and life experience are strengthened when linked, that diversity in all its manifestations is a fundamental component of education, and that authentic social and community engagement is vital for those who strive to win victories for humanity. We have much work to do, but we certainly would not be where we are today without you. Thank you for your support.
Cheers,
Mark Roosevelt President, Antioch College 1
GOAL 1: Connect an excellent liberal arts curriculum with rich experiential learning
...they considered what we are all called to do.
Call and Response: Experiments in Joy
From Lagos to Brooklyn, from Seoul to the Arkansas Delta, and from Beirut to Yellow Springs, a group of artists and activists arrived to participate in Call and Response, an innovative dynamic of black women and performance at Antioch College in July 2014. A diverse group of seven black women artists with different relationships to the words “black,” “women” and “performance,” shared stories and forged a process for five days. They debated privilege, agency and forgiveness. They worked, played, laughed, sang, presented work and considered what we are all called to do.
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They expanded the scope of Antioch’s experiential learning, and enriched the College’s continuing conversations with stories of truth and hope.
73
%
of co-op placements are linked to Global Seminar
Student Spotlight: Leo Brandon ’17
“I first learned about Antioch on the internet, but I quickly learned about its history of social change and existing on the fringe and fell in love. And I still feel the history every day. But what’s really been meaningful is how the College has been there for me and what it has allowed me to become. Antioch itself is practicing the Antioch Way. It’s the only liberal arts school that’s restarting, when most are closing. That means something. It’s not another
place looking to make money and maybe give you a degree. I visited other schools before coming here, but from my first admission interview to the topics I’m interested in and learning about now, Antioch is the only place that’s ever taken the time to get to know me. It makes me feel like I can go out into the world and make a difference. That’s something that was missing at my big, public high school and that I think is missing at most other colleges.”
Antioch is the only place that’s ever taken the time to get to know me. It makes me feel like I can go out into the world and make a difference. – Leo Brandon
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Faculty and Course Spotlight: Emily Steinmetz and Inside-Out In Spring 2015, Antioch College offered its first Inside-Out class, which met onsite at Dayton Correctional Institution (DCI) and was comprised half of Antioch students (outside students) and half of incarcerated women (inside students). An interdisciplinary course taught by Professor of Cultural Anthropology Emily Steinmetz, students both inside and out, explored the concept of citizenship, paying special attention to the ways that race and gender shape people’s access to the rights and protections conferred by citizen status. From the group’s first meeting at DCI, Antioch students learned how to navigate prison security, leaving behind their
phones, wallets, bags, and all of their belongings except for their class materials and a photo ID. They moved through a metal detector, signed the visitor’s log, and traveled through two sally ports to the visitation room where class was held. On one occasion, the inside students led Antioch students on a tour of DCI, offering their own perspectives on the commissary, living quarters, library, gymnasium, chapel, yard, the HVAC training program that is in the process of closing down, and the dog-training program. While they did not enter the segregation unit, several inside students told outside students about their experiences in solitary confinement as they stood in the corridor outside.
An overview of Antioch’s courses: 99% of courses incorporate active and/or experiential learning 78% of courses integrate discussions or exploration of multiple perspectives on diversity issues 33% of courses with curricular link(s) to Campus Resources
(Antioch Farm, Glen Helen, WYSO)
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Our student-tofaculty ratio is 7:1
DID YOU KNOW... Antioch College ranks among the best in the Great Lakes Colleges Association. Finally, students ate breakfast together in the chow hall, where the substandard, private-contractor-delivered food was experienced. The class culminated in two final projects: 1) an autoethnography, in which students connected their own lived experiences with the theories, concepts, and accounts encountered in readings and class discussions; and 2) an action-based group project that involved inside and outside students working together to research and address an issue that related to our course themes.
the prison orientation group created an informative brochure that DCI has agreed to distribute at the new inmate orientation; an inside student conducted a small qualitative research study with incarcerated women about the food service; the group studying mandatory minimums launched a letter writing campaign, and sent copies of letters signed by Antioch community members and incarcerated people to elected officials; and one inside student wrote a letter about the criminal justice system that was published in The Record, Antioch College’s student newspaper.
Several groups presented proposals for change to prison administrators; 5
GOAL 2: Attract and retain right-fit students and employees
Faculty Spotlight: Kevin McGruder
Antioch College Assistant Professor of History, Kevin McGruder, was selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to participate in a special American history seminar on Slave Narratives. From a pool of 83 highly competitive nominations, 27 faculty members were selected to participate in the seminar, held at Yale University in June, 2015. The multidisciplinary seminar for faculty members in history, English, and related fields used the slave narratives— as well as some other assigned secondary reading—to comprehend the lived experience of slaves in the transition from bondage to freedom. McGruder also published an important book in 2015. Through the lens of real estate transactions from 1890 to 1920, McGruder offers in Race and Real Estate: Conflict and Cooperation in Harlem 1890-1920 an innovative perspective on Harlem’s history and reveals the complex interactions between whites and African Americans at a critical time of migration and development. During these decades Harlem saw a dramatic increase in its African American population, and although most histories speak only of the white residents who met these newcomers with hostility, this book uncovers a range of reactions.
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SIZE OF ENTERING CLASS (fall 2014)
25
%
students of color
(fall 2014 entering class)
Admissions
Focus on FirstGeneration Students In January 2015, Antioch College received a generous, anonymous donation that funds full-tuition scholarships for a select number of admitted first generation college students and environmental science majors, respectively. The gift, worth over $1 million, supports the College’s two-fold commitment to environmental sustainability and to the idea that diversity in all its manifestations is a fundamental component of excellence in education. Antioch’s unique approach combines rigorous academic study with four quarters of full-time work. Through co-op, an intense form of experiential learning, students work with organizations and businesses around the world. Imagine, as a college student, working in diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State, in a nationally-recognized gallery in San Francisco, or doing environmental restoration work in Hawaii. Antioch students have the opportunity to explore what they want to do—and what they don’t want to do with their lives, long before they have a diploma in hand. Antioch’s student body is 28% firstgeneration college students, compared to the national private school average of 13%, and 24% of students are both firstgen and low-income. Mark Roosevelt, president of Antioch College says, “In an era when only 30% of low income students enroll in educational programs after high
school, it’s not surprising that we’re facing unprecedented economic disparity in America. These full-tuition scholarship opportunities make it possible for us to continue to honor our commitment to making an Antioch education accessible to the next generation of leaders.”
45
28
(fall 2014 entering class)
(fall 2014 entering class)
%
Pell-receiving students
50
%
admission yield rate, (fall 2014 entering class)
%
first-gen students
91
%
first-to-second year retention rate (fall 2014 entering class)
Student Spotlight: Malka Berro ’17
“The type of experience and education that we are receiving at Antioch is unparalleled by any other institution. Where else can you find students, faculty, staff, and alumni so involved in working together to help build their school? While I am fascinated by what I am learning inside the classroom, Antioch has become so much more than that for me. It’s the 1 a.m. conversations in the North common rooms, the student band that plays at Community Meeting, the posters lining McGregor Hall detailing protest events nearby, the new C-shop, and so much more that make Antioch what it is and give us hope for what it can be. There is much work to be done at Antioch and at times it is daunting. However, I wholeheartedly believe the rewards outweigh any risk. Grit—the drive to succeed even when it seems like all of the odds are against us—that’s The Antioch Way. You simply can’t get that anywhere else.”
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GOAL 3: Build a sustainable educational environment
Solar Farm Opening In October 2014, Antioch College cut the ribbon on its 1+ megawatt, solar farm—a collaboration between Antioch College, Solar Power and Light and SolarCity, the nation’s largest solar service provider. The farm includes approximately 3,300 solar panels, built on five acres of College property adjacent to the Antioch Farm. “This marks a major milestone on our path to carbon neutrality,” said President Mark Roosevelt. “We are proud to be moving forward with these significant investments in clean energy because we believe that the way Americans are living today is not sustainable. We have an obligation to be a model for the Village of Yellow Springs and for other institutions.” 10
The College’s alternative energy efforts will offer the campus significant long-term savings. The College’s central geothermal plant is projected to save $500,000 in annual maintenance and energy costs, and, combined with the solar farm, the College estimates a savings of more than $15 million over the approximate 30-year life span of both facilities.
93
%
of energy consumption offset by solar production
Real Food Challenge In May, Antioch College President Mark Roosevelt, along with staff and student representatives, signed the Real Food Campus Commitment. This student-driven agreement amplifies Antioch’s commitment to improving our nation’s food system to prevent adverse ecological, health and social outcomes. The Real Food Challenge leverages the power of youth and universities to create a healthy, fair and green food system. The RFC’s primary goal is to shift $1 billion of existing university food budgets away from industrial farms and junk food and towards local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources—what they call “real food”—by 2020. Antioch College is fast becoming a national model in terms of ways that institutions of higher learning can support ecologically sustainable, humane and socially equitable food systems. From the Antioch Farms to the Antioch Kitchens, the College strives to deliver real food to students, faculty, and staff. Antioch College is second in the nation in real food consumption at 56%. Only Sterling College in Craftsbury, Vermont consumes a higher percentage of real food at 74%.
354,888 kilowatt-hours
on-site renewable energy generated
Student Spotlight: Perin Ellsworth-Heller ’17
“When I think about sustainability, we’re not just thinking about the environment. It’s more than that, it’s a more holistic, across the board sustainability, and particularly a financial and curriculum sustainability that is important here. In terms of curriculum, an important way to keep a liberal arts education relevant is to make it part of everyday conversations. We’re doing that here with co-op and a focus on experiential learning. In terms of finance, we—students, faculty and staff—are working very seriously on new and innovative, yet wholly sustainable ways to keep Antioch alive. But we can’t forget to keep thinking about sustainability in these ways. It’s clear that we can be environmentally sustainable, but if we don’t have the right educational and fiscal outlook, nothing will matter. And so what we’re doing here, on a fundamental level, is expanding the definition of sustainable living.” 12
It’s clear that we can be environmentally sustainable, but if we don’t have the right educational and fiscal outlook, nothing will matter.
GOAL 4: Support programs through a strong financial base
Antioch College’s Office of Advancement Wins National Fundraising Award Antioch College won a top national award for its fundraising work in the 2014 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
and nonprofits from around the world submitted more than 3,000 entries in 100 categories for consideration in the Circle of Excellence awards program.
The Office of Advancement’s November 2013 “Giving Tuesday” Competition won a silver medal in the “Targeted Campaigns” category. A panel of experts selected Antioch’s entry among 39 entries.
The Office of Advancement developed and implemented a comprehensive plan for #givingtuesday, a national day of giving at the start of the holiday season, designed to encourage charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.
“We are immensely proud to receive recognition for our #givingtuesday program in its inaugural year of existence,” said Mark Roosevelt. Many other award recipients are long-standing institutions with far greater financial resources and human capital.”
The Office of Advancement created Antioch’s #givingtuesday Competition. The competition sought to award a $5,000 prize to the recognized student organization(s) or department(s) who could earn the most votes in an online giving contest.
CASE is one of the largest international associations of education institutions, serving more than 3,650 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in more than 82 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information, and standards in the fields of alumni relations, communications, educational fundraising and marketing.
Student organizations and departments were invited to submit applications describing why they needed the $5,000 prize and how they would use it. In total, nine groups submitted applications to compete.
This year, 629 higher education institutions, independent schools
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In total, $25,915 was raised, far more than ever estimated. On Giving Tuesday, 261 donors made 816 donations and more than 2,200 votes were cast in the competition.
Antioch College Receives Largest
Gift in Recent History Earlier this year, the College received a $6 million grant from the Morgan Family Foundation. It is the largest gift the College has received since its 2008 independence from Antioch University, and also the largest single grant the Morgan Family Foundation has ever awarded. “We couldn’t be more proud and honored to be the recipient of a grant of this magnitude, and it couldn’t have come at a more impactful time,” said President Mark Roosevelt. He noted that the transformational gift places the College in a position of strength for its November 2015 accredidation visit. A successful outcome there, he said, will have a positive domino effect on nearly every aspect of the College’s operation. “Significant student-derived revenue, support from national foundations and corporations, matching gift programs, articulation agreements with like-minded institutions, and the ability to borrow money for capital investments all become opportunities once we’re accredited,” he said. “These are essential institutional supports all other schools take for granted.” This grant brings total contributions from the Morgan Family Foundation to more than $13 million since the College’s first efforts at independence in 2007.
15,823,689
$
total fundraising revenue
577 NEW DONORS! 16
26
%
alumni fundraising participation rate
2,675,345
$
Annual Fund revenue
Student Spotlight: Spencer Glazer ’17
“Antioch is bigger than anyone. It’s bigger than the students, staff, faculty, alumni and donors. It’s a forefront of education because real education is a mindset. Antioch is attempting to revitalize the meaning of college, the meaning of a degree. People who make this possible aren’t just making it possible for students now, they’re making the pursuit of liberal arts possible, giving young people the opportunity to gain valuable experiences that sometimes challenge and almost always change the way we live. Personally, I’m not really here for me; I’m here to make sure this place survives and grows into something that ten or twenty years from now is still part of the global conversation.”
I’m here to make sure this place survives and grows into something that ten or twenty years from now is still part of the global conversation.
– Spencer Glazer 17
GOAL 5: Serve local, national and global communities
Antioch College Envisions Future Community Village On February 19, 2015 Antioch College invited the Yellow Springs community to participate in a planning charrette that include several public events to share ideas and help plan for future development within the campus and its immediate surroundings. Antioch College Village will be a residential community that exemplifies sustainable living practices that protect the great richness of the natural world; models a generative community that defines a new possibility for living healthy, connected lives; and contributes to a more cost-effective model for educating young people through a rigorous, place-based liberal arts experience.
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Antioch College’s goals for this neighborhood are to enable the most environmentally sustainable lifestyle possible through design; create walkable and bikeable places, connected to nature, accessible to students and residents; include a variety of housing types and tenancies to increase options for Yellow Springs living; increase the number of families who will use our schools and help spread our tax burdens; add new residents that help support the College and nearby downtown businesses; and build a diverse community of lifelong learners.
Antioch College Opens Community Wellness Center On September 6, 2014 cut the ribbon on the 44,000 square-foot Wellness Center. The Wellness Center, formerly known as the Curl Gymnasium, completed a $7.8 million renovation, which began in June 2013. The original gym dates back to 1929. Contractors rehabbed and reconfigured the facility, preserving historic architectural elements of the building while upgrading it for improved functionality and energy use. The Wellness Center is a resource for students, as well as faculty, staff and the wider Yellow Springs community. It also serves as the campus venue in which students and citizens alike can engage in behaviors that promote health, personal growth and an enhanced quality of life. In addition to providing a rich and intellectual environment, Antioch College is committed to serving students’ physical health and wellness needs. Research on student recruitment, retention and success confirms the importance of having a recreational facility and a robust set of recreational offerings on campus. “The Wellness Center is a place for the College and the community to focus on fitness and health in a truly beautiful and inspiring environment,� said Wellness Center Executive Director Monica Hasek. 20
Student Spotlight: Nate Meehan ’17
“When you spend enough time with people, you’re either going to completely disengage or become a close-knit community. And at Antioch we’re one big family. It doesn’t mean we don’t have our differences, it means that we work together, that we always hear what each of us has to say. One day you can be in the most heated debate with a classmate—exhausted and emotionally charged—and the next day, if that same classmate needs help or someone to talk to about something entirely different, you’ll be that listening ear without hesitation. We’re making this work together. It couldn’t work without each other, without this community of driven people.” 22
GOAL 6: Emphasize institutional effectiveness
Antioch College Hosts Successful Evaluation for Initial Accreditation Candidacy During the summer of 2014, Antioch College hosted representatives of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) where the College was granted candidacy status. This new status continues Antioch’s movement toward accreditation and allows Antioch students access to Federal Title IV funding. Since reopening in 2011, Antioch has engaged with the HLC in a multi-year, multi-step process to achieve accreditation, including hosting mock site visits throughout this fiscal year to prepare for a final site visit on November 2, 2015. The achievement of candidacy status last year represented an important milestone for the College. Now the College is fully focused on the evaluation for initial accreditation, the final stage in the accreditation process. As part of the evaluation for initial accreditation, a site team consisting of faculty and administrators from colleges and universities in the region visited Antioch’s campus to determine if the college meets the Commission’s requirements for accreditation. During their visit, the peer reviewers engaged in conversations with Antioch’s Board of Trustees, staff, faculty, and students to learn about Antioch and the campus community. The HLC’s decision will be presented to the College in the summer of 2016. 24
DIVERSITY AUDIT This summer, Compass Consulting Services, LLC recently completed a diversity audit for Antioch College. Organized by the College’s Task Force on Diversity, the purpose was to gain a better understanding of the diversity assets, issues and concerns on campus. The Task Force will use the results as one tool to develop a Strategic Plan for Diversity at Antioch. The audit included focus groups, individual interviews, surveys and a community forum and included students, faculty, staff, alumni and trustees. ANTIOCH ANNOUNCES FIRST TENURED FACULTY This spring, Antioch announced its first tenured faculty since the school reopened in 2011. Dr. David Kammler and Dr. Gabrielle Civil were granted tenure in May and celebrated at a Community Meeting in June. Kammler, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Chemistry came to Antioch as a visiting professor in 2002 after receiving his Ph.D in Chemistry from Indiana University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Harvard University. From 2008 through 2011, he was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Wilberforce University, where he taught majors classes in Biomedical Science and Health
Services Administration, as well as general education classes. In 2011, Dr. David Kammler joined the new Antioch College, where he currently teaches chemistry and chemistry-related classes for the Biomedical Science and Environmental Science majors. Associate Professor of Performance Gabrielle Civil is a black feminist poet, conceptual and performance artist, originally from Detroit, Michigan. She has premiered over forty solo original performance art works nationally and internationally. She has also served as a discussant and facilitator for engaged conversations about the work of other contemporary performers and artists. She holds an undergraduate Comparative Literature and English degrees from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University.
Indices For Success For Initial Accreditation GENERAL • We were named a Candidate for Accreditation in June 2014 and placed on a two-year “fast-track” to Initial Accreditation. • We were approved for Title IV financial aid, and will make our first awards in fall 2015. • We graduated our first class of Horace Mann Fellows in June 2015 in a ceremony featuring Dr. Clarence B. Jones—Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speechwriter and legal counsel. FUNDRAISING + ALUMNI/FRIENDS • The most recent fiscal year—FY15—was our best “cash in the door” fundraising year since re-opening. • We received our largest single gift—$6 million from a family foundation—in May 2015. • We received our largest gift from a non-alum—$1 million from a mission-driven billionaire philanthropist—in March 2015. • We received a six-figure grant from the Mellon Foundation for our ReinventED initiative, even though the Mellon Foundation rarely makes awards to nonaccredited institutions. • More than 600 alumni and friends returned to campus in June 2015—our largest alumni reunion since re-opening. STUDENTS + ACADEMIC PROGRAM • Our retention rate (90% average) is in line with the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) average— particularly remarkable given our start-up status and the fact that we serve a more “at risk” student population than our peers. • The most recent freshman class (entering in 2014) averaged 1800 on the SAT in critical reading, math and writing. The current national average is 1500, placing Antioch in the top 20% on this measure. 26
Fiscal year 2015 was our best “cash in the door” fundraising year since re-opening.
50
%
admission yield rate
(fall 2014 entering class)
DID YOU KNOW... First-year students entering in 2014 averaged 1800 on the SAT in critical reading, math and writing.
• Our student to faculty ratio is 7:1—the same ratio as Harvard and Williams, and the best in the GLCA. • Antioch students are excelling in our proficiency-based language program with oralproficiency scores that are on par with Stanford University: 97% of Antioch students score at the required Novice High rating or better, and 77% of Antioch students actually exceed Novice High proficiency. • Our students land prestigious, competitive co-ops, including positions at the White House and the U.S. Department of State. • Our student-initiated Debate Team has brought home several championship titles, competing against teams from the University of Dayton, DePauw University, California State-Fullerton and many more. STAFF/FACULTY + BOARD OF TRUSTEES • We have had faculty give up tenure at other institutions to join the Antioch Faculty. • We successfully recruited several non-alums to the Board of Trustees. • The Board revised its committee structure in Spring 2015 to improve functionality and efficiency. FINANCE + OPERATIONS • Demonstrating prudent financial management, we have paid interest on our internal endowment loans since origination and began making quarterly principal payments in March 2015, as per plan. • Our Primary Reserve, Equity and Net Income are strong, with an overall composite score of 3.0. • Our investment in alternative energy (including the 5-acre solar farm and 345ton central geothermal plant) will save an estimated $15 million in energy and maintenance costs over the approximate 30-year life span of the facilities. 27
• The Wellness Center—designed as a shared resource between the campus and Yellow Springs community—has 2,000 active members and is cash positive in its first year of operations. • A recent fundraising campaign will allow us to expand WYSO’s reach by 54%—more than half a million listeners.
We have invested more than $40 million in our historic campus, reversing decades of deferred maintenance and neglect.
Debt vs. Assets $120,000,000 $100,000,000 $80,000,000 $60,000,000 $40,000,000 $20,000,000 $0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
• We have the same amount of external debt as we did at re-opening—the $6.2M interest-only note payable used to purchase the campus and its assets from Antioch University—and our assets have grown three-fold. 28
2015
COMMENCEMENT
College Celebrates
First Graduation since 2008 On June 20, 2015, Antioch celebrated commencement--our first since 2008. Despite heavy rain that forced festivities indoors, 21 students representing the Class of 2015 graduated at a beautiful ceremony in the South Gym of Antioch’s Wellness Center. Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a celebrated Civil Rights leader, businessman, lawyer, author, scholar, and close confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a powerful commencement address urging graduates to “not take their eyes off the North Star” in the fight against racism and oppression. Dr. Jones traveled at the last moment from the Bay Area of California
to replace previously scheduled speaker Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) who was unable to attend graduation due to a family funeral. Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, family and Antioch alumni also heard remarks from Antioch Trustee David Goodman ’69, brother of Andrew Goodman, who along with James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Miss. during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Local community group The World House Choir lent powerful pieces of music to the event and six student speakers outlined the ups
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and downs of recreating Antioch College— the only startup, residential liberal arts college in America. “Today, we celebrate the Class of 2015 and the diverse group of people who came together over the years to get us to where we are today,” said Antioch College President Mark Roosevelt. “This is an important and historic milestone for the College, Yellow Springs, and the greater Antioch community. Today’s
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commencement reminds us all that the hard work has been worth it and signals that Antioch College is officially back.” This year, Commencement 2015 was part of a larger Reunion weekend. Hundreds of alumni returned to Yellow Springs to reconnect, view the evolution of the College, and celebrate the Class of 2015. It also represented the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commencement address to the Antioch Class of 1965.
I’m proud to be an Antiochian and to have the privilege of graduating with the class of 2015. But more than that, I’m grateful to have been a part of an amazing community of people who share a love for Antioch, its flaws and all. – Sara Brooks ’15
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