Save Antioch College - The Portal

UPDATE: I have attempted repeatedly to contact Tom Faecke, the University’s CFO. I am strongly urging him in my role as a Trustee that he agree to the reasonable and entirely sensible plan of alumni representatives walking through the campus and taking an inventory of what currently exists on the Antioch College campus. I will remind him that we can easily remove caches of books and papers that we deem valuable, making sure that there is no fire hazard, while still securing our history and legacy.

Noreen Dresser, one of the co-chairs of the Facilities committee, was recently in Yellow Springs for a couple of days to review the current situation on the ground. She has prepared a most enlightening a report, with constructive suggestions on moving forward in collaboration with the Village of Yellow Springs. As many of you know, Noreen has many years experience with facilities and building management, and is quite passionate about making sure the buildings on our historic campus are secure, undamaged, and ready for rehab as soon as we have secured an  agreement for the transfer of the campus to the College Board Pro Tem. After the Alumni Association Executive Committee and our Facilities Committee have an opportunity to digest the report, we will share her findings and suggestions for next steps with the community.

Intrepid alumni on the ground in Yellow Springs recently discovered that the University’s clean-up crew has been throwing out books and pamphlets. Many thanks to Gerry Bello ’97 and Tim Noble ’02 for making
this discovery, and to Gerry for calling me. As I said to him then, the idea of books being tossed is like a knife in my heart. These books are emphatically *not* subpar items, such as broken furniture or mold-covered mattresses, that would have to be discarded no matter what.  These books and papers, many of them irreplaceable, are a catalogued and erstwhile organized treasure trove of our shared history, and as such, are priceless. They are also part of the  legacy for future generations of Antiochians, some of whom are preparing to start classes right now with the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute. No Antioch alum can condone this action; it must stop.

The Alumni Board’s Facilities Committee had asked Milt Thompson for the chance to walk through campus and take an inventory.   Milt’s boss, Tom Faecke, has not authorized Milt to pursue this sensible, easily-achieved plan. We recognize that Mr. Faecke is working on a limited budget and is carrying out the task he was assigned of cleaning out and securing buildings, but we strongly urge him to permit the Alumni Board’s
authorized representatives to remove caches of paper and memorabilia rather than pitch books and records, regardless of their historic value.

The Alumni Board facilities committee offers to work with the University to halt this needless destruction, and to agree to the common-sense solution of having representatives of the alumni take inventory. Yes, we can avoid misunderstandings and still protect the campus against fire by letting authorized alumni representatives walk through the campus and take inventory. The University Board of Trustees, on which I sit, in its June 7th resolution to start the planning for separation of the College from the University, acknowledged that the future of Antioch College rests on the shoulders of its alumni. We cannot build a future without the incredible work and materials of alumni of past generations.

We are still ashamed to let it die!

–Nancy Crow, ’70
President, Antioch College Alumni Association