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H
undreds of Antio-
chians from
throughout the
country converged
upon the College in Yellow
Springs last weekend to cele-
brate their proud history and
continue on the course toward
reopening the liberal arts col-
lege to students in the fall of
2011.
Interim President Matthew
Derr announced several mile-
stones for the institution dur-
ing his “State of the College”
address on June 18. Two
weeks before the end of the
fiscal year, he announced,
more than 20 percent of
alumni graduates of the Col-
lege had supported the annual
fund.
“This growth in participa-
tion represents a sea change in
our potential relationships
with major donors and foun-
dations,” he said.
More than 1,100 alumni
participated in chapter meet-
ings across the country this
last year and, to date, the Col-
lege has raised approximately
$17 million in the revival of
Antioch College.
Derr also announced that
the Yellow Springs Commu-
nity Foundation was the re-
cent recipient of a bequest gift
of nearly $3 million from the
estate of Nolan Miller and
Richard Miller.
Nolan Miller, professor of
literature from 1946 to 1972
and fiction editor at the An-
tioch Review from 1965-
1972, died in 2006. Dick
Miller, Nolan’s younger
brother, was a self-employed
artist who taught ceramics for
Yellow Springs Art Councils
and painting to “any Yellow
Springs youth who were inter-
ested.” He died last year.
The gift to the Yellow
Springs Community Founda-
tion will support Antioch Col-
lege students who wish to
work in nonprofit organiza-
tions in the village of Yellow
Springs. “This is a truly trans-
formational gift for the Col-
Special points of interest:
The College has raised
more than $17 million since
gaining its independence
The Annual Fund stands
currently at a little more
than $2 million
More than 20 percent of
graduate alumni have
contributed to the Antioch
College Annual Fund
Reunion 2010: A Celebration of Milestones for Antiochians
Inside this issue:
Showing Your Support 2
The Antioch Review 3
Glen Helen 4
Work Project 5
Profile: Laurence Leamer 6
Profile: Lawrence Block 7
Contact Us 8
Read online at www.antiochcollege.org/news
The Independent
June 24, 2010
“The growth in
participation
represents a sea
change in our
potential relationships
with major donors
and foundations”
–Matthew Derr,
Interim President
Matthew Derr and Micah Canal
Continued on the next page
lege and its programs and our
relationship to the Village we
call home and that came to
the defense of the College at a
time of great need,” Derr said.
The College is also the
beneficiary of a generous
challenge. A friend of An-
tioch College, who wishes to
remain anonymous, presented
Antioch with the opportunity
to match a $1.5 million gift.
“We hope in the coming
months to meet this challenge
and to have raised the full $3
million for the cause of restor-
ing this great institution,”
Derr said.
Among the many tributes
was a reception at Folkmanis
House for Katy Cobb Jako
’54, founder of the Antioch
Independence Fund. Her work
is important to the history and
future of the College, as it
planted seeds that ultimately
came to fruition in September
2009 when the keys to An-
tioch College were acquired
by the Antioch College Con-
tinuation Corporation.
The alumni also presented
the inaugural Walter F.
Anderson Award, named for
the civil rights activist and
music department chair. The
award recognizes students,
faculty and staff who pro-
moted diversity and the
breaking of racial barriers.
Recipients are Edythe Scott
Bagley ’47; the late William
David Chappelle III ’80; and
the late Jim Dunn.
“Andy left a huge legacy
not just to Antioch but to the
world,” said Joan Horn ’56,
author of Playing on All the
Keys. “It is fitting indeed that
we acknowledge other Antio-
chians who have also left their
mark in a memorable way that
we may continue to be in-
spired by the influence of this
singular man.”
Other awards presented
during the three-day reunion
were:
J.D. Dawson Award to
Stephen A. Schwerner ’60 and
Alvin L. Denman, Emeritus
Professor of Philosophy, Law
and Religion, for significant
service and contributions to
Antioch College
Arthur Morgan Award to
Sherry R. Hahn ’78 for contri-
butions that exemplify the
concept of “community”
Horace Mann Award to
Edward Milton Ifft ’60 for
winning some victory for hu-
manity”
Rebecca Rice Award to
Timothy D. Barrett ’73, a
2009 MacArthur Fellow, for
high achievement in his pro-
fession
The weekend’s theme is
“Race and Social Justice,” a
fitting topic for Antiochians
as many college faculty and
alumni played key roles in the
civil rights movement and
beyond. Additionally, issues
of race, campus diversity and
social justice have historically
been keystones in the devel-
opment of the College from
its beginning.
The Morgan Fellows
opened the weekend with
“The Barbershop Incident:
Yellow Springs & Civil
Rights,” an account of the
struggle for desegregation.
Panelists were Rozell W.
“Prexy” Nesbitt ’67, Joni
Rabinowitz ’65, Hardy Tro-
lander ’47, and Paul Graham
’52.
Your gift, when made before
June 30, boosts our alumni
participation rate and
increases the chance of
attracting support from major
donors and foundations.
To give, visit www.antiochcollege.org.
Your Support
REUNION, continued from cover
Page 2 The Independent
An anonymous
donor presented
the college with
the opportunity to
match a $1.5
million gift.
By Lyn Chamberlain
The Antioch Review,
founded in 1941 by a small
group of Antioch College fac-
ulty, is one of the oldest, con-
tinuously publishing literary
magazines in America. As
editor Robert S. Fogarty,
John Dewey Professor Emeri-
tus in the Humanities at An-
tioch College, said in his
April 2009 editorial “the fact
of [the magazine’s] survival is
no mean feat. Surviving sev-
eral international wars, the
shifting currents of both the
ideological and literary mar-
ketplace, not to mention the
fortunes of its founding pa-
tron, Antioch College, it has
achieved a certain standing in
the world.”
For the second year run-
ning, the Antioch Review was
named a finalist for the pres-
tigious 45th Annual National
Magazine Award, the smallest
magazine selected in any
award category.
We recently caught-up with
Bob Fogarty and asked him
about the current state of lit-
erary journals.
Why are you so concerned
about the future of small
magazines like The Antioch
Review? 2010 has been a
rough year for both the big
commercial magazines and
the “littles” with shrinking
revenues, layoffs and martini-
less lunches all around. Liter-
ary reviews took several se-
vere hits from universities
who acted like they were
General Motors and preemp-
tively closed production lines
in order to shift to the new
technologies. Tri-Quarterly’s
editors were told on a short
notice that the magazine was
going to be published online
by students at Northwestern’s
School of Continuing Studies.
That was its fate after 45
years of distinguished publi-
cation. In addition, the presi-
dent of Middlebury informed
the editors at the New Eng-
land Review that they had a
year to produce a deficit-less
budget or face closure. At
Washington & Lee an editor
announced that Shenandoah
would celebrate 60 years of
publication and then become
an online magazine. This was
not Schumpeterian (“creative
destruction”) rhetoric, but the
cold reality that has closed the
gap between the Middlebury’s
and the University of Phoe-
nix.
How is The Review faring
in this climate? It is ironic,
to say the least, that a new
college in the making, the
resurrected Antioch College,
is today supporting the An-
tioch Review. We had a sur-
prisingly good year and are
making plans for a 70th year
celebration in 2011-12. We
have seen no slowdown in
submissions and we think that
the quality has held up despite
the dearth of commercial out-
lets for the short story. Agents
continue to say that it is diffi-
cult to place a story collection
by a writer without a proven
track record. There is also the
current tendency to place a
high value on
“reportage” (exotic locale)
rather than “writing,” but a
number of university presses
have picked up the slack even
in the face of a distinct prefer-
ence by reviewers for titles
from older commercial
house. On a practical note the
distribution question remains
a vexing one. Recently a
small distributor in Brooklyn
announced they could no
longer carry certain small
literary magazines and offered
to continue distribution if the
publisher foregoes any
profits.
How would you charac-
terize the publishing envi-
ronment today? Many writ-
ers and editors hope that liter-
ary magazines will carry writ-
ers through these difficult
economic times by providing
outlets. There is the usual
hysteria about the “death of
fiction” but we have seen little
of that here as young, middle
aged and older writers keep
emerging, keep sharpening
their pencils and trying to
outwit and outfence their
readers. It not like the heyday
of the late sixties when
George Hitchcock published
Kayak, when Gordon Lish
shepherded and drove Ray-
mond Carver to reach beyond
himself and the bottle to pro-
duce a new order of writing
that was distinctive, driven by
aesthetic concerns rather than
merely commercial ones.
So you remain optimistic?
It certainly is an imperfect
golden age, but short stories
(very good ones) are still be-
ing produced and there are, as
Salman Rushdie noted, lots of
terrific magazines that con-
tinue to nourish the hearts of
readers and writers. I hope the
reader finds gold rather than
pyrite in the stories that we
publish. We are honored to
publish them and hope to
bring the reader more work of
this kind on the very tactile
pages of The Antioch Review.
Antioch Review to Celebrate 70 Years
Page 3 The Independent
Robert Fogarty
For the second year
running, the Antioch
Review was named a
finalist for the
prestigious 45th Annual
National Magazine
Award, the smallest
magazine selected in any
award category.
C
hefs of the region
will join farmers,
artisans and stew-
ards of the land on
July 18 for WHOO COOKS
FOR YOU? – a feast of home
-grown food and Ohio wine
and beer to benefit the Glen
Helen Raptor Center 1075
State Route 343 in Yellow
Springs.
With a name borrowed
from the classic call of the
barred owl – whoo cooks for
you! – this event explores the
connection between the earth,
the food on your plate, and
supporting a healthy habitat
for all, said Glen Helen Ex-
ecutive Director Nick Boutis.
Guests will enjoy a special
tour of the Raptor Center fol-
lowed by a flavorful, home-
style meal prepared by Anne
Kearney of Rue Dumaine
(Dayton), Carrie Walters of
Dorothy Lane Market
(Dayton), Doug McGregor of
Seasons Bistro (Springfield),
Elizabeth Wiley of Meadow-
lark (Dayton), and Mary Kay
Smith and Kim Korkan of
The Winds Café and Bakery
(Yellow Springs).
“There’s a simple message
at the heart of this event – we
are part of our environment,”
Boutis said. “When we take
care of the Earth, whether it’s
by helping wildlife or sup-
porting local foods, we ulti-
mately help sustain our-
selves.”
Guests will be seated at one
long table winding its way
across the Raptor Center lawn
and joined by area growers
and farmers. Diners will take
home a special favor for their
table at home handmade by
local potter Naysan Mcllhar-
gey of Miami Valley Pottery
as well as a native plant from
Marvin’s Organic Gardens.
Wood artisan Dennis
Moore has created artistic and
utilitarian chairs constructed
of invasive honeysuckle har-
vested from the Glen, which
will be available for sale. Pur-
chase your ticket now to be
part of this unique experience.
About Glen Helen
Glen Helen is the legacy of
Hugh Taylor Birch, who, in
1929, donated the wooded
glen to Antioch College in
memory of his daughter,
Helen. The Glen Helen Rap-
tor Center rehabilitates
hawks, owls, and eagles, and
provides educational pro-
grams that introduce people to
these magnificent birds
of prey.
Glen Helen Preps for “Whoo Cooks For You?”
Page 4 The Independent
Grinnell
Tickets are $150 per person
and seating is limited. A
portion of your ticket price
qualifies as a charitable
donation. R.S.V.P. at
937-769-1902 ext. 101 or
visit whoocooksforyou.org.
Documentary Studies at Duke
University marks the 40th
anniversary of Freedom Sum-
mer 1964 and chronicles the
struggle for the passage of the
Voting Rights Act in the
United States.
The exhibit features photos
by members of the Southern
Documentary Project, video
news footage, documentary
audio, the acclaimed docu-
mentary Freedom on my
Mind and music from the civil
rights movement. A series of
civil rights-themed films will
be screened throughout the
exhibit schedule.
The Morgan Fellows Present “Oh Freedom Over Me” Exhibition
T
he Morgan Fellows at
Antioch College are
pleased to present “Oh
Freedom Over Me” through
September 30 in the Herndon
Gallery, South Hall, at the
college in Yellow Springs.
This multimedia traveling
exhibition of the Center for
ways. The garden team
weeded and planted in flower
beds around campus, adding
bright colors from Rockford
Chapel to the Art Building.
They also built a fence around
the new College garden and
dug rows so that local volun-
teers can begin to plant vege-
tables as early as next week.
The bee infested benches at
Birch Hall were replaced, so
that future students can have
an outdoor meal in peace.
Many volunteers helped pre-
pare for Reunion in South
Hall and others worked in
Antiochiana. A team of ex-
traordinarily skilled volun-
teers turned the Units into a
temporary construction zone
by removing and replacing
rotten wood to prevent rain-
water from entering the build-
ings. Another team of volun-
teers worked tirelessly to
paint the entire exterior of the
Sculpture Annex. Other vol-
unteer work focused on fixing
the stairs at the Student Union
stoop and installing the new
Transient Mode Home sign.
More than 60 Volunteers Join the June 2010 Work Project
By Julian Sharp
A
n extraordinary group
of alumni and sup-
porters of the College
came together to volunteer
during the June Work Project,
the week before Reunion.
During the week, sixty-three
volunteers generously do-
nated 1330 hours toward the
transformation of campus
facilities and land. Volunteers
reflected our Antiochian di-
versity, representing class
years from the late 1940’s
through 2008. They came
from rural Montana and
downtown LA, and many
places in between. The re-
launch of our College is not
only important to alumni, but
to the larger world. Our com-
pelling mission attracted cur-
rent students from Ohio State
University, the University of
Alabama, and Prescott Col-
lege in Arizona.
Volunteers made enormous
progress toward the restora-
tion of Pennell House, where
they painted rooms and hall-
Work Project
Page 5 The Independent
An additional team of volun-
teers nourished participants
with multiple daily meals.
While engaged in a variety of
work on campus, volunteers
succeeded in having fun while
giving back.
The importance of volun-
teers at the College cannot be
overstated. Their generous
donation of time and often
financial support enables the
College to better prepare for
the entering class of 2011.
They provide encouragement
to staff and save the college
tens of thousands of dollars.
We all owe them an enormous
amount of gratitude and
thanks!
To see more photos from the Work
Project, go to
www.antiochcollege.org/media
Laurence Leamer ’64 is a
best-selling author and jour-
nalist. A former Ford Fellow
in International Development
at the University of Oregon
and a former International
Fellow at Columbia Univer-
sity, he is the author of The
Kennedy Men, The Kennedy
Women and Sons of Camelot,
and has written a biography
of Johnny Carson, King of the
Night. In his most recent
book, Madness Under the
Royal Palms, Leamer looks at
the way wealth makes its own
rules and how it creates a
culture of privilege. Leamer’s
searing look into the “haves”
of Palm Beach has gotten him
rave reviews, as well as death
threats.
What brought you to An-
tioch College? What was
your major? My father was a
professor and knew Antioch’s
reputation. I never visited
beforehand and knew nothing
about it. I arrived in Septem-
ber 1959 in my Robert Hall
suit and my girlfriend from
Vestal, New York, with her
parents, her mom who had a
tattoo on her arm and her big
Russian father. We were the
weirdest thing Yellow Springs
had ever seen.
Was there a professor that
made a huge impact on your
life? Louis Filler was an
American historian. He was a
serious man who expected the
best of his students. He was
tough and he was truly a great
teacher. The other major
name in the department,
Roger Williams, was a terri-
ble snob and a fine teacher
too. I was sitting in Williams
class in 19th century Euro-
pean civilization on the first
day of class when a freshman
knocked on the door and
asked, “Is this American civi-
lization?” “Yes, it is,” Wil-
liams said. “But I think you
want Professor Filler across
the hall.”
What’s your favorite mem-
ory of being at Antioch? Not
one thing, just this incredible,
often terrifying sense of free-
dom.
Any stirring words of wis-
dom about the independ-
ence of Antioch College? I
have great admiration for the
people who have worked so
hard to bring the college
back. I was far more cynical.
If you could bring one thing
to the future of Antioch Col-
lege, what would it be? A
couple weeks ago I spent
about 15 minutes talking to
Judge Anthony Scalia at a
social event. I was astounded
at how right wing he was and
how opinionated. He talked
about his son who went to
West Point and is fighting in
Afghanistan. He said, “West
Point is the only college in
America that is morally seri-
ous.” I don’t know about that,
but I do know it’s easier to be
morally serious if you’re con-
servative and have a bunch of
precepts to go by. It’s far
harder if you’re progressive
and see liberty as something
that must constantly expand. I
would bring that “morally
serious” [attitude] to the
school because if it has that
everything else follows. It
means students will work
hard the way Stephen Jay
Gould did when I was there. It
means professors will teach
hard the way Louis Filler did
when I was there. It won’t be
easy, but let me tell you, noth-
ing of any value is.
About Madness Under the
Royal Palms: I was down in
Palm Beach for the first time
in 1991 when I was research-
ing The Kennedy Women. I’ve
lived all over the world, but I
found the island the strangest
place I’d ever visited. I de-
cided to buy a place there,
integrate myself into the com-
munity as best I could, and
write a book. The result was
so controversial that the po-
lice said I should hire security
and my car was run off
the road.
Author Laurence Leamer ’64 on Moral Seriousness and Madness in Palm Beach
Page 6 Newsletter Title
Interviews by Christian
Feuerstein ‘94
Lawrence Block ’60 is an
acclaimed and best-selling
mystery author, best known
for his fictional characters:
private investigator Matthew
Scudder and burglar-cum-
bookstore owner Bernie Rho-
denbarr. In 1993, the Mystery
Writers of America named
Block a Grand Master. Antio-
chians, however, know Block
best for his 1959 pulp novel
Campus Tramp, which was
published under the nom de
plume Andrew Shaw. A peren-
nial favorite at Antioch Col-
lege auctions, the novel fol-
lows first-year student Linda
Shepard at “Clifton College.”
Names, locations and working
conditions at the Record are
all classically Antiochian, and
the novel was the basis for the
movie The Antioch Adven-
ture.
Publisher Creeping Hemlock
will soon issue a new hard-
cover edition of Campus
Tramp, and there will be in-
formation in future issues of
The Independent on how to
pre-order a copy.
What brought you to An-
tioch College? What was
your major? Friends of my
parents suggested it. I did
visit the campus but don’t
know that that made much
difference. I majored in Eng-
lish but probably took as
many history courses as Eng-
lish. I couldn’t quite see the
point of studying litera-
ture. Now, all those years
later, I’m not sure I see the
point of studying history, ei-
ther.
What’s your favorite mem-
ory of being at An-
tioch? The three months I
spent editing the Record was
a satisfying time in many re-
spects. Hard to pick a favorite
memory.
Was there a professor that
made a huge impact on your
life? Nolan Miller. I only had
one class with him, his writ-
ing workshop, and it was
most useful because of the
time it gave one to write. You
were supposed to bring some-
thing in every week. I was at
Antioch two years and took
his workshop my second
year. Then I was off for a
year, working at a literary
agency; then I came back for
a third year, and Nolan was
my advisor, I guess, although
I wasn’t very good at dealing
with advice. I liked him and
would see him when I came
back to the campus over the
years. I wonder what the hell
he wrote. He published a
batch of stories and several
novels in the 40s and 50s,
then nothing, although he
wrote every day – every day –
with no particular thought of
publication. I still don’t know
what to make of that.
Any stirring words of wis-
dom about the independ-
ence of Antioch Col-
lege? High time! The idiot
who created America’s first
college in metastasis really
screwed things up, didn’t he?
Why do you donate to An-
tioch College? I have, in a
small way, occasionally. Why
does anyone donate to any-
thing? Guilt, I suspect, wed-
ded to the delusion that one
can make a difference, and
that the difference one makes
is worthwhile.
Lawrence Block „60 on Mentors and Campus Tramps
Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 1
The Independent
is produced by
the Antioch College
Communications Office:
Gariot P. Louima
Director of Communications
With contributions from
Christian Feuerstein ’94
Aimee Maruyama ’96
Julian Sharp ’08
Lyn Chamberlin
Ideas for stories?
Coverage you’d like to see? Got a
comment?
We’d love to hear from you!
communications@antiochcollege.org
One Morgan Place
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
