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JO?- C
ISO E. South College
OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR Yeiiow springs, Ohio 45387-1697
TEL: 937-767-6494
FAX: 937-767-6493
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Board of Trustees
FROM: Jim Hall, Chancellor
DATE: January 17,2000
SUBJ: Written Report to the Board of Trustees
Greetings from Yellow Springs! The enclosed Board Meeting Book contains many of the
items to prepare you for the February meeting of the Board. But before launching into those
materials, I wanted to provide this written report to update you on University matters, to reflect
on what we have accomplished together during the past year, and to set the context for our
forthcoming meeting.
Antioch faculty and alumni received major awards in 1999. Several months ago we
circulated the first issue of Faculty Notes, which lists the many special awards, presentations
and achievements of our faculty. The list was extensive and demonstrated significant
professional activity across the University. I will note four here: Mark Strand’s Pulitzer Prize;
Bernard Cooper’s and Josip Novakovich’s Guggenheim Fellowships; the Congressional Gold
medal to Terrence Roberts.
In May, following a national search, Barbara Gellman-Danley, Ph.D, became the new
President of The McGregor School. Steve Brzezinski, Interim President for the past two and
one-half years, returned to the post of Academic Dean. A search for the third member of
McGregor’s administrative team, the Chief Financial Officer, is in its final phases.
Given the many changes in our executive leadership last year, we are now
experiencing a sequence of formal investitures. This began with my formal inauguration as
Chancellor at the end of the June Board meeting. In celebration of that occasion, the Trustees
awarded honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degrees to three distinguished individuals:
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., for public service; Congressman Tony P. Hall for his service to
human rights; and Blenda J. Wilson for her contributions to higher education. A number of
representatives from other colleges and universities as well as national associations attended
the celebration. Following the October Board meeting in Los Angeles, we celebrated the
investiture of President Mark Schulman with a gala ceremony and party at the downtown
Biltmore. Earlier, an exciting 7.1 earthquake had heralded the event. Recently Mark
announced the appointment of an Executive Dean for the Los Angeles campus, Chloe Reid.
ntiiich College Antioch New England Graduate School Antioch University Southern California Antioch University Seattle The McGregor School
This year has seen many changes at the University and in the Chancellor’s office. Jane
Garrison, completing many years of service to the President/Chancellor, moved to the College
Office of Development in April as Director of Stewardship and Special Giving. In May, Leslie
Johnson assumed responsibilities as Executive Assistant and Assistant Secretary of the Board of
Trustees, and in August we were fully staffed once again with the addition of Barb Kneipp, our
Staff Assistant.
With a goal to strengthen our preparation for the North Central Association accreditation
process that will begin this year and extend until 2003,1 invited Paul Ewald to join our staff as
Associate to the Chancellor. Paul is responsible for working with the Chancellor in planning,
staffing ULC, academic program review, assessment, and faculty affairs. His background and
experience have already been invaluable in moving us toward new program and accreditation
goals. As a second move, this fall Laurien Alexandre joined the staff as University Dean,
bringing her senior academic dean experience to the service of all the campuses. In this role,
much of her time commitment is to our first university-wide academic program, the Ph.D. in
Leadership and Change. As founding director of that program, she is working with faculty and
administrators from across the university to move it forward.
Laurien and Paul are working with the Academic Deans in the academic program review
process, a key function coordinated through the Chancellor’s office. Like most institutions, a
regular sequence of review, both internal and external, contributes toward mamtaining high
academic expectations and standards. The Academic Deans completed two important and
comprehensive reviews during the past year. The first review was of the McGregor
Individualized Master of Arts program (IMA). This program had come under some public
scrutiny and the President requested a review. The visiting team subsequently made several
recommendations to strengthen the program, which have been implemented. More recently, we
reviewed the management programs at Seattle, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and McGregor. That
report is being prepared.
The further development of the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change received a significant
boost with a major grant from the P-L Foundation to support its final development and initial
implementation. That grant began in July and, together with the appointment of the Director,
brings us to the point of seeking external approvals from the State of Ohio and the North Central
Association. At the February meeting, I will ask the Board to provide enabling authority to begin
recruitment of students for this program, contingent upon State approval. Implementation of this
first university-wide academic program will be a giant step forward for Antioch.
Some other important new academic initiatives were supported as well. The field of
Teacher Education has re-emerged as a high demand area, with significant opportunities for
Antioch to play an enhanced and very appropriate role in educating teachers. After some
years of seeking authorization, Southern California gained State approval under special
legislation to offer the teaching credential. That program adds a new contingent of students at
both the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara campuses. The McGregor School started a Masters
Degree program in Education and a Multi-Subject Teacher Credential, a new offering that is
attracting significant numbers of additional students.
Of all the things we accomplished in 1999, the most far-reaching was the initiation of
the 2000-2005 University Plan. Drawing upon the work of six task forces, some eighty
Antioch faculty and administrators from all campuses gathered in Seattle in February to
participate in the Faculty Conference and subsequent University Strategic Planning Retreat.
From that retreat came drafts of the University Plan. In June, the Board accepted the
University Plan. That Plan is now the driver of Antioch’s strategic plans and annual budgets.
It needs to be read together with the individual campus strategic plans, which will be ready
by this spring.
The ULC continued its work on the University Plan at the ULC Santa Fe retreat in
July, joined by the Academic Deans. At that retreat we developed strategic objectives for
three of the plan’s ten goals: technology, finance, and academic programs. In December we
convened again in New York City to continue work on the plan, dealing with development,
visibility & marketing, and technology.
Much of the ongoing work of University Administration is directed toward campus and
Board advice and support. In 1999, the Administration worked closely with the various Board
committees and with ULC to advance Antioch’s agenda. The Finance Committee reviewed and
approved the University budget for the current fiscal year in June, including all of the campus
budgets and their tuition and fee schedules. The committee also reviewed the audit and acted
upon numerous personnel matters, including awards of tenure, relinquishment of tenure,
executive compensation and retreat rights, and medical benefits programs. The Educational
Affairs Committee continued to monitor the development of the Ph.D. program, received reports
and evaluations of program reviews, and approved the new Teacher Certification Program for
Southern California.
During 1999, the Trusteeship Committee recommended six new members who have
since joined Antioch’s Board of Trustees – Bill Clay, David Epstein, Betty Fuchs, Jessica
Lipnack, Michael Sigman and Tom Kershner. We also said good-bye to two longtime
members, Leo Drey and Karen Mulhauser. At the trustee dinner at me Hall’s home, Leo
surprised us by committing a gift of 10 percent of the College endowment The next evening,
we surprised Leo by naming him the first Trustee Emeritus. The Trusteeship committee will
bring new nominations to the February and June meetings of the Board as we work to
increase the Board’s size and capacity for the work ahead.
With the support of the Facilities Committee, the Board supported a number of important
facilities projects during the year, including the renovation of the Antioch Inn Presidents’ Room
and its renaming as the Bruce McPhaden Conference Room. The College has also upgraded its
telephone switch, providing substantial new capacity for lines to student rooms. This is
especially important as a competitive move. The College, which has by far the greatest
responsibilities for managing buildings and grounds, has completed an inventory of all buildings
under its stewardship. Rental space at Seattle, which had become vacant with the bankruptcy of
The Swallows Nest, has been re-let with good tenants. New England completed a build-out of
vacant space in its building, opening additional needed space for the clinic. The presence of this
clinic greatly increases the available practitioner capacity for our Psy.D. candidates.
The former library in the Fels building has been renovated to house the Kenneth and
Elise Boulding and Paul Smoker collections. Meeting a long-standing commitment by former
Chancellor Guskin, the library provides a collection to support the Peace Studies and Conflict
Resolution Programs. The space is attractive and offers a unique seminar room for advanced
classes, lectures and other special meetings.
We have experienced difficulty in locating suitable expansion space in Southern
California, where the booming economy has dramatically affected the real estate rental
markets. The proposed extension site in South Pasadena did not work out, and the lease
approved by the Board for new and expanded space in Santa Barbara has encountered its
share of problems as well. As of this writing, it appears to be on track. As our only campus
without Antioch owned property, we will need to give close attention to space planning at
this campus.
From time to time the Board of Trustees examines its own processes, and takes a look
at how well it is performing as a board. In February, Pegene McPhaden, Chair of the Ad Hoc
Governance Committee, presented that Committee’s findings and recommendations. Most of
these have been implemented. During the coming year, further self-study may be warranted.
Among other important accomplishments in 1999 were the following: The Investment
Committee developed and the Board approved a new Endowment Investment Policy. At its
June meeting, the Board approved changes in the WYSO By-laws and re-appointed Edward
Humphrys as Chair of the WYSO Resource Board. Again in 1999, WYSO was rated number
one in the Dayton market among non-commercial stations and achieved its best-ever
Arbitron ratings.
The first university-wide retreat of the campus development and public relations
professionals convened in Yellow Springs last February, leading to increased collaboration,
sharing of information and experience among these individuals at our campuses. The event is
now an annual one. The second retreat is being held the first weekend in March 2000 to
consider strategies for campus and university-wide communications with the larger public.
An Antioch Writers’ group was also formed, with faculty representatives from campus
programs to discuss ways to promote Antioch as a Place for Writers. Collaborative efforts
included the creation of an advertisement placed in selected literary journals and four spots
on National Public Radio. A Writers Retreat is being held February 11,2000, to discuss other
opportunities for promoting Antioch including the possibility of creating an Antioch Writers
Institute (non-degree) for which we could seek an external grant.
We have before us considerable challenges and demands. Competition for the best
students, faculty and administrators will intensify. By envisioning our future as a whole, the
five distinct campuses that make up the University will add value and reap benefits beyond
what any one campus might achieve on its own. The University Plan envisions an institution
that is international in its recognition and reputation, superb in service to students, and
generous in its contributions to the larger society – a vision rooted in Antioch’s historic
commitments since its founding in 1852.
Through planning, discipline, and the generous support of its graduates and friends,
Antioch University needs to create or identify fiscal resources that support distinguished
programs of study and attractive teaching and learning environments. We must raise, as well,
an endowment that will provide the resources necessary to support needy students and
sustain our future.
To these ends, the Board’s Development Committee has been hard at work, preparing
for us to focus a good part of our February meeting on the subject of development. Bill
Dietel, president of tiie Pierson-Lovelace Foundation, will be with us to facilitate discussion
on what is involved – the process, timelines, and goal setting – in organizing a potential
campaign of this magnitude. With this leadership, the meeting will be an intense and
exciting engagement, and your participation will be crucial. We face challenging issues at the
turn of the century and we must create opportunities for this great institution in the Twenty-
first Century. I wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you in Seattle.
James W. Hall
Chancellor
