[Alumni-chat] A Case for Closing

[christian stuempfig]

fuuny how episcopalians are thought to be conservative

"jnljnl (jimlowe at mac.com)" <alumni-chat_forum at antiochians.org> wrote:  I have been both grieving the closing of Antioch College and following the discussions on the forum and the chat with a pained intensity. Reluctantly I am choosing to put before you the contrarian’s position of a middle-of-the road (conservative by the standard of the posted dialogue) alumnus who is entirely supportive of the decision to close the college at this time.

I do not claim to know or judge the details of the present situation. I will tell some personal stories about my experiences over time with the college. I came to Antioch as a scholarship student from a small town in Oregon. It was a wonderful experience. I learned two important lessons. I it was OK to be smart and there were a lot of students that were smarter than I was. (In the 1959 graduating class, six of us were NSF fellows and six of us were Woodrow Wilson fellows.)

For those of you who may wish to investigate, I should note that I was interviewed and rejected for a faculty position during the winter of 1966. The following is an excerpt from a message that I sent to Bob Devine and to a few classmates shortly after the closing of the college was announced. (I expressed an appreciation of Bob’s efforts to maintain the dialogue in a time of stress.)

"I am speaking as a middle-of-the-road (conservative by Antioch
standards) alumnus who mourns Antioch's decline more than its
passing. I was there during the college's golden age - the late
1950s (Class of 1959.) I and more than a third of my classmates (well
more in the sciences) went on to teach in colleges and universities.
When I interviewed for a position in 1966, my youngest brother and
most of his classmates were seemed deeply depressed at first-year
students were too much on their own. Dick Yalman, a favorite teacher
and mentor felt isolated in opposition to some of the college's
riskier experimental programs. When I discussed a salary with the
provost(?), it was far more than I was earning at Sewanee or had
earned at Smith. Fortunately for me, the students on Adcil thought I
was far too conservative (teaching at an Episcopal school) and far too
professional to teach there. I think that the demise of the college
was initiated by the expansionary policies of the Dixon presidency.
All else - often done badly - may be a Greek tragedy."

Fast forward 
 . I was greatly distressed when two of my teachers at Antioch, both tenured - one in chemistry and one in mathematics, were dismissed for financial reasons in the late 70s. Earlier in my teaching career at Sewanee, our faculty had urged our administration to set the goal of having salaries reach the median of a select group of twenty liberal arts colleges. At that time, Antioch was high on that list. It plunged to the bottom of the list and then dropped out altogether.

I would like to think that Antioch College did - and can again - play an important role in American education. I do not believe that the school has the resources or the support to do so at this time. Furthermore, I believe that effort to do so now will only drain resources needed for the reemergence of a strong and vital Antioch College.


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