[Alumni-chat] For immediate release-- action items from today's community meeting

[Tim Noble]

some formatting has been lost, but this is the result of the most
incredible and productive event in recent antioch college history.
Today hundreds of community members gathered to develop plans and
organize to save antioch college.


ACTION ITEMS FROM COMMUNITY MEETING
June 23, 2007
This document is the result of a community process facilitated by
Antioch College Community Government, past and present.  The role of
Community Government is and has been to facilitate communication and
collaborative decision-making with staff, students, faculty, and
alumni to make Antioch College reflective of its community.
Today, Antioch College students, alumni, faculty and members of the
Yellow Springs community came together to form plans to rescue Antioch
College from immediate suspension of operations. This is a working
document, and does not represent foreclosure on further discussion,
generation of options, or action.
	We would like to add that it was our education at Antioch College and
our experience with shared governance that made this process possible.
	As community members, we invoke the spirit of Horace Mann when we
say, "Be ashamed to let it die!"
	
FINANCE
Overall goal: Create a work group of alumni board with Antioch College
development office members.

Fundraising internally with alumni
1. Everyone should write a check NOW to the College Revival Fund (CRF)
2. Call all your friends and family NOW and ask them to write a check
to the College Revival Fund
3. Create email mailing list with info and a way to pledge money to
distribute a packet including a pledge card, case statement, statement
from CRF, and goal of fundraising campaign, 1-2 articles about college
revival
4. Create volunteer committee for phoning and mailing alums

Trustworthy utilization of money
1. Create a sustainable business model
2. Let donors earmark money for specific purposes
3. Clarify if the money is going to the operating budget or to the endowment
4. If donors feel uncomfortable giving cash at this time they should
consider pledges
5. Clarify the relationship to the University
6. Transparent accounting

External Fundraising
1. Conference call within 1 week of interested participants
2. Development of email list
3. Mapping of history and relationships
4. Low-hanging fruit strategy






GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL

Participatory Government and Representation

1. The erosion of shared governance has set the stage for our current situation.
2. Suspension of Antioch College operations would compromise the
powerful tradition of participatory governance for which the college
and community are so well known.
3. Any action to maintain operations and revitalize the college must
actively include the broader Antioch Community (students, staff,
faculty and alumni) and its structure of shared governance:  Community
Government, Comcil, Adcil, Faculty Senate, Union, etc.
4. The revitalization of Antioch College rests on an affirmation and
strengthening of our culture and practice of direct participation in
decision-making processes.

Legal Action that can or should be taken
1. Identify Antiochians willing to be part of a legal team and/or
willing to provide pro-bono legal support
2. Define the specifics of college autonomy; what would be
relationship and oversight between proposed board of governors and
college trustees?
3. Pursue proposed merger with McGregor so that local adult education
would benefit the College
4. Investigate conditions of subsidy from Antioch University: how
much?  How long? Conditions of subsidies?
5. Legal action is not being taken for compensation, but with the
purpose of keeping Antioch College open.

Legal University Relationship to college
Mission: we need to maintain the heart and values of Antioch College
which has as its locus and can only have its locus on the campus here
in Yellow Springs.
1. Must create an autonomous board with the understanding that the
relationship to the university remains to be defined
2. Invite a current board member to participate on the new board
3. Campus needs to be a combination of the college and McGregor with
the idea that all are members of the community and we are defined as a
single entity
4. Create an Antioch college with a McGregor school as an adult
education wing of the college
5. Define current situation as a reduced level of operation, and the
level increases as funding increases
6. Maintain physical plant and declare moratorium on property
development and speculation






COMMUNITY CULTURE AND  COMMUNICATIONS

Communicating effectively with each other
1. Antiochians.org is live – develop as central communications portal
for Antiochians
2. Create communications task force to coordinate and advise community
members in performing essential communications functions to support
the College revival effort
3. Establish local or regional alumni chapters where there are none
and strengthening those that already exist
4. Establish a conduit for communications from Campus
5. Process/Edit/Disseminate information to/from Antiochians and other groups

History
1. Create narrative history of how Antioch got into position its in now
2. Attach narrative to web site where people have access to history
with FAQ and possible wiki
3. Creation of writers group for people who are interested in helping
college and whose primary skills are in writing

Supporting Yellow Springs, faculty, and students
1. Write letter the editor of YS News
2. Hold town meeting within 2 weeks
3. Hold next meeting of this group on Wednesday June 27, 2007 at 7pm
at Coretta Scott King Center
4. Put pressure on the University to hold itself accountable to the
village of YS and its economic stability
5. Create positive community spirit to spread via signage, slogans, a
web site, and more community held events
6. (Long-term) involve YS residents in campus activities and open
campus facilities (art building gym, theater, library, King Center,
photo house) to the greater YS community
7. Hold a welcome-back festival for returning students in the fall of '07

Communicating Effectively with Media
1. Create a value statement
a. dynamic slogan
b. media talking points
c. framing the message
2. Producing media
a. website
b. video/photo documentation of this process
c. visual media
3. General PR strategy
a. create press release
b. Nominate spokespeople
c. disseminate to local and national news outlets

-- Community Government on behalf of the Antioch College community