[Alumni-chat] 2 Million in 10 Days, WHY?

[Sistersara at aol.com]

Just a few slightly more positive spins on this clear statement of  the 
situation -- from Sistersara
 
In a message dated 11/4/2007 12:13:13 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
dlbahr at hotmail.com writes:

We are  told that a "historic moment" has come for Antioch College and that a 
new  collaboration is being forged between the Alumni Board, the BoT, the  
Chancellor and other key stakeholders.  Agreements in Principle between  AU BoT 
and Antioch College Alumni Board have been proposed in a final document  dated 
November 2, 2007.

The document states that a "temporary  restricted account will be set up."  
Where? Will this account be part of  "the Antioch University Merrill Lynch 
account that is used for non-endowed  investments?"

1)  Why does AU need 2 Million dollars within 10  days?
2)  Will this "temporary restricted account" be set-up within 10  days?

I suspect this is lawyer inspired "good faith" language.  They  want to know 
if they are dealing with real Benjamin's.  So long as the  Alumni Board is 
totally transparent regarding how and when the funds are  transferred, precisely 
to what account, and has some sort of co-sign authority  about any funds 
removed from that account -- I see no problem.  I would  have preferred that the 
Alumni Board had created for itself a Foundation with  the sole beneficiary 
being the college, and able to accrue interest on funds for  that Foundation -- 
but as things stand as long as the details are publicly  posted, I don't see a 
problem.  


By  December 15th, 2007 a total of 6.6 Million dollars is to be paid by the  
Antioch Alumni Board to Antioch University to be used "solely" for Antioch  
College.  

According to the Agreement in principle the 6.6 Million  among other things 
would be used for "repayment of obligations to the  University."

My chief question:  Why can't the University wait for  its repayment of 
obligations until Antioch College regains its strength?   What is the rush?  What 
does Antioch College owe Antioch  University?  
Not a whole lot in my opinion -- but the point of this exercise is  a 
reasonably independent College in the future.  With the University  extracting it's 
"good faith" pound of flesh, at least one result may be that  when formed, the 
College Board will control the existent Endowment, plus many  other assets yet 
to be negotiated.  The key is to make very clear that the  Alumni Board is 
keeping their part of the bargain in good faith -- and that the  details are 
public and as transparent as putting an image of the cashier's  checks on line.  
If one side in this puts the details out in the public  arena, then the BoT 
will have to do likewise.  We all know that when  sunlight shines on 
transactions they tend to be a little more clean.  



I scratch my head in wonder at the twist and turns of this  enterprise.  
What concrete autonomy has been established for Antioch  College?  Alumni 
deserve accountability for the funds they are raising in  the name of their Alma 
Mater. 

Lesley A. Pownall  Bahr
Minnesota


At some point, I hope the Alumni Board will provide a full  narrative of the 
negotiations and once the Faculty Law Suit is ended --  hopefully with a 
public settlement -- we will also have a chance to see the full  horrors of the 
"books" as some of the Alumni Board were able to see  them.   As some may 
remember, they were promised before the Cincinnati  Meeting, but not provided because 
of the Suit.  We are told it is very bad  -- we don't know how bad.  
 
Listening to the campus meeting, I was concerned how many  participants 
seemed to still be wedded to fairly narrow and old disputes -- not  understanding 
that Saving the College and rebuilding is not about keeping  anything as it is 
or was.  I keep thinking about that poor guy who was  probably prepped for his 
lethal injection last week, and who got a stay of  execution half an hour 
before his date with the chemicals.  That's where we  were, and now we have a 
stay.  Good use needs to be made of the time.  
 
We need to push the plan.  First -- we have rights to get a  College Board of 
Trustees.  Let's move that carefully but with a sense of  purpose.  Clearly, 
the powers of an AC-BoT are critical.  Among other  things, control of hiring 
of Faculty and Faculty Contract decisions ought to be  one of them, the 
control of curriculum ought to be another, and hiring of any  College President and 
his/her job description quite another.  Appointment  of a College Financial 
Manager ought to be another AC-BoT responsibility.   We will be in a much 
stronger position once this College BoT is established, and  can combine with the 
Alumni Board to do the necessary planning and  fund-raising.  
 
We will be even stronger once we have a BoT that can do a search  for a high 
powered President who can lead the institutional  reconstruction.  The word 
needs to go out in the networks where such are  found -- Reconstruct the College 
that Horace Mann Founded -- the College that  once was in the top five of 
small, experimental independent Colleges.   There are folk out there who know how 
to do that job -- have the connections to  help lay the financial base, and 
have the drive and ego to get it done.  We  need to offer initially, a 
relatively low salary with few benefits,  but for success -- (we are a poor, failed, 
institution, after all),  incentives.  No more up front financial incentives, 
and absolutely no more  secret golden parachutes.  
 
I think the Alumni Board has its hands full with the fund raising  
requirements right now, but I have another job for them.  I think they need  to organize 
a conference of Antiochians in the Academic World, by discipline, to  meet, 
confer, and write working papers on the future curriculum for the  
reconstructed college.  This ought to be a mix of mid-career and senior  Antiochians -- 
but with a leavening of those with something of a futuristic and  prophetic 
bent, who can give hard nosed advice as to how to structure both  faculty and a 
future curriculum in a small Progressive Liberal Arts  College.  Along with them 
-- people who are not academics, but are  professionals working in their 
fields.   It isn't as if such  recommendations need to be precisely followed, but 
it would be nice to have  written guidance from those who understand the 
Antioch past -- as students --  but who are well experienced, and positioned to 
look at the future in academic  terms.  
 
Well -- I have always been a night owl -- but the top story on NPR  this 
Morning is that Antioch will maybe stay open, if the alumni can raise the  money.  
Better than the last NPR story!!!  It even beat the  declaration of Marshall 
law in Pakistan.  
 
 
 
 



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com