[Alumni-chat] posturing

[Matthew Arnold]

Right. And it seems unlikely that the board would (or easily could) just sell the College to Young's or Cedarville or whomever shows up with $12.2 mil in cash. Given the environment for financing, I'm not all that sure anybody else would want it. They're just trying to turn up the pressure and scare the ACCC into plunking down most of its available funds for a College that would, by this point, be inoperable for the 2008-2009 school year while they got the accreditation stuff straightened out. 

So the school would be suspended. Instead of putting money towards necessary repairs to the physical plant, building a strong development office, etc., they'd be scrambling to raise funds to cover cost of operations. The College would lose its student body (and the small but precious tuition income thereof) and some faculty and staff -- even assuming, as I would, that they'd still be paid. In terms of a media narrative -- cultivation of which is vital to recruitment, particularly for a school that's gotten as much bad ink as Antioch -- instead of a miracle survival story, you'd have a campus in suspended animation. B-roll of tumbleweeds rolling across Main Lawn. Could the corporation raise the needed funds to keep it going into the next year, absent students? Would students show up in the fall? Would a critical mass of faculty and staff stick around to ensure continuity of the Antioch community? Tune in next year! Or, y'know, don't. 

And these things build on each other. Uncertainty hurts fundraising. Weak fundraising hurts recruitment and retention. All of that gets you more bad press which hits you on both fronts. Just ask my state's junior senator. 

So as far as I can tell, the ACCC is saying: Hey, you blew our deadlines. The deal is no good anymore. So how about we buy the University instead? 

----- Original Message ----
From: Laura Fathauer <pas0705 at yahoo.com>
To: Alumni Chat List <alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 4:28:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Alumni-chat] posturing

I think the biggest issue is of accreditation of a free standing institution..
the ACCC stated that through consultation with experts they came up with
timeframes of when stuff had to be done by...you would be talking about getting
accreditation for an institution in less then three months... at this point the
accreditation would require the assistance of the University to lobby for the
college to successfully have it happen, instead of the roadblocking they've
been doing for nine months.

-l


--- Pamela Olsen <theodora at imbris.com> wrote:

> I, for one, am becoming increasingly cynical here.  I am trying very  
> hard to believe that the ACCC is operating in good faith.  BUt if  
> they have 10 million to offer to buy 10 seats on the board, then why  
> aren't they offering the 10 million to buy the college, instead of  
> only 6...pay the rest later?
> 
> I think we should just find a way to come up with the 12.2 and get  
> rid of the board.  Jeesh.   Joe Blow can come along now and buy the  
> college and make it whatever they want to make it.  That makes a  
> whole lot of sense.
> 
> 
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> Alumni-chat mailing list
> Alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu
> http://w3.antioch.edu/mailman/listinfo/alumni-chat
> Visit http://www.Antioch-College.edu today!
> 



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