Statements and Letters

Statement of Regret on Suspension of the Undergraduate College of Antioch University

June 2007

It is with sincere sadness and regret that I received the news this week that the board of directors of Antioch College had suspended the operations of the undergraduate college in Yellow Springs. I know this was a wrenching decision for the board of directors to make. It is a huge loss, not just for Antioch University, but for higher education. I am profoundly grieved that such a landmark institution in American higher education will cease operations at the end of the next academic year.

Throughout its long history, Antioch College has provided a unique and valuable form of education to many generations of distinguished graduates and public leaders. In this century, Antioch’s leadership for the power and value of experiential learning has been widely influential and increasingly emulated.

I had the distinct pleasure and honor to serve on the Renewal Commission for the College appointed three years ago by Antioch University’s Board of Directors to chart a next era of educational leadership for community-based liberal education. The vision developed by the Commission remains compelling and I hope Antioch can find ways to build upon it.

While genuinely sorry that this action was necessary, I am heartened that Antioch College’s longstanding commitment to equity and social justice will live on in its continuing commitment to its regional campuses, all of which serve diverse and non-traditional students and carry forward Antioch’s pioneering commitment to integrate liberal education with real-world learning.

Carol Geary Schneider
President
AAC&U