Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we continue our efforts to Keep Antioch University Antioch, I want to thank all who have supported Antioch’s governance, autonomy, and institutional interests as we endeavor to stop the outrageous attempted hostile takeover of our institution. We especially appreciate the notes you have sent asking how you can help. I want to also recognize that some members of our community may still be confused about what is going on, so I encourage everyone to review the source documents now posted on the Antioch Forward site.
As you continue to do your own due diligence in learning more about how the CCG came about and what the facts are, the same Antioch Forward site has been significantly expanded to address the questions and comments we have received. You will find a new section in the FAQ titled Antioch Governance Myths & Facts that clears up many of the misleading narratives being pushed by CCG leadership. If you are curious how this conflict has been covered in the press, you can access a list of published articles.
I also invite you to explore the much-expanded Letters and Documents section, which contains letters from several of the CCG founders, as well as letters of concern from faculty and alumni. This section also includes the CCG’s founding documents and our court filing, so you can see for yourself the clear and specific foundational language Antioch’s leaders were careful to include to protect our institutional interests—interests that have been flagrantly disregarded by CCG leadership.
Few letters capture both the beauty and promise of the Coalition for the Common Good’s founding vision—and the stunning, bitter betrayal of the commitments and covenants made at that time—as powerfully as the letter written by former Antioch Board of Governors member Bill Plater. Bill was one of the key visionaries behind the CCG—he came up with the phrase that it should be a “Justice League” of universities. His letter captures both the degree to which CCG leadership has abandoned the CCG’s founding vision, and the stakes for Antioch University.
The next key date in our legal case against CCG is this coming Monday, when the Greene County, Ohio, Common Pleas Court holds a hearing to decide whether to turn its temporary restraining order into a longer term preliminary injunction. We believe the requested relief is well supported, but cannot predict the outcome of the hearing. We will provide an update after the Court issues a decision.
I want to invite you to make your voice heard. I was heartened to see a very Antiochian banner at the New England Convocation yesterday:
What a joyous and inspiring image. If you’re able to get together with colleagues and friends to show your Antioch pride and resolve in person, that’s wonderful.
There are also other ways to get involved. An alum has started a petition on change.org, and you can add your name there, and circulate the petition within your networks. We now have a designated space for Faculty and Alumni letters on the Antioch Forward site. I am so grateful to those in our community who have added their voices there. If you would like to write a letter of support, please email it to [email protected]. Our communication team will work with authors who wish to have their letter published on the site. (We will add a section for staff letters as we receive them.) Participation in any of these activities is entirely voluntary. They are mentioned in this letter since many of you have written asking how you can get involved.
On that note, I end with a word of thanks for doing what you feel is best to Keep Antioch University Antioch. That includes the carrying on of all the important everyday work of our university, in times that are stressful and uncertain. I would never choose to be in a conflict like this, but I can’t imagine a better group of people to stand shoulder to shoulder with.
Sincerely,
Lori Varlotta, PhD
President, Antioch University