Antioch has been part of my life and my family’s life for nearly sixty years. I am a graduate of Antioch College, as is my sister. I co-founded Antioch College/West, which included Antioch Los Angeles and Antioch Seattle (with my sister-in-law and brother’s help as well). Later, I had the privilege of serving for nine years on the Antioch University Board of Governors.
For me, Antioch is not simply an institution with which I have been affiliated. It is part of my family’s history and my own life’s work. We are committed to Antioch, its mission, its values, and, at critical moments, its survival.
I was serving on the Board when Antioch considered establishing the Coalition for the Common Good. I was there, I participated in those discussions, and I voted to create it.
I voted yes because the vision presented to us was both compelling and clear: independent universities of like mind, mission, and values would come together as equal partners, strengthened by collaboration and shared resources, while each retained its identity, its governing authority, and its voice. That distinction mattered. It was fundamental to my vote.
I did not vote for a merger. I did not vote for an acquisition. I did not vote to surrender Antioch’s independence, diminish the authority of its Board of Governors, or permit another institution to exercise control over Antioch. Had that been the proposition before us, I would not have voted for it.
The Coalition was created to make Antioch stronger, not subordinate; to expand what Antioch could accomplish, not diminish what Antioch controls; and to secure Antioch’s future, not surrender it. So let me be unequivocal: Antioch must remain independent. Antioch must continue to be governed by its own Board. And Antioch must retain control over its own mission, assets, identity, and future.
Antioch is not an asset to be absorbed. It is not a subordinate institution to be controlled. And its voice must never be silenced within a Coalition it helped create. Those of us who supported the Coalition did so because we believed the promise that collaboration could strengthen independent institutions without extinguishing their independence. That promise must be honored.
I believe this is a moment when those of us who know what Antioch is—and what the Coalition was intended to be—must speak clearly. Antioch established the Coalition. Antioch did not establish it to surrender itself to it. I therefore join the many voices asserting a simple, fundamental, and non-negotiable principle: Antioch must remain Antioch.
Lance Dublin ’73