Antioch University
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| Antioch University | |
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| Established: | 1978 [1] |
| Type: | Private university system |
| Chancellor: | Tullisse A. Murdock |
| Location: | Yellow Springs, Ohio, USA |
| Website: | www.antioch.edu/ |
Antioch University is a six-campus American university with campuses in four states. An outgrowth of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, each of Antioch's campuses has its own distinct academic programs, community life, and regional identity. It is founded on principles of rigorous liberal arts education, innovative experiential learning and socially engaged citizenship. See "Campuses" below.
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[edit] Background
Antioch College is the result of American educator Horace Mann's dream to establish a college comparable to Harvard but with some notable differences. This college was to be completely non-sectarian and co-educational, and with a curriculum that would not only include the traditional treatment of the classics, but would emphasize science and the scientific method, history and modern literature. Students would not compete for grades, but would be encouraged to pursue issues of interest to them, read what they consider worthwhile, and present papers on topics of their own choosing. Founded in 1852 as Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Horace Mann became the first president in 1853.[2]
From its inception, racial and sexual equality, independent study and independent thinking were integral parts of Antioch College. Six students were accepted for the first quarter: four men and two women who came to share the same college classrooms for the first time in the U.S. The notion of sexual equality extended also to the faculty. Antioch was the first U.S. college to designate a woman as full professor, and the original faculty included seven men and two women. Then, in 1863, the college instituted the policy that no applicant was to be rejected on the basis of race.
Antioch College has always attracted faculty who were concerned with innovations in education. In the early 1850s, Rebecca Pennell offered a course on teaching methods which was the first of its kind, while John Burns Weston, class of 1857, established a long-standing precedent by being both student and faculty simultaneously. He taught Greek language and literature for 20 years and remained a lifelong student.
While Antioch College has never diverged from the philosophy of Horace Mann, the present form of an Antioch education traces its roots to the election of Arthur Morgan as President of the college in 1920. Morgan, like Mann, believed in the development of the individual as a whole. Having seen the difficulty encountered by ivory-tower academicians attempting to participate in the business world, he resolved to change the cloistered educational experience by providing students with work experience in their field. This was the beginning of Antioch's unique program of work and study.
Morgan initiated the practice of student government. He also changed the nature of the admissions procedure. Rather than relying on entrance examinations, Morgan opted for more personal information on prospective students. In addition, senior exams were graded "honors" or "pass" and students who failed could retake the exam. Morgan remained at Antioch until 1933, when President Roosevelt requested that he assume directorship of the Tennessee Valley Authority Project.
[edit] 1960s Antioch College Expansion
In the early 1960's, Antioch College extended its curriculum to students in new settings, by taking over the Putney School of Education in Vermont (now Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire). During the next decade, other adult learning programs were instituted: among them, Antioch Seattle; Antioch Southern California with campuses in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara; and the Antioch Education Abroad Program (with centers in London, Germany and other locations).
In 1975, Juarez-Lincoln University in Austin, Texas became an affiliate of Antioch, through the Antioch Graduate School of Education. Antioch withdrew its support in 1979, however, at which point Juarez-Lincoln closed. [3]
In 1978, Antioch College became a University system. From 1978-1994 the President of Antioch College also served as the Chancellor of Antioch University. [4]
[edit] Campuses
On June 9, 2007, Antioch University’s Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations on July 1, 2008 of Antioch College, the university’s undergraduate residential program in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with the intention of reopening the campus in 2012.
The announcement was protested by the college's faculty, staff, alumni, and students, and the order of suspension was lifted on December 11, 2007 in an effort to negotiate with the Antioch College Alumni Board, who began an earnest fundraising and activist campaign to ensure "uninterrupted continuation of services" and retention of faculty and staff. After months of volatile negotiations, the University and the Antioch College Continuation Corp., or AC3, could not come to an agreement when the AC3 gave their best offer of $6.2 million at closing, with another $6 million to be paid to the University over five years. The University has stated that any group willing to pay $12.2 million at closing may step up in a bid for the College, which would be released from the University structure to operate as a separate entity. [5]
- Antioch University Los Angeles, California
AUM currently enrolls more than 900 students, with 76% in the graduate programs and 24% in the undergraduate programs. The average student age is 39, with approximately 3/4 enrollees being female. [6] In 2007, AUM received a Diversity Award from Minority Access, Inc. for their commitment to "inclusion of diverse perspectives" throughout the curriculum, and a 30% minority representation in the student body. [7] AUM offers Bachelor's degrees in Humanities (The World Classics Program), Management, Human Development, Liberal Arts, Health and Wellness, and Human Service Administration through an academically intensive cohort model of on-campus classes offered in the evenings and on Saturdays. AUM also offers the M.A. in Conflict Analysis and Management, Management, Community Change and Civic Leadership, as well as a number of M.Ed. programs and endorsements certified by NCATE. The M.A. in Individualized Liberal and Professional Studies provides a self-designed major where students work with Antioch University faculty as well as specialized academic professionals who agree to mentor the student through their studies. Many of the graduate programs are available with limited residency in an on-line format.
Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire. According to the Antioch University New England website the average age of the students there is 36. "Women comprise 73% of the student body. About 70% of our students are New Englanders who commute from as far away as Portland, Maine, southern Connecticut, and western New York State. The remaining 30% have relocated to Keene from across the United States and from as far away as China, Africa, and the Middle East."
- Antioch University Santa Barbara, California
The Santa Barbara campus has grown from a handful of students in 1977 to a current enrollment of over 270. Antioch University Santa Barbara serves adult students; the average student's age is 36. It offers seven degree programs: a B.A. in Liberal Studies, an M.A. in Clinical Psychology, the MA in Psychology - Individualized Concentration, a PsyD, an M.A. in Organizational Management, which trains leaders in business, government and service organizations, a Teacher Credential program with an M.A. in Education, and an MAEx.
- Antioch University Seattle, Washington
Antioch University Seattle, founded in 1975, offers master's degrees, a B.A. completion program and a Doctor of Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.). Between 800 and 1000 students attend Antioch, with an average age of 35. The School of Applied Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy is the largest and longest running program with close to 3,000 graduates since 1976. The School offers master's degrees in mental health counseling, integrative studies, child, couple and family therapy and art therapy in addition to the Psy.D. program. The Center for Programs in Education offers teacher preparation at both the undergraduate and graduate level, plus a master's in education for experienced educators. The Center for Creative Change features a low-residency, interdisciplinary approach to learning and offers master's degrees in environment and community, management, organizational psychology, strategic communications and whole systems design. The B.A. in Liberal Studies program attracts students who like an individualized approach to completing their undergraduate degree. Students can receive credit for life experience and may pursue subjects of particular interest to them.
[edit] Notable alumni
- See also Antioch College Alumni
- Canyon Adams, writer
- Marcia Cross, actress
- José Ramos-Horta, East Timorese president, and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1996)
- Stephen Jay Gould, famous Evolutionary Biologist, author, and Harvard professor
- Coretta Scott King, Civil Rights activist, author, singer; wife of Dr. Martin Luther King
- Winona LaDuke, Native American activist, author
[edit] References
- ^ http://antiochiana.antioch.edu/PresidentsList.htm
- ^ http://antiochiana.antioch.edu/PresidentsList.htm
- ^ TSHA Online - Texas State Historical Association
- ^ http://antiochiana.edu/PresidentsList.htm
- ^ http://www.daytondailynews.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Saving_Antioch.html
- ^ http://www.mcgregor.edu/about/data/enrollment.html
- ^ http://www.mcgregor.edu/about/news/award.html
[edit] External links
- Antioch College website
- Antioch College alumni website
- Antioch University McGregor website
- Integral Knowledge Systems at Antioch University McGregor website
- Antioch University Seattle website
- Antioch University New England website
- Antioch University Los Angeles website
- Antioch University Santa Barbara website
- website for The Bridge Program - educational outreach through Antioch University Los Angeles
- Antioch College to stay open
