Antioch Univeristy And Alumni Reach Deal To Reopen College YELLOW SPRINGS, OH (WYSO) - The boards of Antioch University and the Antioch College alumni group have reached an agreement on the future of Antioch College. They are going ahead with plans to open a newly independent institution in Yellow Springs.

The University is selling the college to the alumni group for just over six million dollars. This includes the college campus, their endowments, Glen Helen Nature Preserve, and the Antioch Review. But there are still a couple of things they need to work out to make the transfer a reality. Certain groups, like state agencies and bond holders, have to review and approve the agreement first. Once those conditions have been met, the transfer will take place. At a conference call with members of both boards, the mood was upbeat and optimistic.

"I think it's an exciting opportunity. We've got a blank slate for a new college," says Lee Morgan, the chair of the alumni board.

The alumni group says that it may take two years before it's ready to accept new students. Matthew Derr participated in the negotiations. He says he looks forward to the process of defining what a new Antioch College will look like.

"There are aspects that will be very familiar. The traditions and values of the college, the relationship between study, work and the community will be very familiar. But the structure and the concept of the education could be radically different," says Derr.

The challenge now rests with the college to raise the funding needed. Derr says they will relying on alumni support to reopen the college. Longtime Yellow Springs Resident, Robert Baldwin, Jr., feels certain that they will come through.

"Whether they were for a week or seven years, it [Antioch] made a great impact on their life, and they're never going to forget it," says Baldwin.

The target date for the completion of the transfer is August 31st.
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