YELLOW SPRINGS Ohio
Antioch College board members postponed a decision Saturday on whether to reverse their decision to temporarily close the college, telling about 200 alumni, faculty and students that they’ll continue debating for several more days.
“We are dealing with very complex, long-standing matters of critical importance and we simply need more time to deliberate” said Art Zucker, the chairman of the board of trustees.
The private liberal arts college announced in June that because of declining enrollments, heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment, the college would close after the spring term, reorganize and reopen in 2012.
On Thursday, alumni formally asked the trustees to reverse the decision, saying they had raised $18 million primarily in pledges to keep the school going.
Since then, the two groups have been meeting behind closed doors hashing out and debating the alumni proposal.
A decision was expected Saturday, but instead Zucker and Nancy Crow, a board member and alumni board president, told those gathered at a community center that discussions among trustees could continue into next week, with some board members possibly voting by telephone.
