The Blaze http://blazenews.org "There's the bullshit, then there's The Blaze" Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:16:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 en And the Oscar Goes to… http://blazenews.org/47/and-the-oscar-goes-to http://blazenews.org/47/and-the-oscar-goes-to#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:15:33 +0000 Gaël Lumière http://blazenews.org/47/and-the-oscar-goes-to At McGregor’s recent graduation, president Barbara Danley looked at her ten year history through the lens of the awards for best picture and best musical. We submit that President Danley’s presidency more closely follows the infamous Razzie awards for worst picture.

 

Barbara Danley’s Tenure:

The Irreverent, Close-Enough, Razzie Edition

 

1999 - Wild Wild West

  • Barbara Danley begins her presidency at Antioch University McGregor.

2000 - Battlefield Earth

  • Barbara Danley refuses the College’s offer of “collaboration.”

2001 - Freddy Got Fingered

  • Former McGregor Board of Visitors chairman Bruce Bedford assists CFO Glenn Watts in blaming the College budget for the University financial problems of the year

2002 - Swept Away

  • With the assistance of the Board’s Finance Committee, McGregor’s payments to the College are eliminated.
  • The College’s IT department is eliminated; Barbara Danley becomes the Chief Technical Officer.
  • The College’s CFO is eliminated; Glenn Watts takes over management of College’s budget.
  • The University begins to dismantle the College’s Strategic Plan.
  • The President of the Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) joins Barbara Danley’s Board of Visitors (the DDC’s goal is to transform Dayton into a model for support of the defense installations).

2003 - Gigli

  • Toni Murdock leads cost-cutting team that dismantles remainder of College’s strategic plan

2004 - Catwoman

  • Barbara Danley pushes for a separate building to house McGregor.
  • Dan Young, later president of the non-profit that donated the land McGregor is built on, lobbies trustees to build the new building in Yellow Springs; later reports indicate Trustees never approved moving McGregor out of Yellow Springs.
  • Barbara Danley joins Board of Trustees for Dayton Development coalition.

2005 - Dirty Love

  • For McGregor construction, Antioch University partners with development company Miller-Valentine; president William Schneider was a former chairman to Bruce Bedford’s company Flagship Financial.
  • McGregor starts capital campaign while the College’s capital campaign falters; donors to McGregor include trustees & regional partners
  • In line with its grand tradition of co-optation, McGregor uses the concept of “educational village,” developed by the Yellow Springs community, for its new building and business park, regardless of the fact that the concept from community focused around the College. Members of the nonprofit Education Village Inc. that owns the land around McGregor include former CFO Glenn Watts, and Dan Young, currently a McGregor Board of Visitors member.

2006 - Basic Instinct 2

  • In spite of issues and concerns, construction pushes forward on McGregor building;
  • University signs contract with Miller-Valentine for the construction of the new building.

2007 - I Know Who Killed Me

  • The University announces suspension of operations at the College.
  • The University Leadership Council (ULC) develops outline to “reopen” the college without tenure.
  • McGregor moves into new building.

2008 - Not Announced Yet, However, The Blaze Proposes Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

  • The ULC opposes Antioch College Continuation Corporation proposals; Barbara Danley was later quoted in the Yellow Springs News as saying, “We didn’t take sides; we were classy.”
  • The University closes the buildings and suspends operations at McGregor’s parent and former home, the College.
]]> http://blazenews.org/47/and-the-oscar-goes-to/feed Governmental Secrecy http://blazenews.org/44/governmental-secrecy http://blazenews.org/44/governmental-secrecy#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:41:29 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/44/governmental-secrecy
Governmental Secrecy

An investigation into statements by Antioch University officials during crucial times

or

What are they hoping we don’t find?

 

During the most famous downfall of an administration, senators at the Watergate hearings asked “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” In the case of the Antioch University Board of Trustees, the question should be amended to include - “Was the information reliable?” Many have questioned the actions and statements of the Antioch University administration during their public efforts to suspend operations at the College, and yet the Board seems to believe only the information provided to them by the current University administration. Many current documents and reports of the University are not available; however with the benefit of budget documents released last year at The Antioch Papers, we can see differences in statements from prior University officials during a key time in the College’s history: the expense cuts of 2001-02. We can also see that some Trustees at the time may have known that the reports approved by the Board contained information that was inaccurate and misleading-Trustees who are still on the Board today.

What follows is an examination into statements regarding what was called the “non-crisis” that year. There are differences in statements contained in multiple reports to the trustees over time, as well as differences in what was reported to the community vs. what was reported to the trustees. The purpose of this examination is not to question the wisdom nor the necessity of past decisions; rather, it is to look at how these decisions and the precipitating events were presented to the College community and to the Trustees.

In October 2002, University Vice-Chancellor and CFO Glenn Watts gave the year-end final financial statement to the board regarding the University budget for 2001-2002. In his narrative, Watts stated the source of the deficit experienced the prior year, losses on the endowment due partially to the stock market ‘crash’ following 9/11:

“On the one hand, 2001-02 produced the largest accrual deficit ever recorded by the University as a result of major declines in the US stock markets. On the other hand, if the investment losses in the endowment are excluded from operations, the financial performance of the University was considerably better in 2001-02 than it was in the preceding year. Paradoxically, the success that the College has had in increasing the size of the endowment has contributed to the appearance of poor financial performance for University operations. The role of the stock market in 2001-02 cannot be overemphasized.” - Glenn Watts, 10/2002, Budget Report to the Board (emphasis added)

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]]> http://blazenews.org/44/governmental-secrecy/feed Learning Space http://blazenews.org/42/learning-space http://blazenews.org/42/learning-space#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:21:49 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/42/learning-space

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click to Play

The Yellow Springs community voices discomfort if not outright resistance to increased militarization in the Miami Valley and greater Dayton metropolitan area as Antioch University bars student press from covering related events. A student camera operator sought to cover meetings of the being held at Antioch University McGregor, a mere mile or so from the original college campus. In this particular instance, the student was barred from documenting a regional military & commercial development meeting in conjunction with BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure). Other media were present at this event but were not threatened with force, as this student clearly was. Nor were they escorted from the premisis by Glenn Watts and Babara Gelman-Danley, who were apperently responsible for providing security for the event.

]]> http://blazenews.org/42/learning-space/feed Learning Spaces 2 http://blazenews.org/41/learning-spaces-2 http://blazenews.org/41/learning-spaces-2#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:27:53 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/41/learning-spaces-2

A day following Episode I of learning spaces, we rejoin the commmunity to srceen footage of a weekend in March of 2008.

In this program [Episode II] we find Antioch students, staff, faculty, union workers, villagers of Yellow Springs, Ohio and other supporters staged against the backdrop formed by the impoosing facade of the new Antioch University McGregor program known as ‘Campus West’ (a mere mile from the main college campus).

The college community chose to use this location as their platform to express commitment to the undergraduate programs at the main college campus, especiallly when those programs provide the basis for Antioch’s reputation as a leader in insisting on social justice and pedegogical experimentation in liberal arts higher education.

]]> http://blazenews.org/41/learning-spaces-2/feed Closing Antioch College: Cui Bono? http://blazenews.org/30/closing-antioch-college-cui-bono http://blazenews.org/30/closing-antioch-college-cui-bono#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:16:18 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/30/closing-antioch-college-cui-bono Closing Antioch College: Cui Bono?

How Antioch University is cozying-up with developers amidst regional military base realignment

By Laura Fathauer

While the country talks of recession, the Dayton region is preparing for a growth of high-paying, high-tech jobs. Along with this is a growth of construction and infrastructure development, some of which can already be seen around Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the Mall at Fairfield Commons.

Many of the jobs gained will need to be filled locally, and area organizations and educational institutions are already creating cooperative educational efforts to address these workforce needs. Almost all of this growth is related to the missions and contractors that will be moving on or near the base. It seems that nothing in the region is untouched by the results of the US Military’s 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.

Including, quite possibly, a small liberal arts institution in Yellow Springs Ohio, called Antioch College.

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]]> http://blazenews.org/30/closing-antioch-college-cui-bono/feed The Blaze Presents: Antioch in Exile http://blazenews.org/28/the-blaze-presents-antioch-in-exile http://blazenews.org/28/the-blaze-presents-antioch-in-exile#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:20:10 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/?p=28 In the 1800s Yellow Springs was home to the underground railroad; in the 1940s it became a safe haven for Japanese Americans targeted by the US government; in the 1960s its residents hid activists in “transient mode.”

The continuing uncertainty over the future of Antioch College and loss of valuable time for recruitment and planning for an up-and-running college by fall 2008 have led a number of students and faculty to discuss alternative ideas to continue classes past July 2007 to oppose a closing or bridge a possible transition period.

In an attempt to continue the legacy and institutional memory of Antioch College, we, The Blaze, call on the villagers of Yellow Springs to sustain the legacy of their predecessors and unite with faculty, staff and students of The College in beginning the planning for ANTIOCH IN EXILE.

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]]> http://blazenews.org/28/the-blaze-presents-antioch-in-exile/feed Board Meetings: A Primer http://blazenews.org/25/board-meetings-a-primer http://blazenews.org/25/board-meetings-a-primer#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:45:43 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/?p=25 This weekend, the Antioch University Board of Trustees (AU BoT) will be meeting at the Los Angeles branch of Antioch University. In preparation for this meeting, I present some background information on how the Board normally conducts their business.

The Trustees have three full-board meetings each year, in October, February, and June. The October board meeting is traditionally in Yellow Springs, and the two other meetings rotate between the other campuses of Antioch University. The Board meeting runs from Thursday morning to Saturday noon.

Prior to the Board of Trustees meeting, the Antioch University Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, and the presidents of the campuses meet on their own in the same location. This group of Antioch University administrative officials is called the University Leadership Committee, or the ULC. The ULC was established during the “de-centralization” of Antioch University, which created the non-revenue-generating central administration separated from the revenue-generating educational campuses. In the years immediately following decentralization the University was a loose association of the campuses, and the intent of the ULC was to only recommend university-wide policies and procedures to the Board of Trustees for the Trustees’ approval. In recent years as the University’s central administration grew in power, so too did the ULC, and it has transformed from solely a policy-recommending committee to one that sets and approves policy and procedures. In early 2007 the ULC, under the leadership of the Chancellor, created and approved a vision for Antioch College and a plan for its reopening in 2012.

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]]> http://blazenews.org/25/board-meetings-a-primer/feed Our Mission Statement http://blazenews.org/23/our-mission-statement http://blazenews.org/23/our-mission-statement#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:44:40 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/?p=23 Dear Lovely Readers,

The Blaze has now published a mission statement, to give clarity to the role it intends to play in the Antioch College revival movement.

The Mission of The Blaze

We, The Blaze, are dedicated to providing information relevant to the Antioch College revival movement, while remaining independent of the factions involved.

The Blaze will continue to provide information that will be useful to those perusing a “Non-Stop Antioch” and welcomes contact, questions, or comments at theblazecollective@blazenews.org.

Armed and Dangerous,

The Blaze Editorial Collective

]]> http://blazenews.org/23/our-mission-statement/feed The Blaze, Now With PDFs http://blazenews.org/19/the-blaze-now-with-pdfs http://blazenews.org/19/the-blaze-now-with-pdfs#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:36:06 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/?p=19 Dear Dedicated Readers,

Many of the articles appearing on blazenews.org were originally published on 11 x 17 sheets of paper and distributed around the Antioch College campus. Now blazenews.org supplies you with the PDFs of the printed form you can check them out by clicking here, or going to the ”Pages” on the right side of the page and clicking “The Products of Dedicated Flames (PDFs).”

Armed and Dangerous,

The Blaze Editorial Collective

]]> http://blazenews.org/19/the-blaze-now-with-pdfs/feed The Blaze Presents the Wonder of Audio http://blazenews.org/16/the-blaze-presents-the-wonder-of-audio http://blazenews.org/16/the-blaze-presents-the-wonder-of-audio#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:32:25 +0000 theblaze http://blazenews.org/?p=16 Old Radio

Dear Comrades,

The Blaze Editorial Collective is proud to present a new collection of high quality MP3 recordings, now here for your listening convenience. You can also get to the audio files by going onto our main page and clicking the link on the right that says “Listen to the Roar of the Fire.”

Right now we have both the January 26th Community Meeting with the AC3, and the January 26th AdCil with the AC3 online in MP3 format. We Hope you enjoy the sweet sounds of community governance.

Armed and Dangerous,

The Blaze Editorial Collective

P.S. The Blaze Editorial Collective humbly asks anyone who has the time to make an effort to transcribe these audio files, we are woefully understaffed, and therefore would have trouble doing it ourselves. Anyone who does transcribe recordings will be given credit, and a lot of thank yous. Even if you are only able to transcribe part of it, just give us the time stamps for where you began and ended, and we will find somebody to finish the rest. Send transcriptions to listen@blazenews.org.

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