College hits the road in good company

Antioch College Joins Midwest Tour of Colleges that Change Lives

A year after it negotiated for its independence, Antioch College is again recruiting students as part of the Midwest Tour of Colleges That Change Lives, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process.

The information sessions and college fairs of Colleges That Change Lives is traveling to cities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota and Missouri through September 16.

“We are excited to again be able to speak to young people and their families about the opportunity to apply for admission to Antioch College,” said Kristen Louise Pett, who is leading the college’s enrollment effort as a special assistant to Interim President Matthew A. Derr.

The 40 colleges on the Midwest Tour – including Earlham College, Evergreen State College, Hampshire College, the College of Wooster and Antioch College, among others – were featured in the book Colleges That Change Lives, written by Loren Pope, former education editor at The New York Times.

“There is no college or university in the country that makes a more profound difference in a young person’s life, or that creates more effective adults,” Pope wrote of Antioch College. “None of the Ivies, big or small, can match Antioch’s ability to produce outstanding thinkers and doers.”

“Loren Pope was a strong believer in the philosophy of Antioch College and we are delighted to have Antioch College back in the CTCL fold for the Midwest program,” said Marty O’Connell, CTCL executive director.

Founded in 1850 as an undergraduate, residential college, Antioch College was among the first co-educational and fully integrated institutions of higher education in the United States. The College pioneered cooperative education, which requires students to complete periods of full-time work as part of their studies, and shared governance, which includes students and faculty in the governance of the institution. It is the alma mater to Nobel Laureates, MacArthur “Genius” Award winners, and leaders in business and civic life. Examples include Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton ’60; Nobel Prize winner Mario Capecchi ’61; and U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. John P. DeJongh Jr. ’81.

Upon hearing in 2007 that Antioch University would close their alma mater, the alumni of Antioch College mobilized and negotiated to purchase their historic campus, the 1,000-acre Glen Helen nature preserve and the Antioch Review literary magazine. Antioch College's emergence as an independent institution is unprecedented in higher education.

The first class of the independent Antioch College will enter in the fall of 2011. The College is undergoing a multi-phased accreditation process with the goal of achieving accreditation that will apply to the first graduating class. The College is also in discussions with accredited colleges and universities to create a partnership arrangement allowing Antioch College courses to be recognized by partner institutions for possible transfer credit.

For additional information on Colleges That Change Lives, visit http://ctcl.org.