Steve Lawry announced to the faculty yesterday that the 4 tenure-track searches that are nearing an end (sociology, biology, music, and history) have been cancelled and converted into 2-year appointments, due to financial instability (as usual), as well as a need for flexibility in anticipation of the college's merge with McGregor. I heard this from faculty members, and not from a formal announcement from Steve.

Apparently, discussions regarding this merge have been underway for quite some time, though this is the first its been announced to any significant on-campus group (significant in numbers, that is). I have a lot more questions and speculations than answers and information. There also seems to be some speculation that this may have been something Steve only recently learned of, though based on other events, that seems unlikely.

Originally posted on MySpace: 

Alumni,

As of 2/28/07, Antioch College no longer has a Dean of Students position.

The Director of Auxiliary Services will now be called the Vice President of Student Affairs and Services and will assume the responsibilities associated with the Dean of Students. This is not the only institutional change that has occurred recently.

Ten positions have been cut today, while ten other positions have been vacated and are not planned to be re-instated. This decision was not made with any larger community input.

The decisions that were made not only affect the individuals dismissed, but the community at large. The decision to cut these positions also has deeper implications for the structure of the community and has devastating effects on community governance. As you all are undoubtedly aware, the foundation of Antioch College is predicated on the three C's: Community, Co-op and Classroom. Community has been infringed upon.