Antioch College history

Although the founders planned for approximately 1,000 students, enrollment exceeded 500 only once in the 19th century, in 1857.

In 1858, Antioch was bankrupt.

Mann died in 1859, and the college was reorganized, but deficits continued.

Hill resigned in 1862 due to increasing financial troubles, sectarian conflict between Christian Connection and Unitarian trustees, and his election as president of Harvard.

In 1865, the college reopened, now administered by the American Unitarian Association.

Antioch had been scheduled to host the first game of this professional tour on May 31, 1869, but it was rained out.

Earlier, in 1873, she was among the first women elected to the Boston School Committee, and a strong advocate for higher education for women.

As the first woman supervisor of the Boston Public Schools, Crocker pioneered the discovery method of teaching mathematics and the natural sciences during her decade-long tenure, which began with her appointment in 1876.

In June 1919, several candidates were submitted to the trustees, including Arthur Morgan.

Beginning in 1920, the college modified its liberal arts approach to education by adopting the concept of co-operative education.

1921 Origin of Co-op Programming – Experiential Learning

Eleanor Holmes Norton, née Eleanor Holmes, (born June 13, 1937, Washington, D.C., United States), American lawyer and politician who broke several gender and racial barriers during her career, in which she defended the rights of others to equal opportunity.

In 1943 the college Race Relations Committee began offering scholarships to non-white students to help diversify the campus, which had been mostly white since its founding.

1946 First Historically White College to Appoint an African American Academic Chair

1964 Antioch opens a second campus in New England — the first of 35 eventual locations

In 1965, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. gave the commencement speech.

Vice-president Morris Keeton in 1967 started the process of creating a campus in the new planned city of Columbia, Maryland.

1968 Founded the Precursor to the National Council of Adult and Experiential Learning CAEL

In 1970 she became the first woman to head the New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Antioch also founded an innovative law school in 1972 in Washington D.C. which operated on an experiential legal clinic teaching model.

1974 Santa Barbara Campus Opened

1975 Opening of Seattle Campus

After consideration of 337 candidates, William Birenbaum was chosen as president of Antioch College in April 1976.

Due to its expansion of programs, graduate degrees, and campuses, Antioch’s name was changed in 1978 from Antioch College to Antioch University.

A "Sexual Offense Prevention Policy" was initiated after two date rapes reportedly occurred on the Antioch College campus during the 1990–91 academic year.

In 1991 a group of students formed under the name "Womyn of Antioch" to address their concern that sexual offenses in general were not being taken seriously enough by the administration or some in the campus community.

1993 First College in America to Mandate Verbal Consent on Campus

1996 Among First PhD in Environmental Studies in Nation

In 2000, Antioch College was again subject to media attention after inviting political activist and former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal and transgender rights advocate and Abu-Jamal supporter Leslie Feinberg to be commencement speakers.

2001 Launched Low-Residency PhD Program in Leadership and Change

The college uncovered accounting mistakes starting in 2006, which doubled the school’s projected deficit.

The Alumni Board embarked on a $100 million fundraising drive to build the college's endowment, raising more than $18 million in gifts and pledges by November 2007.

On March 28, 2008, ACCC negotiators rejected a $12.2 million demand from the university for the sale of those university assets associated with the operation of the college.

As the result of the task force discussions, ACCC and Antioch University agreed to an asset purchase agreement on June 30, 2009, at a sale price of $6,080,000.

The following year, Antioch reopened as an independent four-year college in the autumn of 2011 with 35 students after the Ohio Board of Regents approved the college again offering Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees.

Also in 2012, Antioch announced it would offer free tuition to its students for the following three years, pledging to charge them only room, board, and fees.

Antioch University agreed on the official transfer of ownership of WYSO and the Kettering Building to Antioch College for $8 million on July 3, 2013 along with release of Antioch University’s reverter rights retained in the prior sale.

On May 5, 2015, Roosevelt announced that he would depart as president of Antioch College at the end of the year.

Doctor Thomas Manley was hired as the new president, and began his presidency in March 2016.

In early 2019, the college divested itself of WYSO for about $3.5 million.

On June 23, 2020, the college announced a spending cut of $2.5 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down about 20% from the prior fiscal year’s budget.