Hell, no, we won't close.

ANTIOCH COLLEGE, BASED IN OHIO, HAS ALWAYS HAD A reputation for being a little out there. This is the IHE that doesn't grade classes and encourages students to design their own study plans. In 1993, the national press had a field day with its "Sexual Offense Prevention Policy.," otherwise known as the Antioch Rules for Dating, which required students to ask permission of each other if they wanted any type of physical contact, including hand holding.

In early summer, Antioch raised eyebrows again when its board of trustees announced that the college, founded in 1852, would have to suspend operations in June 2008 because there were not enough funds to ensure the college's future. The endowment of $30 million was not enough to cover the necessary facilities and curricular improvements needed, they announced.

Alumni and faculty let out an immediate protest. Faculty members are now suing, claiming that the college's trustees have violated the contract with them. The lawsuit, filed in mid-August, specifically asks the court to stop trustees from firing faculty and disposing of Antioch College's assets. President Steve Lawry publicly noted that he didn't have much advance notice regarding the announcement. He then decided to resign and will leave the college at the end of this year.

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"We were particularly shocked that this monumental decision was taken by a small group of the board of trustees without consulting the stakeholders," says Nancy Crow, an attorney and current alumni board president. She has vowed to fight to keep Antioch open. Other alums have joined her.

Several have publicly worried about the assets of the college, the arm responsible for undergraduate education, and whether assets, including buildings and the college's land, would have to be turned over to Antioch University, a parent organization that offers graduate and distance education. Distressing, too, has been the absence of needed fundraising, say alumni, They have since vowed to be more hands-on.

An annual alumni gathering held June 21-24 was expected to draw 200 people. Instead, about 500 showed up. During the gathering the Alumni Board Treasurer Rick Daily challenged the group to raise $40,000 by the end of the reunion weekend. They raised more than $424,000 for the new College Revival Fund. A series of meetings has been scheduled to review fiscal details and discuss next steps.

Will the efforts be enough to keep the college going? That is unclear at this point. Enrollment is down dramatically from a reported 2,000 students at a high point in the 1960s to 400 today. Crow and other alumni are already doing outreach to incoming students.

"How many will come in Fall 2007 is not certain," she acknowledges. Even though there may be fewer students to educate, she and others are working to explore options. "We want to keep the college open." The Board of Trustees was slated to meet in late August for more discussion about Antioch's future.