Antioch Welcomes New Interim President
By Rachel Moulton ’97
Antioch University has appointed Dr. Richard
Jurasek to serve as Interim President of Antioch
College. Rick Jurasek, who joined the Antioch
community in August of 2003 as Executive Vice
President and Dean of Faculty, agreed to take on
this new role at a time of real renewal for Antioch
College. “We are delighted that Rick is willing to
accept the challenge. Rick demonstrates an exceptional
commitment to Antioch College and a clear
understanding of the challenges and opportunities
of the institution and its constituencies. He is taking
on this role to help lead our effort to renew Antioch
College for the 21st Century,” says Antioch University
Chancellor James Craiglow.
“My initial impression was that Antioch was a
teaching and learning laboratory,” said Dr. Jurasek,
“a place that always has a tireless dedication to
breaking the mold, to challenging students to become
true explorers and experimenters.” Ten
months later, Jurasek says, his impressions of
Antioch have certainly proven to be true, and he is
ready for the challenges of the new position.
When asked about the presidential search,
Craiglow said: “The length of the search process is
difficult to determine. It may be months or perhaps
up to one year, although we certainly plan to expedite
the process as much as possible.” The Antioch
community is delighted, however, that Dr. Jurasek
is willing to accept the short-term challenge and help as
Antioch College continues the search for a permanent
president.
Dr. Jurasek’s career prior to Antioch began at Earlham
College in the late 70s. It was shortly after the start of this
career that he came to form his first impressions of
Antioch College. “Both colleges [Earlham and Antioch]
have a dedication to cross-cultural learning and study
abroad. In fact, much of my focus and development as
a cross-cultural educator was greatly influenced by
Antioch faculty, who were very generous with their time
and professionally supportive of me as I began to sort
out the unique problems and opportunities that experiential
learning presents.”
Jurasek, who joined the Antioch College Renewal
Commission in January, said that the College is heading
in a new direction not based on incremental change, but
on “deep and thorough transformation.” Jurasek calls
the renewal plan “ambitious and doable,” and says he is
well prepared to lead Antioch during this time.
“Antioch is known because it has dared to be different,”
comments Jurasek. He quickly adds that although
this reputation for difference is certainly a good thing,
Antioch also must be known as an excellent educational
institution in more familiar ways. “Antioch is a place
where students develop the capacity for critical thinking,
connected knowing, and written and oral competence.
Antioch has to be as good as it can be in terms of
these baccalaureate essentials, and it has to get the word
out to prospective students and parents, and other stakeholders.”
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