Background
Antioch College was founded in 1852 as a progressive non-sectarian and co-educational institution of higher learning. Antioch's first president was Horace Mann, the revolutionary educational philosopher whose famous words, "Be Ashamed To Die Until You Have Won Some Victory For Mankind," is still spoken annually at all Antioch University commencement ceremonies.
Under Mann's leadership, Antioch College took the Harvard academic model of Latin, Greek, mathematics, history, philosophy and science to a new level, with an emphasis on educating the "whole individual" with a commitment to social and moral character. The first graduating class consisted of 28 students, with an annual tuition of $24.
Antioch College was also the first to offer courses in the methods of teaching, by College professor Rebecca Pennell- one of the College's ten original faculty members, and the first female college professor in the United States to have the same rank and pay as her male colleagues.
Arthur Morgan was president of Antioch College from 1920 to 1936, developing a curriculum in which students alternate on-campus study with off-campus work experience, furthering the Antioch tradition of developing the whole person through education and experiential learning.
Douglas McGregor, a renowned social scientist and management theorist, served as president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954. McGregor authored a highly influential book, "The Human Side of Enterprise," which revolutionized labor relations by conceiving of employees as inherently creative and self motivated individuals who had something to offer an organization ("Theory Y"). This notion rippled through the world of managerial practice, challenging the belief that employees must be commanded and controlled because of an inherent desire to avoid work whenever possible ("Theory X").
This socially progressive outlook inspires the role of Antioch University Midwest today.
Read more about this topic: Antioch University Midwest
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