Arthur Zucker, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Antioch University, announced today that the beleaguered Antioch College would remain open after all, thanks to a “fantastic and unprecedented” fund-raising effort by alumni.

An unknown number of faculty positions will be cut, some buildings will be razed, and some student services will be outsourced, Tullisse A. (Toni) Murdock, Antioch University’s chancellor said during a joint news conference. Neither Antioch officials nor the Antioch College Alumni Association was immediately able to provide specifics on the cuts. Those decisions are to be made in consultation with the college’s faculty, Ms. Murdock said. That process could take about a month.

The agreement is contingent on meeting a series of financial benchmarks, Mr. Zucker said. The alumni group must provide the college with $6.6-million by December 15, and $12-million by May 31, 2008. The alumni group has already secured $18-million in pledges from its members, but Mr. Zucker said the deal states that the money must come in the form of “cash available to be used.” Further, the institution and alumni together must collect an additional $26-million by June 30, 2009, and $19-million by June 30, 2010, for the college to remain open.

Mr. Zucker said the college’s plan to remain open was subject to the approval of accreditation boards.

Antioch announced last June its plans to temporarily close the college because of budget deficits and dwindling enrollment. But the alumni of the college, well known for its countercultural ethic, rallied to save it.

The trustees and alumni were to have made an announcement about the status of the college last weekend but were unable to hammer out an agreement until Friday.

Antioch College is the flagship of Antioch University, which has an adjacent campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as well as four others, in California, New Hampshire, and Washington State. —Don Troop