Campus building will be on property owned by Keene State College
Antioch University and the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) are pleased to announce that they have a letter of intent to collaborate on the relocation of Antioch’s New England graduate school to downtown Keene. The letter contemplates construction of a new state-of-the-art campus on Winchester Street on land owned by Keene State College.
Pending a binding agreement and approval of the USNH Board of Trustees, the Antioch campus would open in the spring of 2024.
“We’re putting our students’ needs at the center of planning for our new campus,” William Groves, JD, Chancellor of Antioch University, said. “It will be an inspiring place for learning, collaboration and research.”
The building will be where two residence halls, no longer in use, currently stand.
As Antioch’s student body has grown, so has the need for additional space. The two-story facility – 40,000 to 50,000 square feet – will house modern instructional space designed with maximum configuration flexibility and new academic technology. The new facility will connect to Blake House, a Keene State property. Once renovated, the House will serve as faculty and administrative offices for Antioch.
“We’ve learned a lot about the power of partnerships that can result from this kind of co-location,” Melinda Treadwell, president of Keene State, said. “More than anything, the move enhances opportunities for students, academically and socially. Also, the proximity and the ease of the transition makes good business sense for both sides.”
Since 2018, River Valley Community College’s Keene campus has been based in a building of the Keene State College campus where students have access to their classes and student services, computer labs and study space.
“There may be possibilities for academic synergies with Keene State, which is one of the exciting opportunities of the new location,” Dr. Chet Haskell, Antioch’s Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and University Provost, said. “This could include, for example, accelerated pathways to earn, for example, a bachelor’s degree from Keene State College and a master’s degree from Antioch University.”
“We are looking forward to providing Antioch community members with a shared academic library at Keene State, and opportunities to purchase meal plans, passes to Keene State’s recreational center, and parking on campus,” says Dr. Shawn Fitzgerald, CEO of Antioch University’s New England campus.
In June, Antioch sold its campus at 40 Avon Street in Keene to Monadnock Family Services, a nonprofit community health center. Antioch will stay in place and lease back a portion of the Avon Street building until construction of a new campus is complete.
At its New England campus, Antioch University offers master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, and graduate certificates, as well as professional and continuing education in academic departments including Counseling, Psychology and Therapy, Education and Environmental Studies.
Antioch University was founded in 1852 by its first President, Horace Mann, the father of public education in the United States. Antioch’s mission is to provide learner-centered education to empower students with the knowledge and skills to lead meaningful lives and to advance social, economic, and environmental justice. Antioch University is a national university with locations in Keene; Los Angeles; Santa Barbara; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Seattle, as well as online and low-residency programs, such as its acclaimed PhD in Leadership. Antioch University is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1927. Antioch.edu
Keene State College was founded in 1909 and today is one of 29 public liberal arts colleges
and universities in the U.S. Part of the University System of New Hampshire, it offers more than 40 areas of undergraduate study, in the liberal arts, social sciences, sciences, and professional programs, as well as selected graduate degrees. The residential college, at the foot of Keene’s vibrant downtown, is ranked No. 11 out of 54 Regional North higher education institutions in the country, according to 2022-23 rankings just released by U.S. News & World report. Keene.edu.
