Antioch Welcomes a New Dean of Faculty
By Rachel Moulton ’97

“My initial impression of Antioch was that Antioch was a teaching and learning laboratory,” said Dr. Richard Jurasek, Antioch’s new Vice President and Dean of Faculty. “Antioch is a place that’s always had a tireless dedication to breaking the mold, to challenging students to become true explorers and experimenters.”

Rick Jurasek joined the Antioch community in August 2003, taking over for long-time Dean of Faculty and Professor of Political Science and International Relations Dr. Hassan Nejad. Dr. Nejad will be returning to the College faculty after a year’s sabbatical.

Dr. Jurasek received his BA in German from Ohio University and his MA and Ph.D, also in German, from Ohio State University. From 1976 to 1998, Dr. Jurasek was a professor of German at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana (just an hour from Yellow Springs) where he taught all levels of language classes, all periods of German Literature and Culture, as well as courses in German cinema and film narrative. While at Earlham, Dr. Jurasek also had an opportunity to prepare for his future role as Dean of Faculty at Antioch in several similar positions, including Associate Dean for Program Development and Associate Academic Dean. In 1998, Dr. Jurasek’s career as an administrator took him to Augastana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where he was Dean of the College until July 2003. Along with numerous impressive publications, Dr. Jurasek has directed eight study programs in Germany and Austria.

Dr. Jurasek’s career at Earlham began in the late 70s, and it was shortly after the start of this career that Dr. Jurasek 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.”

Dr. Jurasek came to understand that he enjoyed the satisfaction of designing and carrying out enterprises as much as he did teaching: “For me there were and are imaginative enterprises that stretch beyond a lesson plan or a syllabus. Administrative work at a liberal arts college actually offers endless opportunities to try out new ways of meeting institutional challenges and serving the needs of the students.” As Dr. Jurasek came to understand the responsibilities and opportunities that go hand in hand with administrative work, his conviction to work at the central and senior level of the administration at a college was strengthened. “I look back on my decision to leave my position as a full professor as the best move I have made both personally and professionally,” he commented. In fact, some of Dr. Jurasek’s most outstanding accomplishments to date have to do with curricular reform: “Few things are as complex and change-resistant as a curriculum, so I look back on my ability to inspire and lead faculty colleagues in exploring and implementing new courses of study and new methodologies as the best and most enduring work I’ve done.”

When asked what he feels has prepared him for his new role at Antioch, Dr. Jurasek responded, “I am fundamentally convinced that too much planning and praxis in higher education is driven by the familiar, predictable and generic. Too many public and private institutions imitate each other, replicate the same practice, and serve up the same safe assumptions about what is taught and how it is learned.” Dr. Jurasek seeks just the opposite and is attracted to those institutions that are willing to be different or, as he puts it, “to dream new and more perfect dreams.” He has also learned to seek out institutions that understand their students in the full sense of intellectual and ethical development. “I think I already have a great deal in common with the ways of Antioch College,” he said, and Antioch certainly agrees with him.

“Antioch is known because it has dared to be different,” commented Dr. Jurasek. He quickly adds that although this reputation is certainly a good thing, Antioch also must be known as an excellent educational institution in more familiar ways. “Antioch is also 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.” Dr. Jurasek is convinced that spreading the word about Antioch’s strong performance in teaching the essentials will ultimately yield more incoming students.

Dr. Jurasek hopes to use his first year to make a special effort to interact individually with every faculty member. He also hopes to have personal contact with as many students and staff members as he can. “I sense many affinities with Antioch, but I am still a new person who has lots to learn. That means I will be in constant motion and will try to be as visible and involved as possible. I want to make sure that I figure out the best and most productive way I can serve my new college.”

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