DaytonDailyNews.com

YELLOW SPRINGS — Faculty at Antioch College filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Antioch University Board of Trustees, seeking to prevent it from closing the college in July 2008.

The lawsuit, filed in Greene County Common Pleas court, asks that Antioch University be stopped from suspending college operations, from terminating the faculty and from disposing of any college assets, according to a faculty news release.

The lawsuit alleges the board violated several contractual obligations to the faculty in its June 9 decision to temporarily close the college, including shutting it out of institutional decision making.

Faculty also claim the board improperly applied its declaration of financial exigency, a statement of imminent financial crisis that allows universities to void faculty employment contracts.

Faculty sued "because we felt things were happening so quickly without any discussion of alternatives that we needed to act quickly to prevent further harm," said film professor Anne Bohlen, faculty spokeswoman.

Board Chairman Arthur Zucker has said repeatedly that the board will not reconsider its decision to close the college.

Lynda Sirk, Antioch College spokeswoman, said she could not comment because she had not seen the lawsuit.