collectively as the Antioch Network (or The Network)—were established during the 1960s and 1970s, with the College as the central operating institution. Antioch University, of which Antioch College was now a component, formally came to exist in 1978. Antioch University New England was the first graduate school offshoot, in 1964, and many others were established as well, including what ultimately became Antioch University Midwest (located on a new campus in Yellow Springs that opened in September 2007). Vice-president Morris Keeton in 1967 started the process of creating a campus in the new planned city of Columbia, Maryland. The land development promoted progressive clean-sheet concepts. The plans endured counter-culture cynicism with students calling the effort "Rouseland" and "Rouse's Fantasy Corporation". A field studies center opened with 150 students and interns working for the Rouse Company, but the project folded after a few years. In many instances, the culture of the school spurred its students to activism. Eleanor Holmes Norton, future congressional delegate for Washington, D.C., recalled her time at Antioch as one "when the first real action that could be called movement action was ignited." The 1973 strike In the 1960s, Antioch recruited poor and minority students through its New Directions scholarship program to improve educational opportunities for minorities. In the late 60s, as the administration added satellite centers across the country, the college adopted an academic program in Yellow Springs that gave students unprecedented independence in choosing their coursework. Then it doubled enrollment: Antioch had 2,470 students in 1972. In 1973 the Nixon Administration threatened to cut federal aid. Financial-aid and New Directions students and activists demanded that Antioch guarantee their aid. On April 20, protesters barricaded the administration building and locked other buildings, shutting down the college for six weeks. Vandalism was extensive, including three arson fires requiring Fire Department response. The shutdown ended when county sheriffs came on campus to enforce a judge's injunction against the strike. That year's graduates received their diplomas by mail. The strike and its notoriety resulted in many students transferring and a sharp decline in applications and enrollment that continued until the college closed in 2008. Birenbaum years After consideration of 337 candidates, William Birenbaum was chosen as president of Antioch College in April 1976. The chairman of the search committee called him a "courageous and charismatic personality" who is an "experienced chief executive with a strong track record in crisis-type settings." By