ysu alumni magazine winter 2013
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Women who Give.TRANSCRIPT
Send your letters to: [email protected] or YSU Office of Marketing and Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555.YSU MAGAZINE WANTS TO
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Celebrating a TraditionNew graduates Chelsea Stoffel, left, and Alyssa Justis, pose for a
photograph in their caps and gowns on the stone wall at YSU’s main entrance on University Plaza, a popular campus photo spot. Stoffel, of Lisbon, earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish; Justis, of Howland, earned a bachelor’s in hospitality management. They were among those receiving diplomas at YSU’s fall commencement Dec. 16 at Beeghly Center.
YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson, ’73
YSU Board of Trustees
Chair Sudershan K. Garg Vice Chair John R. Jakubek, ’79 Delores Crawford, ’68 David C. Deibel, ’75 James B. Greene Harry Meshel, ’49 Leonard Schiavone Scott R. Schulick, ’94, ’96 Carole S. Weimer, ’89 Secretary Franklin S. Bennett Jr. Student Trustees Joshua Michael Prest Melissa Wasser
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Magazine Editor Cynthia Vinarsky
Director of Ron Cole University Communications
Executive Director of Mark W. Van Tilburg Marketing & Communications
Layout Design Artist Renée Cannon, ’90
Photographer Bruce Palmer
Director,Office JacquelynLeViseur,’08 of Alumni and Events Management
Sports Contributor Trevor Parks
Youngstown State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.
Youngstown State University – A Magazine for Alumni and Friends (ISSN 2152-3754), Issue 15 online edition, Winter 2013, is published quarterly by the YSU Office of Marketing and Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. Periodicals Postage Paid at Youngstown, Ohio, and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Youngstown State University, Office of Marketing and Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. Direct letters to the editor, comments or questions to the address above, call 330-941-3519 or email [email protected].
Youngstown State University is committed to a policy of nondiscrimi-nation on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, or identity as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era, in respect to students and/or to applicants for employment, and to organizations providing contractual services to YSU.
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O N T H E COVERThis photo collage includes five
philanthropists who are featured in “Women Who Give,” our cover story
(Page 8) about how women are taking a new leadership role in charitable giving. Pictured
are, clockwise from top left, Doris Perry, Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata, Gina Schiavone,
Nancy Beeghly and Ana Bobby.
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DEPARTMENTS 2 President’s Message16 Alumni News 17 Class Notes
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Around Campus – A California couple, both YSU alumni, creates a legacy gift with an estimated value of $1 million for campus beautification. Check out their story and other campus news and photos.
Student Success Stories – A regular feature highlighting YSU student achievements.
COVER STORY: Women Who Give. Find out what motivates women philanthropists, and how they are playing an increasingly important role in supporting YSU and other non-profits.
Alumni Spotlight – Featuring two exceptional alumni: Sharon Rae North, ’87, a successful jazz singer, journalist and author; and Ryan Firm, ’09, who got his big break as a graphic designer working as a freelancer for country singer Taylor Swift.
Just for Fun – A crossword puzzle that will test your knowledge of YSU trivia.
alumni.ysu.edu/info
ALUMNIupdate Scan the QR Code with your
smartphone to see videos relatedto stories in this edition. www.ysumagazine.org
Help YSU stay in touch with you. Visit our new, interactive site to update your contact information.
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Editor's Note: The winter edition of YSU Magazine includes our 2011-2012 Annual Report, which recognizes YSU alumni and friends who support the university through their generous contributions. The annual report is not included in this online edition of the magazine, in consideration of the privacy of YSU’s donors.
To obtain a print copy of the winter magazine, including the annual report, contact YSU's Office of Marketing and Communications at 330-941-3519, or send an e-mail with your name and mailing address to [email protected].
2 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
President’s Message
Thanks to All for Your Contributions
Cynthia E. AndersonPresident
This edition of YSU Magazine celebrates the thousands of individuals, organizations and businesses that contributed financially to the university during fiscal year 2012. When I look at the
page upon page upon page of donor names, I must say I’m humbled – humbled because I know that every single one of these individuals has a personal connection to and love for Youngstown State University. To them all, on behalf of everyone at the university, I give my heartfelt thanks.
We talk and fret a lot in higher education about funding formulas, capital budgets, tuition structures and so on. And rightfully so. But what this issue of the magazine does is to help us focus on another crucial aspect of operating a success-ful university – philanthropy. For more than 100 years, alumni, community members, faculty, staff and others have stepped forward, wallets and purses in hand, to support YSU. That support has allowed us to introduce new academic programs, fund the construction of new academic and recreational buildings and provide services and facilities that the university otherwise could not afford. The generosity has never been greater. For instance, in the first six months of this current fiscal year, YSU received a record $6.7 million in contributions and commitments from alumni and other supporters. And, this month, the YSU Foundation announced that it had eclipsed the $200 million mark in assets, placing it among the top third of university endowments in the nation.
Part of that success is due to an important segment of the philanthropic community – women. In this edition of YSU Magazine, we celebrate women such as Eleanor Beecher Flad, Helen Stambaugh and Marion Resch, as well as Doris Perry, Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata and Nancy Beeghly. Without the support of these and thousands of other women, YSU certainly would not be the institution it is today. If the trend holds, and YSU sees more and more women joining the ranks of benefactors, I can say with all certainty that the university’s philanthropic future is in good hands.
As for that future, I announced in December that I will retire as president of YSU effective July 1, 2013. The Board of Trustees is actively searching for my successor. There will be time later to reflect on our successes. For now, let me say again what an honor it is to serve as president of my alma mater, and how special it is for me to count myself as a proud YSU Penguin.
Sincerely,
Cynthia E. Anderson, President
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AroundC A M P U S
Campus Beauty is Focus For California Alumni Couple
Fond memories of YSU’s park-like, urban campus have inspired California residents and alumni Walter and Mary Healey to establish a planned gift with an estimated value of $1 million to be used solely for campus beautification.
The Healeys have designated the future funds to be used for initiatives such as the installation and maintenance of shrubbery, flowers, benches, gazebos, sidewalks, pa-tios, courtyards, sculptures, fountains and other projects to enhance the campus. “We have great memories of YSU and thought this was a great way to help keep the campus looking nice,” Walter Healey said.
Heather Chunn, YSU senior development officer, said the specific use of the funds will be determined once the funds become available upon the passing of the donors.
“Even though we no longer live in Youngstown, it still has a very special place in our hearts and always will,” added Mary Healey. “This is a way that we can give back to a place that means so much to both of us.”
Walter and Mary grew up a mile apart from each other in the Brownlee Woods neighborhood of Youngstown but did not meet until they were enrolled at YSU in the early 1970s. Mary earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1976 and a master’s degree in secondary education in 1982, while Walter earned an associate degree in applied science in 1974. Walter also earned a bachelor’s degree in human resource manage-ment from Geneva College in 1994.
Mary taught home economics and special education in schools in the Youngstown area before moving to California in 1988, where she continued her 33-year teaching career until retiring last year. Walter was an officer with Mill Creek Park Police from 1976 to 2003, retiring as a sergeant. They were married in 2002.
Mary – whose mother, Peg Sweeney, also earned bach-elor’s and master’s degrees in education from YSU – remem-bers coming to campus as a child with her mother, sitting on the steps of Jones Hall and admiring the flowers. “I also remember that no one ever told you to get off the grass,” she said.
YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson said the Healeys’ gift will ensure that the campus is enhanced and maintained for generations to come. “Anyone who ever attended YSU understands and appreciates our campus’ park-like environ-ment in the midst of an urban setting,” she said.
Scott Evans, vice president for University Advancement, said the university is grateful to the Healeys for their commit-ment. “We hope their example will inspire other alumni and friends to join them in remembering the university in their financial and estate plans,” he added.
For more information on how to make provisions for YSU in an estate, contact Evans at 330-941-3118 or [email protected].
4 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
AroundC A M P U S
Sports Complex Under Way, Farmers Donates $500,000
Construction is under way on a new sports complex across from Stambaugh Stadium, and Farm-ers National Bank has donated $500,000 to help foot the bill.
The complex includes a new soccer field, an all-weather track and a softball field.
“This once blighted neighbor-hood will now become a place of competition and recreation,” said Gene Grilli, YSU vice president for Finance and Administration. “We are excited about improving the appearance of this important entrance to campus.”
The soccer field will be named Farmers National Bank Field, pending the approval of the YSU Board of Trustees in March.
“We are thrilled that Farmers has chosen to partner with us on this project,” President Cynthia E. Anderson said.
John S. Gulas, president and chief executive officer of Farmers National Banc Corp./ Farmers National Bank, said, “Farmers National Bank believes in community investment, believes in YSU and believes in providing opportunity for young people here in the Valley.”
More than 100 YSU business and STEM students will participate in intern-ships this summer thanks to a $573,300 grant from the Ohio Board of Regents.
The grant, along with matching funds from business partners, funds internships for students in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the Williamson Col-lege of Business Administration. Interns will work in advanced manufacturing and related industries throughout the region.
“Enhancing the preparation of students through career-related work experience increases the students’ com-petitive position and provides companies with entry-level professionals who, in the long-term, can strengthen their com-pany’s competitive position as well,” said Betty Jo Licata, WCBA dean.
In addition to the internships, the new program calls for YSU’s STEM and Business colleges to design and implement new courses in professional practice preparation and to host semi-annual co-op and internship recruiting events on campus.
A Frosty to go…YSU students, faculty and staff whose veins have been filled with
Arby’s sauce over the past three decades are undergoing withdrawal.After 30 years, Arby’s has left Kilcawley Center and has been
replaced by Wendy’s. Matt Novotny, executive director of Student Services, said YSU
circulated a request for proposals for the popular restaurant space, and Arby’s did not respond. The space was retrofitted over the summer, and Wendy’s opened in the fall.
State Awards $573,300 for Internships
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Fall commencementMike Garvey, president and chief executive
of M-7 Technologies in Youngstown, replaced his mortarboard for a hard hat during his commencement address in December in Beeghly Center. “We are witnessing the emergence of the new Youngstown,” Garvey said. Also speaking at the ceremony was Vin-cent Deem, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. In all, more than 600 students received diplomas.
President Anderson to Retire, Search Begins for Replacement
The search is on for the next president of YSU.
President Cynthia E. Anderson announced in December that she will retire July 1, after three years in office and more than 30 years of service to the university.
“It has been a distinct honor and privilege – and a dream come true – to serve my beloved alma mater as president,” Anderson said. “Together, we have accomplished much during very challenging times. I am certain that the university will continue to flourish in the years ahead.”
Anderson is the first woman, the first Mahoning Valley native and the first YSU graduate to serve as YSU president.
A 17-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee and AGB Search Inc., a Washington D.C.-based consultan-cy, are assisting the YSU Board of Trustees in the national search for Anderson’s successor.
“There is no more important decision that we will make as trustees than the selection of a university president,” said Sudershan Garg, board chair. “We are confident that our search will elicit much interest from highly qualified can-didates across the country, and we look forward to a search that will be comprehensive, transparent and inclusive.”
The board hopes the advisory committee will, by mid-May, present to trustees three to five candidates for the posi-tion. The board hopes to make a choice by mid-June.
Garg said he wants a “clean and honest” search that will identify “the best and most competent individual who can guide the university through difficult financial times.” He said four to six months is adequate time to conduct a search. “We will move fast and on an urgent basis,” he said.
English Festival Launches CampaignThe YSU English Festival,
now in its 35th year, welcomes its 100,000th student this spring and is marking the occasion with a $100,000 fund-raising campaign.
Festival organizers are launching the public phase of the campaign in February with hopes of reaching the goal this spring or summer.
“This year, we really want to re-connect with the thousands of students and teachers who have been touched by the Eng-lish Festival – not only to ask them to consider making a donation, but also to share with us their memories,” said Gary Salvner, Festival co-chair.
The Festival annually attracts 3,000 junior and senior high school students to campus to discuss books, meet authors and participate in competitions.
Salvner said the campaign will establish an endowment to support ongoing operations of the festival. For more information or to make a donation, contact Shanna Blinn in University Development at 330-941-2714 or [email protected].
Bob Woodward to Visit as Skeggs Lecture Speaker
The Skeggs Lecture Series is bringing journalist Bob Woodward to Stambaugh Auditorium for a free lecture at 7:30 p.m. April 4.
Woodward is best known for winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for breaking the Watergate scandal with colleague Carl Bernstein. He’s authored or co-authored 17 books and was lead reporter for a team that won another Pulitzer in 2002 for its 9/11 coverage.
The lecture is open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets will be distributed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 25 through 27 at the Information and PC Lab in Kilcawley Center. Call Alumni and Events, 330-941-3497, for more information.
Bob Woodward
6 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
AroundC A M P U S
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Prof’s Novel to Hit Big Screen
Chris Barzak is going Hollywood.
Barzak, YSU Eng-lish assistant professor, has announced that the movie rights to his novel, One for Sorrow, have been sold and filming is expected to begin shortly.
“To be honest, most book-to-film op-tions never come to fruition, so I never got my hopes up,” Barzak said. “Now, I’m kind of dumbfounded that it’s really going forward.”
Barzak earned bachelor’s and mas-ter’s degrees in English from YSU and joined the faculty full-time in 2008. One for Sorrow, his first novel, was published in 2007.
He said the title of the movie will most likely be changed to Jamie Marks is Dead. Carter Smith, who won a Sundance Film Festival Award in 2007, will direct and write the screenplay. The executive producer will be John Logan, whose credits include Hugo and Gladiator.
“With a crew like this, I feel like the book is in good hands,” Barzak said.
In Memoriam
J. Douglas FairesJ. Douglas Faires,
71, who spent more than half of his life in service to YSU, died in December.
Faires earned a bachelor’s degree from YSU in 1963, joined the mathemat-
ics faculty in 1969 and retired in 2006.
He received five Distin-guished Faculty awards and
was a driving force behind the YSU Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathemat-ics, CURMath.
An obituary in The Vindicator said Faires “will be remembered not for his awards, but as a dedicated teacher…a master at getting the best out of those around him, encouraging them to recognize their own potential and mentoring them to achievements far beyond their expectations.”
Memorial contributions may be made to CURMath, www.curmath.ysu.edu.
YSU Celebrates ‘America’s Music’YSU and the Dana School of Music, in cooperation
with Stambaugh Auditorium and the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, have been awarded
a grant from the National Endowment for the Hu-manities to participate in a national program: Ameri-ca’s Music: A Film His-tory of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway.
“This is an excellent example of how the university can partner with the local non-profits and support their initiatives,” said Bryan DePoy, dean of the YSU College of Fine and Performing Arts.
The program will run during the fall 2013 semester and consist of six films covering an array of music genres, from Hip Hop to Bluegrass.
Splitting the DropChances are you’ve never thought much about
cutting a water drop in half. James Aldridge and James Andrews have. Aldridge, a YSU chemical engineering student, and Andrews, a YSU physics professor, worked with their counterparts at Arizona State University to show how a superhydrophobic knife can create two cleanly separated drops of water – a discovery that could have potential applications in biomedical research. Their findings were recently published in an international, peer-reviewed online journal and have garnered worldwide attention. This photo shows the knife cutting through the water droplet. See more at youtube.com/youngstownstate/.
WINTER 2013 7
Highlighting the achievements of exceptional YSU students
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Four YSU students were awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to help offset the cost of their study abroad programs this spring.
The recipients are, in photo, from left: Haileh Ahmed, an accounting major from Austintown, who will spend four months at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey; Meysha Harville of Austintown, a senior majoring in integrated language arts edu-cation, and Solita Wilson, a chemistry major from Youngstown, both spending a semester in Win-chester, England; and Ryan Meditz of Canfield, a senior studying Spanish and international marketing, who will spend six months abroad – five in Granada, Spain, followed by a month of travel around Europe.
The Gilman international scholarship Program offers grants for undergraduate students of limited
Four Receive Scholarships to Study Abroad
Spanish Major Gets State Award Kaitlin Hankins, a YSU junior majoring in Spanish education, has been
awarded the Ohio International Consortium Donald N. Nelson Scholarship to help defray the cost of her study abroad program.
Hankins, from Sparta, Ohio, will travel in March to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to study Spanish at the University of Belgrano for four months.
The scholarship is awarded three times a year to Ohio students in memory of Donald N. Nelson, a founding member of the consortium who was active on state and national levels promoting foreign study. The OIC
continues his goal of expanding and enhancing the involvement of Ohio’s public four-year universities with study abroad programs.
Kaitlin Hankins
YSU Senior Named Academic All-StarYSU senior Nick DeKraker was named to the FCS Athletic Directors
Association Academic All-Star Team, an honor that recognizes his academic success combined with his performance on the Penguin football team.
A 2012 first-team Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic selection, DeKraker led the Penguins in sacks and finished the year with 26 total tackles, including 10 solo stops. A native of Marne, Mich., and a defensive tackle for YSU, he is also one of six student-athletes who are finalists for the FCS ADA’s $5,000 Postgraduate Scholarships.
Players from all Football Championship Subdivision institutions are eligible for the awards, which are presented by KP Sports. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials.
Nick DeKraker
financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. Award recipients are chosen in a competitive selection process. The program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the Institute of International Education.
Stories
WOMEN WHO
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hich is the more generous of the genders? Research seems to indicate that women are taking the lead in that department, and statistics show that female
donors are assuming an increasingly important role at YSU as well.“Women in philanthropy is a very new movement, and it’s surprising how quickly
it’s gained legs,” said Suzanne T. Allen, president of a statewide, Columbus-based fundraising network called Philanthropy Ohio. “Women are being asked to give now. Years ago, they weren’t asked.”
Studies by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute in 2010 and 2012 indicate that women are more likely than men to contribute to almost any type of charitable cause, regardless of their income, and that in most cases, they give more than men. The institute, part of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, compared households headed by men and by women to determine how gender affects charitable giving.
An analysis of YSU’s donors in fiscal 2012 showed that, while men outnumbered women in the group, 78 percent of the women had made annual gifts for 13 or more consecutive years. Among donors who gave loyally for 10 consecutive years or more, the female donors’ average gift ($422) was 8 percent higher than the male donors’ average gift ($390).
Allen said women are taking a more active role in giving, and they’re changing the way fundraising professionals do business. “I think they’ve refined fundraising. It’s a harder and much different process to raise money from women,” she said. “They want to understand it. They want to know how it’s going to help and who else is giving.”
Volunteerism often plays a major part in the way women decide where to commit their gifts. “So often, it’s the women who are supporting the volunteer activities,” said Allen. “And if you’ve given your time to an organization, it’s more likely you’ve given your money, too.”
How Women are Changing the Landscape of Philanthropy in America ... and at YSU
By Cynthia Vinarsky
From Volunteer to Philanthropist
Hands-on involvement as a volunteer has certainly been a guiding force for YSU philan-thropist Nancy Beeghly. A Coitsville resident, she calls volunteerism “the philanthropy of time,” and has donated her services to a wide-range of charitable causes over the years. Her undisputed favorite is YSU’s English Festival, now marking its 35th year, which brings thousands of middle school and high school students to campus every spring to celebrate reading, writing and literature.
As a former English teacher in the Boardman Schools, Beeghly never gets over the thrill of seeing students excited about English. “To see kids cheering for one another at an awards ceremony,” she said. “It’s wonderful. It’s beyond words.”
Beeghly said she learned the value of giving as the daughter of a Methodist minister, and she married into a family of philanthropists when she wed her husband, Bruce. The Beeghlys’ generosity across the region is plain to see on the YSU campus – Beeghly Hall, which houses the Beeghly College of Education, and the Beeghly Center for physical education are both named in the family’s honor.
And Nancy Beeghly is a philanthropist in her own right. A member of the English Festival advisory board and an active volunteer for 30 years, Beeghly and her husband made a sizeable gift last year to help launch a new endow-ment fund that is being created to ensure the event’s long-term future.
“Anything I do for the festival pales in comparison to what the faculty, teachers, librarians and parents do. They put in thousands and thousands of unpaid hours to make it work,” she said. “But I’ve learned that when you’re involved in something as a volunteer, you’re going to be involved wholeheart-edly, and you’re going to want to give financially, too.”
Nancy
When you’re involved in something as a volunteer,
you’re going to be involved wholeheartedly, and you’re going to want to give financially, too.
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BEEGHLY
We wanted (our children) to understand that you can have a lot and do a
lot, but you need to share some of that as well.
Teaching the Value of Giving For philanthropist Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata, the fact
that she and her brother were the first in their family to attend college has inspired a desire to provide scholarship assistance for other first-generation YSU students. Linsalata grew up on Youngstown’s West Side, graduated from Chaney High School and then earned both her bach-elor’s degree in foreign languages and her MBA from YSU.
One of the first significant gifts she and her husband, Frank, made to YSU created a scholarship endowment for first-generation college students graduating from Chaney. The couple, now living in the Cleveland area, also gave a major gift to the capital fund for YSU’s new Williamson College of Business Administration building, where a gallery was named in her honor.
Linsalata said she and her husband established a family foundation several years ago as a way to teach their chil-dren the value of giving. “We wanted them to understand that you can have a lot and do a lot, but you need to share some of that as well,” she said.
Their son and daughter participated in the process of deciding where the foundation’s contributions would go when they were living at home. Both are living on their own now, she said, but they still enjoy being a part of selecting the non-profit organizations that will receive gifts from the family foundation each year.
Linsalata serves on the board of trustees for the YSU Foundation, an independent corporation that is focused mainly on providing scholarships for YSU students. The foundation awarded more than $5.1 million in scholarship aid and program support in the 2012-13 academic year. “Knowing that the foundation exists primarily for scholarships was important to me,” she said. “I wanted to contribute to something that allows young adults to go to school.”
Hometown Philanthropy
As senior vice president and chief executive officer of Babcock & Wilcox, a global energy solutions company based in Charlotte, N.C.,
Mary Pat Salomone hasn’t forgotten her hometown. In fact, much of her philanthropic giving comes back to the Mahoning Valley where she and her husband, Dominic, grew up, and she recently contributed a substantial sum to the YSU Foundation General Scholarship Fund.
Salomone and other highly-successful career women like her comprise a growing seg-ment of women who are active in philanthropy. She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at YSU, her husband is also a YSU grad, and both received scholarships from the YSU Foundation to help pay their college costs.
“The philosophy of giving kind of started in church for me, with the idea of tithing,” she said. “My husband and I both feel it’s important to give back to the people and resources that helped you get where you are, and we’re equal partners in deciding where that money should go.”
The Salomones tried to emphasize service as well as philanthropy in raising their two children, she said. “They are young adults, and they don’t have a lot of money to donate at this point, but their focus is on service right now,” she said. “I’ve been really proud of them. They’ve kept it up through high school, college and beyond.”
KOLLAY LINSALATA
Jocelyne
Mary Pat Salomone
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Mary Pat Salomone
Women Support Wide Range of YSU Programs
As director of development for the office of University Development at YSU, Catherine Cala can list an impressive lineup of women philanthropists who have made significant gifts to the university.
Some standouts include:
The late Helen Stambaugh, an alumna and loyal YSU supporter during her lifetime and member of the President’s Council for donors who have given $100,000 or more to the university. She left legacy gifts that included YSU’s Marching Pride, a scholarship for a women’s basketball player and funds toward a YSU Foundation scholarship.
Roberta Marsteller Hannay, named outstanding philanthropist for 2012 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mahoning-Shenango Chapter, who has made significant gifts to programs that have prepared hundreds of high school students to be college-ready, including support for YSU’s Homework Express program.
YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson, who created a $100,000 scholarship endowment when she took office in the summer of 2010. The Anderson Program in Journalism at YSU was also named in honor of her late parents, in recognition of a gift to that program.
The late Marion Resch was devoted to educa-tion and contributed to YSU and other colleges and universities in a 100-mile radius of Youngstown. The Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress on the YSU campus was named in her honor, and the Resch Foundation supports three scholarship programs for YSU students.
Eleanor Beecher Flad, who contributed major gifts to YSU’s Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the university’s Ward Beecher Planetarium and the YSU Foundation, as well as the Butler Institute of American Art and the Youngstown Symphony Society.
Catherine Powers, advisor for a trust founded by her great uncle, the Edward W. Powers Charitable Fund. The fund made a generous contribution last year to endow the annual Women in Science and Engineering Career Day at YSU, now named in Edward W. Powers’ honor. The event is designed to expose young women to careers in science and engineering.
Concern for Women’s Issues
Retired teacher Doris Perry has chosen, as many women philanthropists do, to focus her giving on women’s issues. She believes that a college education can be a “trump card” for a young mother trying to support a family, and so she created a non-profit organization called Women Hand in Hand that provides several YSU scholarships a year for African American mothers in financial need. Founded in 1986, the program provides scholarships to up to five qualifying recipients at a time, raising funds through donations and an annual benefit luncheon that Perry sponsors.
“We’ve taken girls who made Cs and Ds in high school, but when they came up to YSU, they made the honor roll,” she said. “They realize, when they become mothers, that they’d better wake up if they want to feed their family.”
I just feel that a college education can be a trump card for a woman trying to support and feed her family, and that’s why we give
scholarships to mothers.
Loyal contributors to YSU’s annual fund, she and her husband, Leonard Schiavone, an attorney and member of the YSU Board of Trustees, gave a substantial gift to the capital campaign for the Williamson College of Business Administra-tion building. “You need to see what your gift is doing for the community,” Gina Schiavone said. “As a WCBA graduate, it was exciting to have a part in building a beautiful new home for the college.”
Schiavone has sometimes been able to substantially increase the value of her philanthropic gifts through matching funds. Her employer, First Energy, matches employees’ contributions to certain nonprofit causes, so she generally takes advantage of that benefit when giving to the university. Her major gift to the WCBA capital fund was doubled under a Kresge Foundation matching program.
She and her husband often give smaller gifts indepen-dently, but they always discuss larger gifts to reach consensus. “It’s almost as if we have to present the case to each other,” she said. “But once we agree on something, we usually
continue to support it.”
Early Lessons in Giving
Ana M. Bobby, who serves as interim co-director of YSU’s Maag Library on campus, is representative of the hundreds of YSU faculty and staff whose philanthropy includes contributing faithfully to the university’s annual fund. She’s also been involved with several other campus causes, such as WYSU and the United Way, where she’s sometimes been in the position of having to ask colleagues to give.
“As a woman and as a Hispanic, I think it’s impor-tant to become more involved, not only in volunteerism but also financially,” said Bobby. “I know people think, ‘What is $10 or what is $20?’ But every little bit helps. We are the stakeholders of the university, and I think it’s important to give back to the place where we work, to our beloved students and to the community.”
Born and raised in Peru, she credits her father, a civil engineer and the mayor of her hometown, with creating a desire for philanthropy in her and her brothers by making them aware of the plight of low income people and the joy of giving. “He wanted us to see it all, from the nice to the not so nice,” she said.
Bobby recalls one particularly memorable trip the family took when she was a child to a remote and desolate section of the Andes Mountains, stopping off at a produce stand on the way to buy fruit. She and her siblings were
Many people like to give in trusts and estates, but I think
it’s important to see what your gift means today.
12 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
SCHIAVONE
Perry retired from the Youngstown City Schools but continues to serve as a part-time tutor. Her late husband, Dr. Earnest Perry, was a YSU alumus, a prominent local surgeon and a member of the YSU Board of Trustees who gave gen-erously to the university. Mrs. Perry established the Women Hand in Hand endowment fund in memory of her husband, and the YSU Foundation provided a 50 percent match.
Giving While Living
Philanthropist Gina Schiavone prefers finding ways to contribute to charitable causes now, while she’s living, rather than setting up giving arrangements for after death. “Many people like to give in trusts and estates, but I think it’s important to see what your gift means today,” said Schiavone, a business analyst for First Energy Corp. who earned her MBA at YSU in 1989.
Gina
questioning the route, wondering what their father had in mind, when he stopped at a tiny hut. Several small children and their parents poured out of the small house, and Bobby’s father suggested they share the fruit. “It was as if we had offered them a basketful of gold. It was unbelievable,” she said. “I’ll never forget that. It taught me what one small gesture can do.”
Fundraising Pros: Women Demand Accountability
Fundraising professional Patricia Brozik, a YSU
alumna and president of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, says she has noticed differences in the ways men and women make decisions about giving. For example, she said female giv-ers often ask more questions and demand more account-ability when contributing to a charitable fund. Under her leadership, the foundation has grown in 11 years to include 100 funds with assets approaching $50 million and has awarded more than $15 million in grants.
“Women donors want to know how their money was spent, what types of benefits it had, what kind of difference their gift made,” said Brozik. “Don’t just tell them how many children were fed. They want to know: Did the test scores improve? Did the children’s health improve? If not, what else do we have to do?”
Because they live longer and often inherit money, Brozik said, women control much of the nation’s wealth and are having a greater influence on philanthropy. “That makes women a really important segment.”
But she was careful to give male philanthropists their due. “We always have to keep in mind that all of us
learned philanthropy from men,” she said. “Our first philanthro-pists were very wealthy men, the ones who created foundations and estates. The groundwork was definitely laid by them.”
Myra Vitto, another fundraising professional who earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting at YSU in 2000, works with high-income clients as a senior trust advisor and vice president for PNC Wealth Management. She’s
noticed that women often have an emotional attachment to the causes they support, either as volunteers themselves, or through a friend or family member, and they’re generally
WINTER 2013 13
BOBBY
Myra Vitto
Patricia Brozik
savvy about investment scams and other fraud, so they ask a lot of questions, she said.
Vitto likes to help clients explore ways to give while they’re living because it allows them to enjoy seeing the benefits of their contributions in a way that estate giving does not. “Sometimes people don’t understand that they don’t have to be large donors to give now. There are foundations that allow people to set up a fund for $25,000 while they’re living,” she said. “That way they can have a role in how the money is used, and they can see the benefits of their gift. It’s a warm feeling. Once they get involved, even at a miniscule level, they feel so good that they want to do more.”
I know people think,
‘What is $10 or what is $20?’ But every little bit helps.
Ana
Just Got to Keep on SingingSharon Rae North ’87
C E L E B R A T I N G A C C O M P L I S H E D G R A D U A T E S
Peyman Givi
alumni SPOTLIGHT
Freelancing Job Led to His Big Break Ryan Firm ’09
She’s got a prestigious media relations position with the city of Richmond, Va., and her award-winning journalism career included an exciting stint as news writer and fill-in anchor for CNN in Atlanta.
But for Sharon Rae North, that’s just a way to pay the bills. It’s jazz that gets her heart racing.
“My job is what I do, and I can switch careers anytime I get ready,” she says. “But a singer is what I am, and I can’t change that. I don’t sing because I love to sing, I sing because I just can’t not sing.”
North is a recording artist who released her second commercial CD titled “Gee Baby” in November, and she’s opened on stages nationwide for jazz greats such as Patti LaBelle, Joe Sample and Sonny Liston
On a Sunday night in October, Ryan Firm sits at his computer in downtown Nashville, anticipating the launch of his latest freelance project. A final few tweaks, and the new website that the graphics design graduate has been working on is ready to go live.
Midnight, and the numbers start rolling in. Tens, hundreds, thousands of visi-tors to the site – numbers any webmaster would drool over – immediate and at a relentless pace. And then the realization hits him.
Thousands of people from all over the country are flocking to a website that he, a YSU graduate, has just designed…for country music star Taylor Swift.
Firm is the creative director at Checkd.in, the creative technology agency in Nashville that first gave him a shot at this once-in-a-lifetime client. Living his dream job, Firm connected with the company in a moment of perfect timing in his career after two critical positions.
The first came six months after Firm graduated from YSU in 2009. With a BFA and design experience working for the Review Newspapers and Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, he set off to Nashville to start as a designer at Uniquest. The hospitality marketing agency gave him the opportunity to design touch-screen interfaces and other ap-plications for clients like Hilton Hotels.
14Firm was lead designer for taylorswiftred.com
Sharon Rae North
Ryan Firm
Profile by Cynthia Vinarsky
North’s newest CD.
Smith. When the cast and crew for Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln” planned a party to celebrate complet-ing the film, they brought North and her jazz trio in to entertain.
Fascinated with music since childhood, North said her singing career started to take off while she was work-ing in Atlanta, and she’s built a strong following in the Richmond metro area since moving there five years ago. She fulfilled a lifelong dream last spring – a gig as lead vocalist for the Central Virginia Jazz Orchestra. She also performs with the Jason Jenkins Jazz Quartet and a corpo-rate band called Horizon.
Her first CD was produced by her boyfriend, Vic Smiley, an accomplished guitarist and producer in his own right. “Gee Baby” was produced by Richmond-based 32 Bar Records.
North grew up in Youngstown, graduated from Cardi-nal Mooney High School and earned a BA in speech com-munications from YSU in 1987, working full-time as a clerk for the Youngstown Police Department through most of her college years. After that, she completed a master’s degree in mass media communications at the University of Akron, then worked in a succession of broadcasting jobs, including WYTV in Youngstown and TV stations in North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, New York and Atlanta.
As a CNN news writer and occasional anchor, North wrote for most of its affiliated networks, and when the Iraq War began her workload went from hectic to overwhelm-
ing. “I was working around the clock. I remember going out to the parking deck, sleeping for a few hours, then going back in to work another shift,” she said. “The money was great, but after a while I got burned out and decided there was more to life than those newsrooms.”
She landed her position as public information manager for Richmond’s Department of Public Works in 2008, where she is responsible for internal and external publications and media relations. “It’s quite a change for me, as a former reporter,” she said. “When the media comes a-callin’, I’m on the other side.”
North has one other accomplishment that even takes pre-cedence over her musical career – a children’s book she wrote in memory of her father in 2003. Entitled My Brand New Leg, the book was underwritten by Ohio Willow Wood, a prosthet-ics manufacturer, and endorsed by the Amputee Coalition of America.
Her father died from complications of diabetes, and the book was based on a conversation he had with a little girl shortly after losing his legs. “It’s about acceptance. It teaches kids that it’s OK to ask about differences,” she said. “Of all the things I’ve done in my life, the book is the thing I’m most proud of.” The book and her CDs are available on North’s website, http://www.sharonraenorth.com.
“That first job really broke me into marketing,” said Firm, “but when my boss was let go and I became the new marketing coordinator, I started to really miss designing.”
It was Firm’s former boss who introduced him to his next Nashville career stop – Hospital Corporation of America, a healthcare services provider. As senior designer of applications for hospital administrators, Firm got a tech-nical education working on back-end functions for report-ing applications.
And when he wasn’t teaching himself web coding, Firm was running his own freelance business. “I recently came back to Youngstown to talk to some of the design classes at YSU,” said Firm. “My biggest piece of advice to them: Never turn down a freelance job.”
Firm didn’t, and freelancing allowed him to score a gig with Taylor Swift, a country music legend-in-the-making.
“I’m now working for the same company that hired me as a freelancer to work on the Taylor campaign in conjunc-tion with her latest album release,” said Firm, who was lead designer for taylorswiftred.com.
Entitled “Red,” the Swift album Firm promoted sold more than 1.2 million copies in just one week, the largest sales week for any album in a decade.
“It was pretty awesome having a hand in something like that,” admits Firm. “You have that moment where
you’re thinking, Taylor Swift has no idea who I am, but here I am from Youngstown, working on her website.”
After a hugely successful web campaign of 2.6 million interactions from over 150 countries, Firm was immediately offered a job.
As creative director at Checkd.in, Firm now designs mobile, web and social fan engagement campaigns for other big names –Toby Keith, P!nk, Kenny Chesney, Pit-bull, Dunkin Donuts, Wrangler Jeans – all by drawing upon his design, marketing and technical skills.
Next on deck for Firm at Checkd.in are campaigns for Snoop Lion and Tim McGraw, an interactive game appli-cation for Trace Adkins for his upcoming appearance on Celebrity Apprentice, and another project for Taylor Swift.
A dream job not even four years out of college – too good to be true? Not for Firm, though he’s still slightly in shock over it all.
“Growing up in the Youngstown area, you come away with that work ethic you can’t get anywhere else,” said Firm, a native of Campbell. “It translated into my college life, juggling school with multiple jobs, and it’s translat-ing into my profession now. Coming out of Youngstown is something I’m proud of. I don’t think I could have picked up that work ethic anywhere else.”
Profile by Andrea Armeni
WINTER 2013 15
alumni newsDate!
Contact the Office of Alumni and Events Management at 330-941-3497 for more information about any of these events.
Meshel Honored at Veteran/ROTC ReunionMembers of the Mahoning and Shenango Valley Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America joined former Ohio State Senator Harry Meshel for a two-day Veterans and ROTC Alumni Reunion in mid-November. Pictured, from left, are: Maj. Peter Mihai; Col. Walter Duzzny; Sen. Harry Meshel, ’49; Lt. Col. Robert P. Milich, ’66; Kay Milich; Lt. Col. Rod Ho-sler; Maj. Matt Chikosky, ’69; and former CPT Dennis Gartland, ‘64. Meshel was presented the Cincinnatus Award for his military and community service. If you are a veteran or YSU-ROTC alumnus and would like to be added to the mailing list for future events, email your name, mailing address and preferred email address to [email protected].
Half-Century Club Welcomes Class of 1962Twenty-one graduates from the class of 1962 traveled from all over the United States to return to campus Nov. 4 to be welcomed into YSU’s Half-Century Club. From left, the honorees were: front row, John Africa, Canfield; Patricia Archer, Lakewood, Col.; John Albright, Fairlawn; Theodore Chrobak, Pulaski, Pa.; Wilbur Cole, Youngstown; Michael Davis, Beavercreek, Ohio; Edward DeHaas, Canton; Bernice Anderson Faseyiton, Butler, Pa.; Florence Harsh-man, Youngstown. Back row: Jacquelyn LeViseur, director of Alumni and Events Management; Frank Konya, Avon, Ohio; Dottie Melody, Bonita Springs, Fla., and Canfield; Carl Nocera, Columbus; Conrad Deletis, Vero Beach, Fla.; Stephen Palmer, LaGrange, Ga.; Richard Matasic, Glendale, Ariz., and Hubbard; Charles Pierson, Metairie, La.; John Sirak, Cincinnati; Gary Swanson, Albuquerque, N.M.; Donald Smith, Loudon, Tenn.; William Snider, Burlington, Ky.; Thomas Zogakis, Satellite Beach, Fla.; and YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson.
Florida alumni receptions: Delray Beach, Feb. 28; Naples, March 1; Tampa Bay area, March 2.
Red and White Game, Friday, April 19.
Youngstown Day, a YSU and Youngstown area reunion, Sunday, March 3, Sarasota, Fla.
Skeggs Lecture Series, featuring journalist Bob Woodward, “Presidential Leadership and the Price of Politics,” 7:30 p.m. April 4, Stambaugh Auditorium. Free tickets available starting March 25.
Scrappers YSU Alumni Night, 5:30 p.m. picnic, 7:05 p.m. game, Tuesday, June 25.
All Alumni Reunion, networking at OH Wow!, down-town Youngstown, July 12; alumni tent, reception and dinner in conjunction with Summer Festival of the Arts on campus, July 13.
Event Reunites Alumni Lifetime MembersLifetime members and friends of the YSU Alumni Society enjoyed an evening of cocktails and con-versation at the annual Life Member Reception in mid-November. This event was held at Stambaugh Auditorium and included guided tours of the historical facility. Those attending included, from left: Patsy and Margaret (’76, ’77, ’89) Filaccio, both of Youngstown; Joyce Martin, ’10, of Austintown; Tiffany Buck, ’07, of Salem; and Dr. Charlene Arendas, ’04, of Boardman.
16
WINTER 2013 17
’60sMarlene Menaldi
Strollo of Canfield, ’64 AB, is a free-lance director, the founder and man-aging director of Move Over Broad-way Productions, Inc. in Youngstown. She holds degrees in biology and theater and is employed as a patient educator at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. In her 30 years of involvement in local theater Strollo has directed more than 80 productions, most recently Move Over Broadway’s Marquee Award-winning Only Make Believe. Her new-found passion is costuming, and over the last year she has costumed local productions of A Light in the Darkness, Sherlock Holmes, One Acts, Dog Days and Lion in Winter, for which she won a Marquee in the category of best costume design.
’70sPaula Sue Cook Duebelt of Andalusia, Ala.,
’71 BM in music, was named an Outstand-ing Graduate of Andalusia High School in October, the first woman ever to be so honored. Duebelt taught and directed the chorus at her alma mater high school for 30 years, and she continues to teach there part time. She has also served as music director of First United Methodist Church of Andalusia for more than 27 years. She earned a master’s degree in education at Troy University.
Metrechia “Tish” Soper of Youngstown, ’71 AB in math and history, ’79 MBA in ac-counting, retired last June from Kent State University’s Salem Campus, completing a 40-year career as an educator. She taught 33 years at KSU-Salem, spent one year as a graduate assistant at YSU and taught six years in private and public schools.
Jaclyn Palowitz of Bonita, Fla., ’73 AB, is a buyer team agent for John R. Wood Realtors in Bonita.
Randy Spak of Belden, Miss., ’76 BSBA, was named vice president of sales for American Furniture Manufacturing, a maker of uphol-stered furniture based in Ecru, Miss. Spak has 30 years of senior man-agement experience in the furniture industry. He is a former president and chief executive officer of China-based Cozzia LLC, one of the world’s largest producers of massage products, and also served as president and CEO of Lane Fur-niture Industries, where he worked for more than 25 years.
’80sChaouki Abdallah
of Albuquerque, N.M., ’81 BE in electrical engi-neering, has been named provost at the University of New Mexico. Abdallah had been serving as interim provost since 2011, and the university president decided in September to forego a national search and appoint him to the post permanently. Abdallah has an MS and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, both from Georgia Institute of Technology. Previously he chaired the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UNM, and he continues to teach and advise graduate students.
Regis Luther of Warrendale, Pa., ’82 BE in chemical engineering, was recipient of the 2012 SAE International Sid Olsen Executive Award, which recognizes an outstanding engineering executive in an off-highway industry. As part of the award, $1,000 was donated to the college of Luther’s choice, YSU, his alma mater. Luther is vice president of military products and initiatives port-folio planning and program management for Navistar Defense. He has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an Executive MBA with honors from the University of Houston. Prior to joining Navistar in 2009 he held various executive positions for BAE Systems, including vice president of engineering for Mobility & Protection Systems.
William J. Morvay Jr. of Boardman, ’85 AAS in police sci-ence technology, ’09 BSA in criminal justice, is employed as chief of security for the Youngstown Board of Education after retiring from a 30-year career in law enforcement, most recently, as New Middletown police chief. Over the years, he also served with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, Beaver Township Police, Poland Police, Lowellville Police and YSU Police, where he
is an intermittent officer. Morvay completed an MA in theological studies from Liberty University in 2012.
John R. “Jack” Janoso Jr. of Poland, Ohio, ’87 BS in computer science, ‘91 MBA, was named president and chief executive officer of Sharon Regional Health
System in September. Janoso joined the health system in 1999 and in 2006 was named vice president of operations, ancil-lary and support services. Previously, he held executive positions for Visiting Nurse Services & Affiliates, Alliance Community Hospital, Ernst & Young LLP and Warren General Hospital.
Anthony Piccirilli of New Castle, Pa., ’87 BS in computer science, was recently promoted to soft-ware architect at CA Tech-nologies, a multinational software company based in Islandia, N.Y. Piccirilli joined CA Technologies 24 years ago and was honored for two patents he developed at the company’s new In-novation Wall in the lobby of its Pittsburgh development lab.
Beth Slagle of Pittsburgh, ‘87 BSBA, was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America 2013, a peer-review survey regarded as a guide to legal excel-lence. She was listed in the fields of commercial litigation and insurance law. A graduate of the Uni-versity of Pittsburgh, Slagle is an attorney in the Pittsburgh-based law firm of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott.
Former Lawmaker Honoredfor Exemplary ServiceKenneth Carano of Austintown, ’67 BS in education, was presented the Ohio Distinguished Service Award by the Ohio Commu-nication Association in recognition of his service in the field of communication. Carano served as a Democratic mem-ber of the Ohio House of Repre-sentatives from 2000 through May 2007, and as a regional director under Gov. Ted Strickland. He was a teacher and a speech and debate coach at Austintown Fitch High School and is also a former Austintown Township Trustee. The Ohio Commu-nication Association, a professional organization comprised of teachers, professors and scholars in high schools, colleges and universities across the state, recognizes one individual annually for exemplary community service.
Marlene Menaldi StrolloChaouki Abdallah
John Janoso
Anthony Piccirilli
William Morvay Jr.
Beth Slagle
notesclass
Kenneth Carano
18 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
’90sThomas Bowser of Baltimore, Md., ’91 BSEd
in elementary education, is principal of Sussex Elementary School, part of the Baltimore County Schools, and earned a certificate in technology integra-tion administration from Johns Hopkins University. He has a master’s degree in education from Loyola University in Baltimore. Previ-ously, he worked as a classroom teacher, a teacher mentor and an assistant principal.
David M. Onder of Waynesville, N.C., ’92 BS in mathematics and computer science, was promoted in Sep-tember to director of assessment in the office of Institutional Planning and Effec-tiveness for Western Carolina University.
James Sotlar of Pickerington, Ohio, ’94 BSEd, has been named superinten-dent of the Canal Winchester, Ohio, School District, chosen from a field of more than 30 applicants. Sotlar has over 17 years of educational experience, both as a classroom teacher and administrator. Previously, he was assistant superin-tendent of the Pickerington Local Schools, where he also served for a period as in-terim superintendent, as a school principal and as interim director of curriculum and instruction.
David Oliveira of Hamilton, Bermuda, ’95 BSBA in finance, has been promoted to partner at Nephila Capital, an institutional asset manager of vehicles dedicated to in-vesting in natural catastrophe and weather risk insurance linked securities. Oliveira joined the firm in 2006, coming from HSBC Investments in Bermuda where he was head of business development.
Carolyn Pugh of Vicksburg, Mich., ’98 BS, ’01 MS in chemistry, has been hired as associate project manager for the regulatory affairs team at Per-rigo Company, a global healthcare supplier. Pugh has 10 years of varied chemistry experience that includes time as a medicinal chemist in the early stages of drug discovery, teaching high school chemistry and working in a lab as a process chemist. She is pursuing a
master’s degree in regulatory affairs through a distance learning program at Northeastern University in Boston.
’00sBrian Kren of Girard,
Ohio, ’01 BA in political science, was elected to a four-year term as law director for the city of Girard. Kren earned his law de-gree at the Univer-sity of Akron School of Law in 2005. He is also an associate attorney for the law firm of Patricia Kearney and Associates LLC, Warren.
Anthony Spano of Youngstown, ’04 BSBA, was an honoree in the inaugural class of the Mahoning Valley 25 Under 35 Awards, recognizing the region’s best and brightest young professionals for 2012. The event was previously known as the 40 Under 40 Awards. Spano is founder and execu-tive director of the Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and is employed as a vehicle operator for YSU Parking Services.
Sara Roth of
Austintown, ’05 BA in telecommunica-tions, is a news producer for WEWS NewsChannel 5 in Cleveland, where she was awarded a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2012 Emmy Award for best evening news-cast. She was nominated in the category of best weekend newscast in the Lower
Alumnus Honored for Tax Institute LeadershipAlumnus Scott Hockenberry was posthumously recognized recently by leaders of YSU’s annual Institute on Taxation and the YSU Lariccia School of Accounting and Finance for his service to the institute and to YSU. Hockenberry, who died in July 2011, earned bachelor’s degrees in music (’91) and accounting (’93) from YSU and was a cer-tified public accountant. He served as president of the Mahoning Val-ley Chapter of CPAs and was active in the YSU Outreach Accounting Advisory Board and the planning committee of the YSU Annual Institute on Taxation. He was also very active with the Lariccia School of Accounting and Finance, serving on various committees and on its Advisory Council. Before his death, Hockenberry and his wife, Elizabeth, established a scholarship at the YSU Foundation to benefit YSU accounting students.
Environmental Science Grad Heads City Utility PlantSteve Baytos IV of Elyria, Ohio, was named manager of the Avon Lakes, Ohio, Water Pollution Control Center, a part of that city’s municipal utilities plant. Baytos was among the first YSU students to earn a BS in environmental studies in 1997 when the program was first established. He has 10 years experience working in the public sector as a wastewater treatment plant operator, most recently as assistant superintendent of the Elyria Wastewater Pollution Control Plant. He also worked in the private sector as an
environmental engineering consultant and plant foreman. Baytos passed the Ohio EPA Class IV wastewater certification/licensure exam last summer, and he co-authored a presentation, titled “Recycled Flows and How to Treat Them,” for a meeting of the Ohio Water Environment Association.
Thomas Bowser
David Onder
James Sotlar
Brian Kren
Sara Roth
Carolyn Pugh
Scott Hockenberry
Steve Baytos
WINTER 2013 19
Class Notes
alumniAuthors
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Vincent Gooden of Largo, Md., ’69 BSBA, recently wrote and published two books. Interac-tion Our Way … A Portrait of Success is focused on organiza-tion theory, and House-broken, Not House-Tamed looks at man-agement using an approach that consists of planning, action, staffing, organization and budgeting. Gooden is an independent management consul-tant. The books are available online at Amazon, Xlibris and Barnes & Noble.
Great Lakes Region. Roth joined WEWS last fall and previously worked at WYTV in Youngstown.
Jeremy Batchelor of Charlotte, N.C., ’06 MEd in educational administration, was named principal at James Martin Middle School in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, a county-wide school district that serves more than 141,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12. Batchelor also earned a BA in social science from John Carroll University. Previously, he served as a high school principal in East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, N.C., and was an assistant principal in Lake Waccamaw, N.C. and in
Austintown, Ohio.
Krystle Common of Bonita Springs, Fla., ’08 BA in English, ’10 MA in American Studies, has opened a Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and Yogurt store in Bonita Springs, the first Handel’s in Florida. She said business has been good since the shop opened in the spring, and she’s expecting the next few months to be her busiest with the influx of snowbirds from the northern states.
’10sL. Austin Fredrickson Jr. of Rootstown, Ohio,
’10 BS in combined science, was appointed to a two-year term as a student member of the Northeast Ohio Medical University Board of Trustees. A third-year College of Medicine student, Fredrickson serves as a peer tutor and peer advisor for first-year students, is a student representative to the Pharmacy Dean’s Advisory Council and a student ambassador to the Bio-Med Science Academy. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, was a Summer Research Fellow in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the summer of 2011 and was recognized for having the most outstanding research oral presentation at the 2012 Ohio Family Medicine Symposium on Research and Education.
L. Austin Fredrickson Jr.
Krystle Common
David Weinberger of Boardman, ’70 BSBA, ’76 AAS, ’76 BSAP, has published a children’s book and coloring book, both entitled Answers to a Christmas Question, designed to help parents and grandparents discuss Christmas with their children and grandchildren. Weinberger recently retired after a 36-year career in nursing as a health/patient educa-tor, diabetes educator and program coordinator at Northside Medical Center in Youngstown. Besides his three YSU degrees, Weinberger also
earned a master’s degree from Kent State University in community health education. His book is available at http://www.achristmasquestion.com/.
YSU TRIVIA
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1. YSU is ramping up ________ education to be more accessible to students, no matter where they are physically located.
4. Students in this major now benefit from a new crime scene lab. (two words)
8. Alumnus Thomas ____ was co-discoverer of a famous comet in 1995.
10. YSU’s administrative office building was named after John ____, an industrialist who died in 1953.
11. NASA astronaut Ronald A. _______, now deceased, graduated from YSU with a BS in physics.
13. YSU’s Metro College is located here.
17. The YSU _____________ provides more than $4 million in scholarships annually.
20. This campus thoroughfare was named after a wealthy local family, one of whom died on the Titanic.
21. During the 1970s energy crisis, this YSU president reduced heat in campus buildings to 68 degrees.
23. The Clarence R. Smith _____ Museum in Moser Hall is open to the public.
24. A full-size indoor football field and track are part of the Watson and Tressel Training Site, better known as _______.
25. The YSU ________ program offers free lessons in music, acting and dance for K-12 students.
27. This YSU president bought the former Clingan-Waddell Hall and converted it into a business and personal residence.
28. YSU’s first mascot, a real live Pete the penguin, was given to the campus in 1939 by explorer Richard ____.
29. This building on Wick Avenue was named _______ Hall in honor of a former Ohio state senator.
30. Utica _____ opportunities are the focus of YSU’s new Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute.
2. YSU’s most iconic building, ______ Hall, was named after the university’s first president.
3. To reduce its carbon footprint, YSU installed _______ __________ on the roof of Moser Hall. (two words)
5. YSU’s student newspaper.
6. The Dana School of Music has been in Youngstown since 1941; previously, it was located in this nearby town.
7. Ed O’Neill, known for his Emmy-nominated role in the TV-sitcom _____ _______ (two words), attended YSU in the 1960s.
9. The _______ Review compiles student essays, poetry and art every year.
12. Thousands of 7-12th graders visit the YSU campus for this annual literary event. (two words)
14. This privately owned residence hall for women is at the center of campus. (two words)
15. The campus is home to the _____ Center, which promotes research, teaching and public service related to autism.
16. The Museum of Industry and ________ contains artifacts from the region’s storied industrial past.
18. The Maag Library _____ has a wealth of information on local history.
19. Students in ROTC and the Police Academy make use of the ______ range in Beeghly Center.
22. The first person to portray YSU’s mascot wore a ______ and a papier-mâché penguin head.
26. Formerly home to YSU’s engineering department, _____ Hall now houses the Youngstown Board of Education.
YSU TRIVIA
Across: 1. Distance, 4. Criminal Justice, 8. Bopp, 10. Tod, 11. Parise, 13. Boardman, 17. Foundation, 20. Wick, 21. Coffelt, 23. Mineral, 24. WATTS, 25. SMARTS, 27. Cochran, 28. Byrd, 29. Meshel, 30. Shale. Down: 2. Jones, 3. Solar Panels, 5. Jambar, 6. Warren, 7. Modern Family, 9. Penguin, 12. English Festival, 14. Buechner Hall, 15. Rich, 16. Labor, 18. Archives, 19. Rifle, 22. Tuxedo, 26. Rayen.
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An Emerging Urban Research University Offering A Wide Array of In-Demand Graduate Degree and Post Graduate Certificate Programs
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND [email protected]·941·2000 or 877·GO·TO·YSU
DOCTORAL PROGRAMSBEEGHLY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Educational Leadership (EdD)
BITONTE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
POST-MASTER’S PROGRAMBEEGHLY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Education Specialist (EdS) School Psychology
MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAMS
BEEGHLY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Counseling Master of Science in Education (MSEd) Addiction Counseling Clinical Mental Health Counseling College Counseling School Counseling Student Affairs Leadership and Practice
Education Master of Science in Education (MSEd) Education Administration Education Technology Intervention Services Special Education Autism and Related Disabilities Special Education Intervention Specialist – Mild to Moderate Disabilities License Teacher Education Content Areas Art Education GraduateCertificates
Autism Spectrum and Related Disabilities
Literature for Children and Young Adults
Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESOL) Teaching of Writing
BITONTE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Criminal Justice Master of Science (MS) Criminal Justice
Health and Human Services Master of Public Health (Consortium of Eastern Ohio MPH) Master of Respiratory Care (MRC) Master of Social Work (MSW) Master of Health and Human Services (MHHS) GraduateCertificate Health Care Management
Nursing Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Clinical Nurse Specialist— Chronic Illness Care Nurse Anesthetist Nurse Education Nurse Practitioner School Nurse GraduateCertificate Nurse Education
COLLEGE OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS
Art Master of Arts (MA) Art Education
Communication Master of Arts (MA) Interdisciplinary Communication
Music Master of Music (MM) Jazz Studies Music Education Music History and Literature Music Performance Music Theory and Composition
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Arts and Humanities Master of Arts (MA) American Studies Art Education Economics English
Financial Economics Gerontology History Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing (MFA) Northeast Ohio Universities MFA GraduateCertificates Applied History Historic Preservation Museum Studies
Literature for Children and Young Adults
Professional Writing and Editing Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESOL) Teaching of Writing
Computing and Information Systems Master of Computing and Information Systems (MCIS)
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS
Engineering Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Industrial and Systems Engineering Mechanical Engineering
Sciences Master of Science (MS) Applied Behavior Analysis Biology Chemistry Environmental Studies Mathematics GraduateCertificate Environmental Studies
WILLIAMSON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION
Business Administration Master of Business Administration (MBA) Finance General Business Management Marketing GraduateCertificate Enterprise Resource Planning
22 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
Office of University DevelopmentOne University PlazaYoungstown, Ohio 44555-0001
Philanthropist Eleanor Beecher Flad is presented YSU’s Friend of the University award by then-President Les Cochran in this April 1999 photo, while her sons Ward and Eric and a granddaughter stand proudly by. A lifelong resident of the Mahoning Valley, Flad has contributed major gifts to YSU’s Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center – where the 53-foot-tall climbing wall is named Flad Mountain, the Ward Beecher Planetarium and the YSU Foundation, as well as the Butler Institute of American Art and the Youngstown Symphony Society. Initiated in 1997, the Friend of the University award recognizes alumni, friends and donors who have had a significant impact on YSU. Flad is one of many women philanthropists whose contributions have had a positive influence on the university and the region. Read more in our cover story, “Women Who Give,” starting on page 8.
Celebrating One Woman’s Philanthropy, 1999