ysu summer magazine 2013

2 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY

Send your letters to: [email protected] or YSU Office of Marketing and Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555.YSU MAGAZINE WANTS TO

HEAR FROM YOU!

Letters.Letters.youryour

YSU President Randy J. Dunn

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 James Roberts, ’70 Leonard Schiavone Carole S. Weimer, ’89 Secretary Franklin S. Bennett Jr. Student Trustee Melissa Wasser ———————————

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

Graduate Assistant Harry Evans

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 16 online edition, Spring 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 COVER

Randy Dunn, YSU’s eighth president, stands outside Tod Hall on the YSU campus with the statue of the university’s first president, Howard Jones, in the background. Get to know YSU’s new leader in our cover story, starting on Page 8.

Children use chalk to decorate campus sidewalks July 13 at the annual Summer Festival of the Arts.

[email protected]

[email protected]

SUMMER 2013 1

'13S U M M E R

issue in th i s

DEPARTMENTS 2 President’s Message22 Philanthropy at YSU 24 Alumni News26 Penguin Sports News 29 Class Notes

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Around Campus – Siemens Corp. gives YSU a $440 million in-kind grant that will provide students with state-of-the-art software and training. The story leads this issue’s campus news.

Student Success Stories – A regular feature highlighting the achievements of YSU students.

COVER STORY: Introducing Randy J. Dunn, the university’s eighth president. We trace the career of YSU’s new top administrator and reveal his vision for the years ahead.

YSU Welcomes Ed O’Neill – A photo feature on the actor’s May visit to campus, by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly.

Offering ‘Breakaways’ for Combat Veterans – An alumni couple creates therapeutic weekends to help vets readjust to civilian life.

Alumni Spotlight – We profile three outstanding graduates from YSU’s Dana School of Music: David Perrico, ’02; Kelly Scurich, ’83, ’85; and Alton Merrell, ’00, ’02.

Faculty/Staff Photo Feature – Meet Alvy Armstrong, YSU’s head equipment manager in Intercollegiate Athletics.

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alumni.ysu.edu/info

ALUMNIupdate

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Enjoy the View Recent demolition and building projects on Wick Avenue have created a better view of Jones Hall, YSU’s most iconic building, for pedestrians and motorists approaching campus from the south. Completed in 1931 and originally called the Main Building, it was renamed in honor of Howard Jones, the university’s first president, when he retired in 1966.

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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www.ysumagazine.org

President’s Message

Setting the Course for a New Presidency

Randy J. DunnPresident

Sincerely,

Randy J. Dunn, President

When I officially joined the YSU family as president on July 15 – after having undertaken my own research about the university and going through the extensive interview process here – I knew I was joining an educational institution that was not only vital to this region, but was also known for providing quality academic programs and student services at an extremely competitive price.

So the challenge for me was to determine how I might be able to add value to this proud university as I started my work as its eighth president. Long before I arrived on the scene, of course, Youngstown State had established itself as a place with one of the most attractive urban campuses in the country, committed and supportive faculty and staff members, dedicated and generous alumni and donors, and integrity in its operations.

To phrase it another way: What should my unique role be in fostering the growth, improvement, and strengthening of YSU? – a university which provides its graduates with transformative life experiences across a wide range of degree programs while preparing them to be successful and productive global citizens.

Certainly, I knew I was fortunate to be coming to an institution that has invested in a thoughtful and comprehensive strategic plan, YSU 2020. The plan lays out pathways for positive change with clear expectations around four cornerstone elements: Accountability & Sustainability, Student Success, the Urban Research University Transition, and Regional Engagement. The many members of the Strategic Planning Committee and the YSU Board of Trustees are to be congratulated for their leadership in creating such a forward-looking document and process.

Yet the question still remained regarding my additive value as the new president, contributing in a meaningful way to all of the important and collective work that is taking place at YSU – particularly in how I might capitalize upon the 90-plus broadly based strategic planning initiatives identified so as to focus them more explicitly on the ongoing challenges facing us as an institution.

Toward that end, then, I have announced three Presidential Strategic Directions to provide an “overlay” to the YSU 2020 plan, ensuring that our multiple and various strategic efforts are concentrated as robustly as possible in key areas having the greatest impact for our immediate future. Admittedly, while these Directions contribute to a heightened convergence or prioritizing of the strategic plan around some near-term issues we need to address – nothing about them alters the mission, vision, core values, or cornerstones reflected in YSU 2020.

My inaugural set of Strategic Directions at YSU will highlight Enrollment, Engagement, and Excellence. In shorthand parlance, I suppose these might get referred to as “YSU’s three Es” or “E-Cubed” (or maybe it’s just better if I don’t speculate on other names that may come up!) But no matter how they’re described, the concepts they represent will be critical for the continued development and success of YSU.

The Strategic Directions are intended to center our attention around promising areas which allow us to do a couple of things sooner rather than later: 1) build competitive position; and 2) take advantage of major opportunities that are in front of us now. Rita Gunther McGrath of Columbia University’s Business School has referred to this type of strategic repositioning for quicker effect as creating “transient advantage.” Other experts in planning have used the term “strategic decisioning” as a way of choosing from a larger array of potential initiatives.

Our four cornerstone planning groups at the university have been asked to select initiatives that drive these Directions, and the operating units of the university will consider goals within each area to access any additional financial and human resources for investment. In this manner, YSU will tie the vitality of its commitments to the careful use of those resources.

I’ll have more to say in coming conversations with all of YSU’s constituency groups to better detail the components that define Enrollment, Engagement, and Excellence – at least in the ways we may think about them on this campus. To be sure, there will be plenty of fodder for more discussion and dialogue as I begin my presidency.

However, no matter where those conversations lead, I am absolutely confident that Youngstown State University’s drive and desire will propel us to greater leadership and prominence as a public institution of higher education…not only in Ohio, but beyond. I am honored to share this journey with all of you.


SUMMER 2013 3

AroundC A M P U S

Siemens Corp. Awards YSU $440M in Software, Training

Press conference speakers announcing the Siemens grant included, in photo above, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, and in photo at left, from left, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, Ryan (hidden), Siemens President and CEO Eric Spiegel, and Helmuth Ludwig, CEO of Siemens Industry Sector, North America.

YSU made international headlines this spring when top executives from Siemens Corp. came to campus to announce an in-kind grant for $440 million in state-of-the-art product lifecycle management software and training to the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The in-kind grant is a core component in the continuing efforts of the new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) in downtown Youngstown to prepare a modern workforce for employers in the Cleveland-Pittsburgh TechBelt and throughout the United States.

“YSU, its College of STEM and NAMII all share our passion and dedication for advancement in the field of smart manufacturing,” said Helmuth Ludwig, CEO of Siemen’s Industry Sector, North America, when he announced the grant May 30 at Kilcawley Center. “Siemens is honored to now have YSU as one of our academic partners.”

Eric Spiegel, a native of the Mahoning Valley and now CEO and president of Siemens Corp., said today’s manufacturing world is much different than what our grandparents saw. “The training and skills needed in this

environment are much, much different,” he said. “It’s great to see YSU and NAMII really helping to drive that whole innovation cycle here in Youngstown and bringing this region back to its former glory.”

Martin Abraham, dean of YSU’s STEM College, said students will ultimately benefit most from the grant. “Because

of this Siemens contribution, our students will be working with …software that is used by major corporations,” he said at the news conference. “These are the companies that are now going to be coming to YSU, recruiting our students, looking for them and putting them to work.”

Siemens Corp., a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, has 370,000 employees in 190 countries and had revenue of approximately $102 billion in fiscal 2012. NASA used Siemens software to develop the

Mars rover space capsule Curiosity, Calloway uses it to design golf clubs, and Space X, a private space exploration company in California, used it to develop its Falcon rocket.

Eric Spiegel, a Mahoning Valley native who is now CEO and president of Siemens Corp., discusses the company’s $440 million in-kind grant with local news media.

Visit www.ysumagazine.org for a video of the Siemens Corp. press conference.

www.ysumagazine.org

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AroundC A M P U S

The YSU Board of Trustees approved a $177.2 million operating budget for fiscal year 2014, down 1 percent from the FY 2013 budget. Over the last two fiscal years, the budget has shrunk by $3.8 million or 2.1 percent.

“We have carefully crafted a budget that allows us to invest in world-class programs to ensure the continued success of our students while also streamlining our operations,” said Sudershan Garg, board chair.

The budget sets tuition at $3,950 a semester for full-time undergraduate students living in Ohio, or $7,900 a year. That’s an increase of $94 per semester or 2.4 percent, but even with the increase YSU’s tuition remains the lowest among Ohio’s 11 public, comprehensive universities.

Scholarship funding from both the university and the YSU Foundation will also be increasing by nearly $2 million in FY 2014, providing additional support for more than 3,000 students.

Additionally, the university is expanding its Affordable Tuition Advantage program to include 16 counties in Western Pennsylvania and four in West Virginia and Chautauqua County in New York. Previously, the program provided substantially lower out-of-state surcharges for undergraduate students in eight Pennyslvania counties.

Warm Weather Brings Campus Construction, Renovation

Work began this summer on four major campus projects totaling nearly $8.6 million, including construction of a new Veterans Resource Center and renovations to Melnick, Cushwa and DeBartolo halls.

An additional $2.9 million will be expended on projects ranging from elevator upgrades to roof renovations. Here’s a summary of the major projects:• The $1 million Veterans Resource Center will be built on

Wick Avenue between Pollock House and Melnick Hall to house the YSU Office of Veterans Affairs. The project will be funded by bond proceeds; private gifts will be used to retire the debt from the bond proceeds.

• Melnick Hall, located on Wick Avenue, will undergo a $4.5 million overhaul to create a communication/media hub. WYSU-FM, Rookery Radio, The Jambar, the NewsOutlet, the Journalism program and some elements of the Telecommunications program will move to the renovated building. The project is funded with a combination of state capital money and university bond proceeds.

• Interior renovations totaling nearly $3.5 million are slated for Cushwa and DeBartolo. The improvements will be funded with a combination of state capital money and university bond proceeds.

McDonough Museum Shows 3-D Printing Technology YSU’s McDonough Museum of Art offered visitors hands-on experience with

3-D printing and additive manufacturing in an exhibit that ran June 14 through Aug. 2. Three-D printing allows for the creation of objects – one layer at a time. The top photo at left shows MakerBot Replicator 2, a desktop 3-D printer that was part of

the McDonough exhibit, and the second photo shows museum patrons working on zSpace, a 3-D holographic computer platform.

Budget Expands Discounts forOut-of-State Students

University Makes Community Service Honor RollYSU has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor

Roll for the fourth year in a row. It is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

YSU named Tree Campus USA

YSU has been named a Tree Campus USA for the fourth consecutive year. Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. YSU’s tree population of nearly 2,000 trees is comprised of 79 species representing 49 genera and has an estimated value of $2.2 million

(Read about YSU’s $4.3 million sports complex in Sports News, Page 26.)

SUMMER 2013 5

AroundC A M P U S

Dr. Dominic and Helen Bitonte were presented YSU’s prestigious Friend of the University award at a dinner, June 7, recognizing their leadership and contributions to YSU and the community.

The Bitontes are members of the YSU President’s Council and, following a 1999 gift, YSU named the Dominic A. and Helen M. Bitonte College of Health and Human Services in their honor. A dentist, Bitonte earned his DDS from Ohio State University in 1947.

Their philanthropy extends beyond YSU to Northeast Ohio Medical University and OSU. The Bitontes have been named Outstanding Philanthropists by the Eastern Ohio Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.

New This Fall: 7 Online Degree ProgramsYSU will introduce seven new online master’s and

bachelor’s degree programs this fall as the university expands its emphasis on distance learning opportunities.

Millie Rodriguez, director of the YSU Office of Distance Education, said the online courses are all peer-reviewed and have been approved by the Ohio Board of Regents. The new programs are:• Master of Business Administration.• Master of Science in Engineering Management.• Master of Science in Criminal Justice.• Master of Science in Respiratory Care.• Master of Science in Teacher Education, Early Childhood Education.

• Bachelor of Science in Public Health.• Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Allied Health.These 100-percent online programs are ideal for people working full-time,

Rodriguez said, or anyone who needs flexibility in scheduling. For more information, visit http://web.ysu.edu/de/ or call 330-941-1516.

Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich has appointed James “Ted” Roberts, an attorney and YSU alumnus, to a nine-year term on the YSU Board of Trustees. Roberts’ term continues through April 30, 2022. He replaces Scott Schulick, whose term on the board has expired.

Roberts is a principle in the Youngstown law firm of Roth, Blair, Roberts, Strasfeld & Lodge, and he’s also a limited service instructor at YSU’s Beeghly College of Education. He earned a bachelor’s degree from YSU in 1970 and a law degree in 1974 from the University of Akron.

His wife, Cynthia, a certified public accountant, is also a 1970 YSU alumna. They live in Poland, Ohio.

Bitontes Honored as Friends of University

Attorney Named YSU Trustee

Helen and Dominic Bitonte

James Roberts

College Gets New NameYSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts

has a new name: the College of Creative Arts and Communication. Housed in Bliss Hall, the college includes the departments of Art, Communication, the Dana School of Music, as well as Theater and Dance.

“In the previous name, there was a bit of an identity crisis for the Department of Communication,” said Bryan DePoy, dean of the college. “Creativity is imbedded within what we do in the college, so it’s logical that it would be a part of our brand awareness as well.”

The College of F&PA was founded in 1974, originally comprised of the Art, Communication and Theater departments and the Dana School of Music. In 2007, the department of Communication and Theater was divided into two departments: Communication; and Theater and Dance.

SMARTS Moves from Downtown to YSU Campus

YSU’s award-winning SMARTS – Students Motivated by the Arts – program, a community arts school that has provided quality arts education for more than 15 years, is relocating its operations from downtown Youngstown to the YSU campus.

SMARTS relocated its administrative offices to Tod Hall on the YSU campus on July 1. Programming will continue this fall at partner sites and on campus, and the SMARTS store will move before the start of

the holiday season.Bryan DePoy, dean of the College of Creative Arts and

Communication, said the move would expand opportunities for collaboration within the campus community while reducing operating costs for the program.

Visit https://vimeo.com/66083672 for a video on YSU’s SMARTS program.

http://web.ysu.edu/de/

Study Abroad Destinations: Cyprus and Korea

Highlighting the Achievements of Exceptional YSU Students

successs t u d e n t

S T O R I E S

Six YSU students are studying abroad this summer, one in South Korea and five in Cyprus. In photo above, clockwise from top left, they are: Floyd E. Kenney, Canfield; Timothy Shaffer, Mercer, Pa.; Sophia Santisi, Youngstown; Michael Aviles, Loraine, Ohio; Michelle Kordupel, Boardman; and Kathleen Gallagher, Struthers.

Aviles, a physics major and math minor, is studying genetics and the Korean language in South Korea. He is a $3,000 Gilman Scholarship award winner.

Kenney, a biology major from Canfield, went to Nicosia, Cyprus, to continue his education in the Global Learning Semesters medical program. He is the recipient of a $2,500 Gilman Scholarship.

Other students studying in Nicosia, Cyprus are: Shaffer, a pre-med major; Santisi, a chemistry and pre-med major; Gallagher; and Michel Kordupel, a junior biology major.

The Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Program offers grants for undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients to pursue academic studies abroad. 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.

North Canton native and new YSU alumnus Stephen Rakocy will head for the University of Florida this fall to accept a fellowship in the engineering Ph.D. program. He plans to earn a doctorate degree in mechanical engineering.

A University Scholar, he graduated in May with a BE in mechanical engineering and a mathematics minor. Rakocy’s interests lie in vehicle dynamics, vehicle design and the interaction between the vehicle and its environment.

While at YSU, Rakocy was president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at YSU, the vice president of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society, and head undergraduate lab and teaching assistant on campus.

New Grad to Study Engineering at U. of Fla.

Sophomore Ashley Orr spent five weeks at Texas A&M University this summer, participating in an undergraduate research experience called Mentoring Through Critical Points. Orr was invited to participate while presenting her research on math and economics topics at a conference in Nebraska earlier this year.

A Columbiana resident and University Scholar, she’s a member of the Student Government Association, the Student Leadership Society and has been elected president of the University Scholars Trustees for the 2013-14 school year. Orr developed and facilitates Penguin Pen Pals, a project with Harding Elementary School in Youngstown in which a hundred high-risk children exchange letters with YSU Scholars.

At this point, Ashley plans to attend graduate school, and may pursue a teaching career. “If I could do anything, I would do community service all the time,” she said.

Student Recruited for Research at Texas A&M


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student success

Dana School of Music graduate and University Scholar Morgan Wynn, who completed her BM in music education in May, has earned a full-tuition fellowship/graduate assistantship to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in trombone performance.

Wynn’s scholarship is two-thirds fellowship and one-third graduate assistantship, so it requires her to play for the school as well as either teach or work on campus.

Last summer, Wynn auditioned for and toured with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and she won the Dana Young Artist Competition and the Dean’s Award for the Dana School of Music in 2013.

Dana Grad Earns Carnegie Mellon Fellowship

New Grad Gets Scholarship to Notre DameCory Okular spent his senior year as YSU’s 2012-13 Student

Government president. Now the May graduate is getting ready to head for Notre Dame University, where he’s been awarded a full scholarship for a Ph.D. program in Economics. “It’s an easy decision to make, when Notre Dame gives you a call offering big money,” he said.

A New Middletown native and University Scholar, Okular earned a BS in economics and political science. He participated in the Model United Nations; has run the Boston Marathon twice; and has volunteered as a cross-country, track and speech/debate coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, his alma mater.

twelve

A dozen YSU students and a dozen regional nonprofit and public sector organizations have been selected to participate in the 2013 Nonprofit Leadership Summer

Honors Internship Program, funded by the Raymond John Wean Foundation.

Students serving internships this summer are, from left: front row, Courtney Waskin,

Sayantoni Dey and Deanna Hardy; second row, Eric Hippley and Eric Shehadi; third row, Ryan Mills, Emily Bosela and John Dysert; and back row, Olivia Conner, Craig Rader and Ronald Markowitz. Not pictured is Samuel Addai. They represent 10 majors and degree programs from across campus. Twenty-five nonprofit and public sector organizations and more than 50 students applied to participate in the program this year.

Students Serve Nonprofit Internships


YSU’S EIGHTH PRESIDENT

Education is about helping fulfill human potential, and – while it may sound corny –

making the world a better place.

By Mark W. Van Tilburg

RANDY DUNN

SUMMER 2013 9

n the first day of school in 1980, fresh-out-of-college, rookie teacher Randy Dunn greeted a classroom full of eager fourth-graders at Gibson City Elementary School in rural central Illinois.

Thirty-three years later, on a sunny summer day in northeast Ohio, Dunn spent the first day of his newest job greeting hundreds of students, employees, alumni and community members as the new president of Youngstown State University.

Between Gibson City and Youngstown, Dunn’s career path has taken him from the principal’s office to university professor, from state superintendent of the nation’s fifth largest state to the president of Murray State University in Kentucky.

Guiding Dunn all along – and leading him and his wife, Ronda, to Youngstown – has been an almost reverential calling for public education.

“It’s not just a career path, but a passion for helping people discover their intellectual, creative and humanistic potential,” Dunn says.

First Generation College-Goers

“Ronda and I are first generation college-goers, and I once read a study that revealed that, for folks like us, education is the most frequent career choice. For my part, I always enjoyed connecting with young people. Education is about helping fulfill human potential, and – while it may sound corny – making the world a better place.”

Rebecca Watts, associate vice chancellor of P-16 initiatives with the Ohio Board of Regents, who worked with Dunn when he was Illinois’ state superintendent and Murray State president, summed it up this way: “He feels strongly that everyone deserves the opportunity to lift themselves up through education. It really is a deep passion for him.”

Dunn now brings that passion to Ohio as the eighth president of Youngstown State University, where he

plans to push the university forward into an era of new distinction and accomplishment.“After studying YSU from afar, then coming here to interview and meeting students, faculty

and staff, as well as leaders in the community, it was clear to us that this opportunity was a perfect fit for our goals and the talents that we bring to the job,” he said.

The YSU Board of Trustees agreed, voting unanimously in May to offer the position to Dunn after a five-month national search. He succeeds Cynthia E. Anderson, who retired in July after three years at the university’s helm. Dunn took office on July 15.

OBy Mark W. Van Tilburg

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“A great deal has been accomplished here over the years, and we have so much to be proud of, but there is also a very positive sense that we can accomplish much more: to expand our footprint in the region, to bring more students to us,” Dunn said.

“But to be successful, hand-in-hand with those commitments has to be the capacity to do those things, to create that change, and I recognized that capacity here in the people we met. We perceived a real desire on campus and throughout the larger community to achieve even higher aspirations, a real excitement and pride. My read was that people here are invested in that; they are ready to continue on the path to success, are inspired and have the wherewithal to make it happen. That was really the big factor for me – that there is the talent and capability to pull it off here.”

An Energetic Start

Watts, who has worked closely with Dunn over the years, said his work ethic is among the most engaged of anyone she knows. “I can offer this assurance: Randy and Ronda Dunn are 100 percent committed to Youngstown State University and the greater community,” she said. “They will prove that. They will walk the walk.”

That commitment and energy was apparent on Dunn’s first day as YSU’s new chief executive. Waking at 4 a.m., Dunn was off to appear on all three local television morning shows in Youngstown, and then had his first meeting with university vice presidents at 7:30 a.m. He followed that with a full day of meetings and greetings

with various groups, including prospective students and parents, campus union leaders, a lunch with current students, and finally, a welcome reception at the Kilcawley Center fountain attended by more than 400 people.

Greeting, shaking hands and getting to know people is a big part of the job, Dunn said. “You have to be out and

involved, not just at university events, but community activities, regional service work and in maintaining a strong statewide presence,” he says. “If you aren’t passionate about this, if you don’t want to be engaged, then this job isn’t for you. There’s an old ‘saw’ that if you can find a job where you really enjoy what you’re doing, it’s not really work. For me, this is about as close as it gets.”

Dunn is well aware that there are big challenges regarding the future of higher education in Ohio and across the United States. “Particularly for public institutions, the first challenge is figuring out how we are going to make the budget every year, and in making that budget ensure that we are fulfilling the proper role as stewards and fiduciaries of taxpayers’ money, tuition money from students and parents,

and those who support us with gifts, grants and contracts. It’s a huge issue nationally and particularly for us here at YSU.

“But I also think there is another very important challenge, and that is the question being asked in the media and by the public in general: Are we worth it any more? Of course I think the answer is a resounding ‘Yes.’ And it is incumbent upon us to make our case more robustly, clearer and stronger. While I’m not a proponent of universal higher education – not everyone needs a college degree to prosper

YSU’s new chief executive, President Randy Dunn, with his wife and the university’s newest first lady, Ronda Dunn.

Find and friend Randy J. Dunn on Facebook, or follow the president on Twitter @YSUPrez.

– I am bothered by these hints – sometimes not just hints, but very explicit statements – that suggest we don’t need a strong system of public higher education. I just think that’s hogwash. So as leaders, we have to work very consciously to keep this notion from gaining any more ground. The value of public higher education has never been greater and is the key to the future of our region and our nation.”

Giving Students a ‘University Experience’

Dunn wants to make sure that YSU students have a great university experience, and the chance to become what he calls “learned individuals.”

“In addition to specific academic and technical learning, it is our job to instill in our students an appreciation for all of human endeavor and to ensure that they leave here with a rich appreciation for all that life has to offer beyond just getting a good job,” he said. “We want to have citizens graduating from YSU who follow the contemporary thinking and the culture at large, who are informed voters, people who take care of themselves and are healthy individuals.

“We want our graduates to appreciate the value and richness of diversity and the cultures of other countries and are prepared to travel the world if they wish to. This whole range of learning can be informed by a good university experience, and we’re not true to our name if we don’t ensure that these opportunities exist for our students.”

He added: “Let’s face it, this work is all about developing human capital, and you can’t do that without getting to know people, learning to like them and engaging with them. Without that, you’re not going to be a successful educator. You can’t do this work from afar, without getting

VITAE: RANDY J. DUNN

Education:

• EdD in educational administration, University of Illinois (1991)

• MSE in educational administration and foundations, Illinois State University (1983)

• BSEd in teacher education, Illinois State University (1980)

Professional Experience:

• President, Youngstown State University, July 2013 – Present.

• President, Murray State University, Murray, Ky., December 2006 – June 2013.

• State Superintendent of Education, Illinois State Board of Education, September 2004 – December 2006.

• Professor, Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2003 – 2004.Department Chair, 2000 – 2004. Associate Professor, 1995 – 2003.

• Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership, The University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State University), Memphis, Tenn., 1994 – 1995.

Ronda and Randy Dunn chat with YSU alumnus Jack Chugden (’57 BSBA) of Colorado at the Summer Festival of the Arts on campus July 13.

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• Superintendent of Schools, Chester, Ill., Community Unit School District No. 139, 1991 – 1994.

• Superintendent of Schools, Argenta-Oreana, Ill., Community Unit School District No. 1, 1989 – 1991.

• Principal, Roanoke-Benson, Ill., Middle School, 1984 – 1989.

• Principal, Paw Paw, Ill. Grade School, 1983 –1984.

• Elementary and Reading Teacher, Gibson City, Ill. Grade School, 1980 – 1983.

Personal:

Married to Ronda Baker Dunn. Four Children - Lindsey, 30; Erin, 28; Sara, 25; Gavin, 22.


connected to people, and I feel the same way today about the work I do as president.”

A ‘Big Picture’ President

That’s why Brad Colwell and Tim Todd, two of Dunn’s former colleagues, refer to him as a “big picture president.”

According to Colwell, dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University, a former colleague at Southern Illinois University and partner in an educational consulting enterprise with him, Dunn has exactly the right background and skillset to be a great university president.

“One of his major strengths – and there are many (he’s brilliant, savvy, flexible, personable and a great listener/collaborator) – is his ability to prioritize quickly and wisely,” said Colwell. “He likes to surround himself with knowledgeable, thoughtful people, and not just those who will agree with him or reflect his point of view. He does his homework, listens to different opinions, and once he is confident that the matter is well vetted, he will be very clear and decisive. He not only talks about transparency and good communications, he is an excellent practitioner of both.”

Colwell also described Dunn as a man of integrity who understands and appreciates good politics, but is ultimately going to do what’s right for students and the university.

“He understands the dynamics of America’s public school system from just about every angle,” Colwell said. “From teaching fourth grade in the early 1980s, then as a principal, district superintendent and finally as state superintendent of education for the Illinois State Board of Education – a system of 2.1 million students and 166,000 educators – then as president of Murray State for nearly seven years, Randy brings a powerful background to his presidency at YSU.”

Todd, dean of the Bauernfeind College of Business at Murray State, agrees.

“When he arrived here [at Murray State]

he set some very broad parameters, which he called his ‘strategic imperatives’: community outreach, partnerships and, later, innovation. By listening closely and learning from this solid call to action from him, the deans and other university leaders had clear direction on how to motivate and lead their people, and it created an environment and momentum enabling us to create specific and coherent work to move the university forward within the context of these common themes.”

Talks with Mike Case on set of WFMJ Today.

Chats with The Vindicator’s Denise Dick in his Tod Hall office.

9:30 amVisits staff in Sweeney Hall.

President Randy Dunn talks with reporters at a press conference following his appointment by the YSU Board of Trustees in May.

PRESIDENT DUNN’S FIRST DAY • JULY 15, 2013

5:45 am

8:35 am

SUMMER 2013 13

Mission: Community Outreach For Dunn, community outreach and engagement

are the systemic themes for a successful presidency at a state university. He especially likes to talk about such institutions as “stewards of place.”

“Randy has a real passion for outreach,” Todd says. “He sees the mission of a regional comprehensive university to, first and foremost, serve its region. He believes there must be effective outreach to the K-12 public schools, to the economic development enterprise, to the philanthropic community. Our success on these fronts helped build strong regional support for Murray State during his tenure.”

Todd said Dunn was a very effective and strong champion for the Murray State brand. “At the ribbon-cuttings, groundbreakings and such events, Randy was always the point person – always active, always engaging. He takes that role very seriously and will become the number one cheerleader for the institution. Of course he expects the people working with him to be cheering right along side him,” he said.

“He is an extremely effective communicator and a great champion for the university,” Watts added. “But you will see that he’s a lot more. He’ll prove that he’s not just good at messaging; he’s really good at the work that drives the messaging.”

Pollock House Was ‘Huge Draw’ One thing Dunn will not be is a commuter.A week before taking over the president’s office, Randy

and Ronda Dunn moved into Pollock House, the university’s recently renovated presidential residence

across the street from the campus on Wick Avenue. They are the first YSU first couple to live in the historic house, and Dunn said it is a big selling point for attracting good people to the university.

“Of course you don’t make a decision to take a job based on the residence, but for us, this was a huge draw,” Dunn says. “In a larger way, I think it bespeaks the commitment of the board and the university to really provide the best opportunity they can

9:30 am

Lunches with students in Kilcawley Center.

Greets about 400 well-wishers.

Of course you don’t make a decision to take

a job based on the residence, but for us, this was a huge draw.

Randy Dunn carries a container into the Pollock House, YSU’s presidential residence on Wick Avenue. He and his wife, Ronda, moved in the week before he started his new position July 15.

12:10 pm 4:15 pm

3:35 pmTrustees Chair Sundershan Garg

makes introductions at reception outside Kilcawley.

5:45 pm

to be well positioned for the future. Having a presidential residence of this quality really is a draw for candidates.”

The Dunns plan to open the house to the university and community alike.

“When you think about this in the broad advancement of the university – and I’m thinking all the way from student development activities to higher-end events for friends and donors – there has to be a familiar and comfortable relationship with the president and spouse, in this case, the first lady,” he said. “Having people into a home, bringing them into the place where you live, establishes bonds that are very difficult to get any other way, and building relationships is among the most important aspects of this job. You can best do that work in settings that are intimate, personal, familial and comfortable – and having a presidential home really enhances that.

“In connecting us to the community and having the community feel that they are invited in, there is no better way to do that than through a presidential home of this extraordinary quality that is designed for that purpose – one that really is a home, that’s not sterile, not dis-inviting, but one that really pulls you in. The public is going to see that this is a place that does pull you in, in the way it’s been so thoughtfully renovated. It’s a special place where many, many special memories will be made in the years to come.”

Praise for YSU’s New First LadyWatts remembers how the Dunns loved hosting parties,

especially during the holidays, at the president’s residence

at Murray State. “And these parties were not always just for people at the university, but included folks from the whole community,” she said. “I have no doubt they will continue that in Youngstown, as it is so emblematic of their openness and warmth.”

As a couple, the Dunns are great partners, Watts said. “Ronda is joyful and exuberant, energized and so very positive,” Watts said. “With a real depth of experience, expertise (not to mention her PhD in education) she, like Randy, also has a strong appreciation for of the many issues facing universities today. She is extremely knowledgeable and will actively share her expertise as appropriate in supporting the best interests of the university. They both truly enjoy campus life and community life. They both find real joy in being involved and they do it without pretense or making a big deal of it.”

As YSU enters a new chapter in its history, facing the fundamental challenges of shifting fiscal dynamics and the unprecedented pace of technological change that all public universities confront today, Randy Dunn has answered the call with remarkable abilities, experience and confidence.

Todd, his Murray State colleague, expressed it this way: “I have immense professional respect for Randy. He is a man of great integrity matched with proven and unparalleled administrative and leadership abilities. I miss him already. I’m tickled for you all, but I’m sad for us. I think the world of him as a man, and I think the world of him as an incredibly capable leader and president.”

The end of a great first day.


Visit www.ysumagazine.org for a video timeline of Randy Dunn’s first day.

www.ysumagazine.org

YSU Welcomes Ed O’Neill

SUMMER 2013 15

Visit www.ysumagazine.org for a video of Ed O’Neill’s commencement speech.

YSU welcomed Youngstown native and television star Ed O’Neill back to campus in May as the keynote speaker at YSU’s spring commence-ment. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly captured these images on campus the weekend of May 17-18. Kennerly is a close friend of the actor. O’Neill, now starring in the TV sitcom “Modern Family,” attended YSU in the 1990s, played football and earned accolades for his performances in YSU theater productions.

In photos, clockwise starting at the top, O’Neill leads faculty members processing out of Beeghly Center; the actor is surrounded by students performing at a fundraising dinner in his honor at Bliss Hall; O’Neill and Kennerly pose with a sign promoting the dinner; O’Neill addresses the graduates.

www.ysumagazine.org


ony Pedone describes the weekend escapes that he and his wife Marsha offer combat veterans in just two words. “Nothing

works,” he says with a grin. Veterans who participate in the three-day

Breakaways at Lilac Springs, the couple’s 68-acre property in rural Meadville, Pa., certainly feel like they’re doing nothing. And they’re not used to it. They’re uneasy, at first, about having no schedule, no agenda and no assignments to complete.

But Pedone, a Pennsylvania-licensed clinical psychologist and YSU alum, says everything at Lilac Springs is research-based – from the home-cooked group meals to the chimes outside each entry door, from the long, silent walks to the late night bonfires. It’s all designed to help veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder to unwind and readjust to civilian life.

More than three dozen veterans and their spouses or partners have participated in Breakaways, free of charge, since the couple launched the program eight years ago. Without exception, Pedone says, participants have benefited

By Cynthia Vinarsky

Alumni Couple Offers ‘Breakaways’ for Combat Vets

from the concept he calls “purposeful nothingness.” That’s why he says, without reservation, that “nothing” works.

Chenoa Craig of Meadville, Pa., counts her husband, Steve, as one of the program’s success stories. He seemed like a different person when he came home after four years in the Navy serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said. “He wanted to be alone all the time, he had a short temper, and he had trouble with change. Even going to the grocery store was hard. He just couldn’t go inside.”

With the expected birth of their first child just weeks away, Chenoa persuaded her husband to go with her for a weekend Breakaway last fall. He was anxious and nervous – a typical reaction, said Pedone, for combat vets visiting Lilac Springs for the first time – but within 24-hours Chenoa began noticing a change. “I was desperate,” she said. “That weekend changed our lives. By Saturday night, he was himself again.”

Now, Steve Craig is employed as a counselor for the Veterans Administration in Erie, Pa., and the couple has an infant daughter. They like coming to Lilac Springs to visit the Pedones and are making plans to reconnect with one of the

TT

Alumni Tony and Marsha Pedone stand on the grounds of the Meadville, Pa., property where they offer weekend getaways for returning combat veterans.

SUMMER 2013 17

couples they met at their Breakaway. “This place just feels like another home to us now,” Chenoa said.

Michael Perry of Edinboro, Pa., a veteran who served 13 months with the Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, also credits the program for his recovery. He said he was still struggling with PTSD two years after his return home when a VA counselor suggested he and his wife sign up for a Breakaway. “Tony and Marsha are awesome people, and what they’re doing is absolutely outstanding,” said Perry, a supervisor at a manufacturing plant. “I was able to relate to the other veterans there, and I could talk to Tony about anything. It definitely helped a lot.”

Married 44 years, the Pedones met as students at YSU during the Vietnam War era – he earned a BA in psychology in 1968; she completed her BS in general business a year later. Tony served in the Army Reserves, earned a master’s degree in psychology from Edinboro University, and now maintains a private practice as a clinical psychologist in Meadville. Marsha spent most of her career doing accounting work for businesses and now handles the finances for her husband’s practice and Lilac Springs.

The couple’s Meadville home is next door to Lilac Springs, and they decided to buy the scenic property in 2000 to preserve its ponds, trails, woods and meadows from residential development. From the start, they talked about using the land, along with the old farmhouse and several other small buildings on the grounds, to host retreats for people facing stressful situations. They decided to focus on combat veterans when Tony learned, in a chance meeting with a VA representative, that returning combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their partners could benefit from a therapeutic “breakaway” in addition to the counseling the VA provides.

“You can’t treat PTSD in an office. The government can’t do what we do,” Pedone explained.

The VA endorses the Breakaway program and refers veterans to the Pedones, but Lilac Springs is a private non-profit facility and gets no government funding, relying solely on donations from individuals, organizations and businesses. The Pedones volunteer their time to staff the Breakaway weekends and often foot part of the bill for food and other expenses.

“We give them freedom to go anywhere in the buildings and the grounds. We just ask them to take care of the place as if it were their own,” Marsha said. “On a Breakaway weekend, Tony and I head for home around 10 or 11 p.m., but the couples might stay up talking until 3 or 4 a.m.”

Each Breakaway is limited to between 10 and 12 couples, and the Pedones welcome vets of any era. They’ve worked with veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Lebanon,

Kosovo, Panama, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn, most coming from Ohio and Pennsylvania

Looking ahead, the Pedones say they’re hoping to increase the number of Breakaways offered annually – they average four per year. They’re also seeking grant money and donations to purchase four-wheeled vehicles or golf carts that would make the buildings and grounds more accessible for disabled veterans.

Pedone sees the weekend Breakaways as a way to pay back the veterans who risked their lives to protect America’s freedoms. “When you send people out to fight your battles and they get hurt, you’d better take care of them,” he said. “We try to make Lilac Springs the polar opposite of what these vets faced in combat.” (For more information on the Breakaway program, visit: lilacsprings-vets168.com.)

Military veterans visiting Lilac Springs can walk the paths of a grassy labyrinth (pictured above.) At left, Chenoa Craig talks about how a Breakaway weekend helped her husband, Steve, a Navy veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.


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 Salumni SPOTLIGHT

DANA GRADS SHARING THEIRMUSIC WITH THE WORLD

YSU's Dana School of Music has thousands of successful graduates making music across the coun-try and around the world. In this edition, the Alumni Spotlight focuses on three exceptional Dana grads: David Perrico, whose band is headlining at an iconic entertainment venue in Las Vegas; Kelly Scurich,

at the helm of one of the largest and most successful vocal music programs in the region; and Alton Merrell, who has found his niche in the realm of sacred music.

Christopher Sondles

YSU alumnus David Perrico, center, with his band Pop Evolution. Read more at www.stratospherehotel.com or www.reverbnation.com/davidperrico.

http://www.stratospherehotel.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/davidperrico

SUMMER 2013 19

David Perrico ’02 BM in Music Performance

Big Band music has always been a passion for David Perrico, so the YSU alumnus feels great about headlining at the iconic Stratosphere Casino, Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas as the leader of an 18-piece band with two singers.

But Perrico – a trumpeter, conductor, composer and Dana School of Music grad – says he won’t be boasting about his new gig. “I never say that I’ve made it to the big time,” he said. “To me, it’s work. I’m honored and I’m flattered to be here, but it’s just what I do. It’s where the journey has taken me right now.”

His band, “David Perrico – Pop Evolution,” performs popular songs from every genre – from The Beatles to Mötley Crüe to Lady Antebellum – with a uniquely modern, pop-jazz-big band sound. “I’ve got Baby Boomers and kids in their 20s and 30s coming to hear us, and they’re really connecting with the music,” he said.

Every performance is unique. Some include Perrico’s original compositions, occasionally he does a trumpet solo, but the bandleader insists that it’s not about him. “I’ve got some of the best musicians in Vegas in the band, and I try to keep it fun and challenging for them,” he said. “It’s a collective thing, it’s about the music. It’s fun to be on stage with so much talent.”

And he’s proud of the unique arrangement he made with the casino management, giving one-half of all Pop Evolution’s ticket sale revenue to the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, a magnet public high school dedicated to the performing and visual arts. “I feel like it’s a way to give back, to help the kids, and you never know who you’re going to impact.”

As a musician, Perrico has performed with top names such as Donny & Marie, Natalie Cole, Tony Braxton and Gladys Knight and has 11 CD and four DVD recordings to his credit. Pop Evolution has been well received by audiences and critics alike – it was recently voted “Best of Las Vegas” by readers of the Las Vegas Review Journal and was featured on a new Vegas PBS television series, “artScene.”

Perrico also serves as music director and arranged all the music for PIN UP, another headlining show at the Stratosphere. He works as a freelance musician for big-name performers whenever he can, and he’s an adjunct instructor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, teaching courses in jazz studies. Another YSU alumnus, Craig Raymaley, ’98 BM, operates a Vegas concert production company and, as Perrico’s manager, helps to coordinate his busy schedule.

In the classroom at UNLV, Perrico likes to share his real world experience. “I give them the point blank reality of what it

Bringing the NewestBig Band Sound to Vegas

takes to be a professional musician and earn a living,” he said.

And Perrico has experienced that reality. Growing up on Youngstown’s West Side, he started playing the trumpet at age 9 and began studying three years later with Esotto Pellegrini, a Dana professor and principal trumpet with the Youngstown Symphony. He came to YSU on a scholarship and credits professors Tony Leonardi and Kent Engelhardt for creating a program that regularly brought in musical greats, like his idol, Chuck Mangione, to meet and work with students. He was very close to graduating when he got an offer he couldn’t refuse, an opportunity to travel as a musician with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

He spent the next eight years on the road with the band, crisscrossing the country and learning from the other, more seasoned musicians. “Talk about cutting your teeth,” he said with a laugh. “It was tough, living out of a suitcase for 40 to 45 weeks out of a year, but the musical rewards were great.” He had taken another position, traveling the world as an entertainer on an international cruise line, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks forced him to change course again – travel had become difficult and many bookings were canceled.

Perrico went back to YSU, completed his BM in 2002, and then moved to Vegas where he was awarded a graduate assistantship and earned his master’s degree in jazz studies at UNLV in 2006. He’s been teaching there ever since.

The conductor and musician has maintained ties with YSU, and in 2007 his composition, “Fanfare of Light,” was selected to commemorate the university’s Centennial Celebration. But Vegas is home for him now, especially since his mother, brother and sister-in-law have relocated there.

When he’s not working, Perrico likes to get away from the city lights. He’s drawn to explore Nevada’s scenic terrain. “I don’t have time for gambling and all that stuff,” he said. “I’m out every day, hiking the Red Rock Canyon. That’s where I go to decompress, to recharge.”

Profile by Cynthia Vinarsky

David Perrico


alumni SPOTLIGHT

Kelly Scurich, ’83, ’85

Getting a Thrill Watching

Students Excel

Ballet lessons began at age seven, voice training a few years later, and by the time Kelly Scurich had reached her teens she was landing leading stage roles in her western-Pennsylvania hometown. There was no doubt, when she finished her bachelor’s degree in vocal music performance at YSU, that Scurich was headed for a stage career.

But then she got a taste of teaching, and her dreams all changed. Now Scurich plays a leading role in the classroom and gets a thrill from watching her students shine.

Scurich is the choral director and a music teacher at Canfield High School, where she’s played a major role in developing one of the largest and most successful vocal music programs in the region.

There were just 20 students in the concert choir when she came to Canfield in 1994. “I thought then that it was like a sleeping giant, and the administration was really gung ho,” she said. “They recruited me from Hermitage (Pa.) and they wanted me to build up the program. In three years it really took off.”

In all, she had 160 students enrolled in the choral program this past school year, including a concert choir with more than 100 voices, the all-female One Octave Higher Ensemble and a select mixed group called the Canfield Chamber Ensemble. This fall she’s piloting a basic guitar class at the high school, using new guitars provided by private donors.

After school, Scurich co-produces a Broadway-style musical at Canfield every spring, typically with a cast of 100 or more students. Recent shows included “Les Miserables” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and next year’s show will be “The Music Man.”

To help offset the cost of the school’s choral music and drama programs, Scurich directs a musical dinner theater featuring student performers. The fundraiser has become so popular that she’s had difficulty finding a venue large enough to accommodate both the dinner and the concert. Last year, students invited area restaurants to offer “tasting-sized” samples of their signature dishes instead of full meals. The idea was a hit, and she’s planning to do it again this fall.

She recently stepped into the college classroom to teach a course designed for music education students at YSU on how to put together a school musical production. “One of my students got a teaching job in Austintown just a few months

later and had to do the musical,” she said. “He was so glad he took the course.”

Scurich grew up in Sharon, Pa., and her involvement in local theater gave her opportunities to meet famous entertainers who were performing in the area. “One thing they would always mention is that they missed family, they missed home. I didn’t like that aspect,” she said.

After earning her baccalaureate in music performance at YSU in 1983, she was awarded a graduate assistantship working with YSU choirs and giving private lessons. “I absolutely loved working with students,” she said. “That’s when I decided I wanted to teach.” She earned her YSU master’s degree in 1985, went to Westminster College to earn a teaching certification, then held a succession of teaching positions at before coming to Canfield.

She believes that getting involved in high school dramas has lasting benefits for her students. “It really builds confidence, even if you’re just in the chorus,” she said. “And it builds the kind of lasting memories that you won’t get in math class. Working together as a team, when you’re all in sync like that, it’s the greatest natural high.”

Scurich’s husband, Tom, is also a YSU Dana School of Music graduate (’85 BM) who teaches elementary school music at Canfield. They have a son, 13, and a daughter, 19, and enjoy traveling as a family. Scurich still enjoys dancing, and these days she stays trim by attending Zumba and adult ballet classes at the Boardman YMCA.

Profile by Cynthia Vinarsky

Kelly Scurich at the piano in the choral music classroom at Canfield High School.

SUMMER 2013 21

alumni SPOTLIGHT

Profile by Andrea Armeni

Tom and Ryan Martino

Alton Merrell, ’00, ’02

Jazzed to Join Dana Faculty

What in the world can you do with a music degree?It was the question Alton Merrell asked Tony Leonardi

when he met the renowned YSU Jazz Studies director for the first time.

“He pulled me into his office, pointed to the photos of about 20 Dana alumni and started naming them off,” remembers Merrell. “‘This one is in the U.S. Army Band. He’s a well-known conductor. She’s a music educator.’”

It made music click as a career for Merrell. “Then he asked me what I wanted to do with music. I said, ‘I want to do what you’re doing.’”

This fall, Merrell will join the Dana School of Music faculty as an assistant professor of Jazz Piano and Jazz Studies – in the same Bliss Hall office once occupied by his great mentor, Leonardi.

Coincidence? Maybe. But Merrell sees it as something bigger.

From Day 1, Merrell’s musical passion has been strongly connected to his personal mission in life to serve God through his talent. His introduction to music, in fact, started in church with Merrell, just five years old, playing drums at services. By age 12, he switched to piano and organ, and at 16 he was directing an ensemble and band of more than 60 church members.

By the time Merrell started YSU as a freshman, he had developed his musical talent and was studying music formally on his own. But he hadn’t yet considered it as a career.

“I didn’t even know there was a music school at YSU,” Merrell admitted. “I was an engineering major. I had an internship at Delphi in Warren, Ohio, and a guaranteed engineering job after graduation.”

Then he stumbled into the Dana School of Music.

Hearing the buzz of instruments, the rehearsals in practice rooms, the music theory instructions by professors, Merrell knew music was meant to be more than just a hobby for him. “It was in my heart; I was called to it. I wanted to give everything to music at that point,” he said.

Merrell was introduced to Leonardi the next week, and the meeting was the first of many doors that opened for him. He was awarded a scholarship that saw him through undergrad; earned a teaching assistantship that paid for his master of music degree in jazz piano performance, also from YSU; then he found a job as music director at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh.

“I had been at Covenant for three years and felt a new season coming on,” recounts

Merrell. “I wanted to get my doctorate because I missed learning and teaching. I remember writing down what I was looking for: to study jazz, to find a program close to Pittsburgh, to find some way to afford it. I wrote it all out, and I prayed.”

Two weeks later, Merrell got a call from a stranger, Nathan Davis, the jazz program director at the University of Pittsburgh. “He told me they had a brand new jazz Ph.D. program and would love to have me.”

Merrell was offered a fellowship to cover the cost and was asked to teach in the program, the only one of its kind in the country. “It was another opportunity that just fell in my lap,” Merrell said.

Throw in performance and composition awards, spots on the nationally televised Bobby Jones Gospel Show, and opportunities to perform with famous gospel and jazz artists and orchestras, and it looks like a life full of musical accomplishment for Merrell. But he’ll be the first to pass on the credit.

“For me, it’s not so much about what I’ve achieved, but how much I’ve been blessed,” he said. “I give full credit to God who has given me the gift, and I’m happy to use my musical and teaching gifts to help others, just like Tony Leonardi helped me.”

Merrell starts back at YSU this fall, and he looks forward to being on the other side of the desk this time.

He and his wife, Kimberly, have two children – a son, Jaden, and a daughter, Zion.

Alton Merrell

22

hilanthropy Y O U N G S T O W N S T A T E U N I V E R S I T YP

YSU Foundation Scholarships to Increase $1.7M Annually

About 3,000 YSU students will benefit from a $1.7 million increase in scholarship funding in the next academic year, thanks to a new distribution plan approved by the YSU Foundation.

Under the plan, the Foundation will allocate $6.8 million for YSU student scholarships in 2013-14, up from $5.1 million in the previous academic year. That’s a 33 percent boost in funding.

“Students will feel the impact of these changes immediately and where it counts – in their wallets,” said YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson.” Anderson retired June 30.

The funding will help students attending graduate school and also will target the more than 1,300 undergraduate students receiving merit-based Scholarships for Excellence from the university. For example, recipients of the university’s President’s Scholarships will receive $4,000 in this academic year, an increase of $1,500 from last year. Over the course of four years,

In 1973, I graduated from YSU with a degree in mechanical engineering. After 32 years of working at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, I retired at age 55. After a couple years of retirement, my wife, Patricia, and I found ourselves in a second career helping both sets of parents through their final years. After winding down our parents’ estates after their passing, it was time, at 63 years of age, to take a hard look at our own estate planning.

As with most people, the bulk of our estate will go to extended family. I, however, wanted to give a portion of our estate to charity. There are many worthy charities to which one could choose to donate. So why did I choose to donate money to YSU for engineering student scholarships? The strongest reason was that this money will help the next generation and future generations for as long as there is a YSU! The money we donate to YSU will never stop helping some student in their quest for a college degree. Secondly, it is not easy to get a college degree and even harder to get an engineering degree. To get a college degree, one must work hard and truly desire to improve and improve one’s lot in life. These are the types of young adults we want to help. Lastly, when I graduated, I realized what a great bargain it was to get an engineering degree from YSU. Even today, YSU continues to be a good value.

Our donation to YSU is also a good vehicle for our estate planning. We are choosing to donate to YSU by naming the YSU Foundation as contingency beneficiary on the 401(k) account. This will mean that our estate will avoid the taxes on that account since it will go directly to the YSU Foundation upon our deaths. By making only the minimum required IRA/401(k) withdrawals at age 70 ½, we minimize our yearly taxes while maintaining the value of the account. The donation can also help keep our total estate value below inheritance tax limit, thus avoiding inheritance taxes on our estate.

(For more information about planned giving, contact R. Scott Evans, vice president for University Advancement, 330-941-3221 or [email protected].)

President’s Scholarship recipients will get $6,000 more in funding.

In addition, nearly 1,500 other Foundation-funded scholarships will be increased by 4 percent for next

academic year. The increases are the result of a change in how the Foundation distributes money

to the university. “This new distribution plan puts the YSU

Foundation more in line with other university endowments nationwide and allows us to provide an even higher level of assistance to YSU students facing increasing educational costs,” said Thomas Fleming, chair of the

YSU Foundation Board of Trustees.Founded in 1966, the YSU Foundation is a

private, non-profit corporation independent from the university that supports YSU exclusively, mostly

through scholarships for students. Earlier this year, the Foundation announced that it has surpassed the $200 million mark in assets and is now among the top third of university endowments in the nation.

Donor Testimonial: James C. Hodgson, ’73

SUMMER 2013 23

PhilanthropyHits New RecordBy R. Scott Evans, Vice President for University Advancement

The final results of YSU’s record year in fundraising are in! Approximately 4,600 donors provided $10.4 million in support to YSU between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. The previous record was $6.4 million in fiscal year 2007-08.

We are grateful for every gift from every donor – the retired teacher from Warren, Ohio who has given $50 every year for 20 years; the faculty member who gives

back through payroll deduction; the alumna who remembers YSU in her will; the local foundation that gives annual support for a favorite project; or the corporation that chooses to do something extraordinary for a capital project. It all adds up and makes a difference, leading us to this special milestone.

Top gifts included:• $1.375 million

from Wayne Cliffe of California for multiple

programs, most benefitting the College of Creative Arts and Communication.

• $1.2 million from the James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation to establish a new center of health and welfare for vulnerable populations and provide support for the Veterans Resource Center capital project.

• $1 million from alumni Walter and Mary Healey of California for campus beautification.

• $800,000 from an anonymous donor for scholarships.• $525,000 from alumna Katherine Kartalis of

Cleveland and her husband, Andrew, for scholarships and the Veterans Resource Center.

• $500,000 from Farmers National Bank to establish the Farmers National Bank Field at the new sports complex located west of Fifth Avenue on campus.

As we look ahead, scholarship remains at the forefront of our priorities. These funds are critical in bolstering enrollment and retention at YSU. Additionally, we will seek support for capital projects, academic programs, athletics and other priorities identified by our new president, Dr. Randy Dunn.

Thank you for all that you have done to help the students of YSU this year.

YSU’s Association of Professional/Administrative Staff (APAS), the labor union that represents 162 professional staff at the university, has established a scholarship endowment as part of its “APAS Gives Back” initiative.

“Our union wanted to come together and show our support of YSU students in a very tangible way,” said Michael Glonek, APAS president. “We thought that the best way to demonstrate this support was through the establishment of a scholarship endowment. It very clearly demonstrates that APAS members are invested in this university and the success of our students.”

Established this spring, the APAS Scholarship Endowment at YSU will be awarded annually to one or more dependents of APAS members who qualify under the scholarship criteria. APAS members are now working to meet the $10,000 endowment goal.

For more information, contact Jacquelyn Daniel Johnson, annual giving coordinator, at 330-941-2329 or [email protected].

YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson and Scott Evans, vice president for University Advancement, celebrate a record fundraising mark for the university. Anderson retired June 30.

Patricia L. and James C. Hodgson, Aiken, S.C.

APAS Union Creates Scholarship Endowment

mailto:[email protected]


alumni news

Stickers Let You Show Your Penguin PrideLooking for a new way to show your Penguin Pride?

We invite you to use our new YSU Alumni stickers on letters, envelopes, even your receipts when dining out. The possibilities to show your support are endless – get creative!

To request your stickers, send an email with the subject line “YSU Alumni Supporting Our Community” to: [email protected]. Please include your name, graduation year and full mailing address.

Fall 2013 Alumni Lecture SeriesExpand your knowledge and

make new contacts by attending this season’s Alumni Lecture Series

presentations. Reservations are required, due one week prior to

each program. Tickets are $5 for Alumni Society members,

$7 for non-members.

Mon., Sept. 16 – “Active Shooter Preparedness,” FBI Special Agent Todd Werth, Kilcawley Center. Networking, 2:30 p.m.; lecture, 3 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 26 – “Successful Education Programs in Urban School Districts,” a panel discussion, McKay Auditorium, Beeghly Hall. Networking, 5:30 p.m.; lecture 6 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 3 – “It’s Not About WEIGHT Management, It’s About WAIST Management,” Armon Shayesteh, Ph.D., R.D., C.D.E., L.D.; board certified nutritionist, diabetes educator, registered dietitian and weight loss specialist, YSU Trustees meeting room, Tod Hall. Networking, 5:30 p.m.; lecture, 6:30 p.m.

Thurs., Nov. 7 – “The Future of Fossil vs. Sustainable Energy Sources,” a panel discussion, Room 2400, Moser Hall. Lecture, 6 p.m., reception in Moser Hall lobby, 7 p.m.

(For more information contact Heather Belgin, 330-941-1591 or [email protected].)

President Visits All Alumni Reunion

Alumni attending the All Alumni Reunion Dinner July 13 were delighted to be among the first to meet President Randy J. Dunn and his wife, Dr. Ronda Dunn. In the photo, Roxy Gurlea, ’77, and Larry Gurlea, ’81, ’86, enjoy a chat with the Dunns during their surprise visit.

Alumni Gather in D.C. for Networking SessionYSU alumni living in the Washington D.C. area gathered on Capitol Hill for

a networking session and to hear from special guest U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, author of the recently published book A Mindful Nation. Those attending the reception included, from left: Reneé Arroyo Lee-Sing,’01, of Indian Head, Md.; Kristin Gardner, ’06, of Centreville, Va.; Athena DiIullo, ’03 and ’05, of Arlington, Va.; Alyssa Finamore, ’02, and Katie Poole, ’02, both of Falls Church, Va.; and John Gardner, ’04 and ’05, of Centreville, Va.

SUMMER 2013 25

Interested in starting a YSU LGBT Alumni Group? Please email [email protected]

Alumni Society Board Meets to Honor President AndersonPast and present members of YSU’s Alumni Society Board gathered to honor President Cynthia E. Anderson before her

retirement at the end of June. Members attending were, from left: front row, Lori Factor, ’85, Canfield; Noreen Moderalli, ’75, Niles; Pat Billett, ’93, Boardman; John Africa, ’62, Canfield; Gerri D’Amico, ’67, Canfield; President Anderson, ’73, Youngstown; Krista White, ’97 and ’99, Poland; Amanda Shina-Cutright, ’05, Austintown; Kathleen McGuire, ’52, Warren; Karen Conklin, ’70, Youngstown; Henrietta Williams, ’74 and ’97, Campbell; and Maureen Drummond, ’85, Canfield. Second row: Jesse McClain, ’76 and ’79, Boardman; Richard Crepage, ’71, ’78 and ’99, Concord, Ohio; Bernie Kosar, ’59, Canfield; Donald Graham, ’71, Cleveland; Bruce Sherman, ’70, Boardman; Lawrence Richards, ’71, Poland; and Richard McLaughlin, ’58, Youngstown.

Pete the Penguin Heads WestWhen we asked our alumni to take Pete the Penguin

with them on vacation, we were pleased with the outpouring of photos we received from around the country. In fact, photos are still coming in! The latest snapshot comes from

the alumni mother and daughter team of Dianne Pitcairn, ’83, of Berlin Center, Ohio, and Carol Ann Pitcairn, ’10 of Ann Arbor, Mich. The duo took Pete to San Francisco where he enjoyed his ride through the city on a cable car. If you would like to send us your picture with Pete, email it to [email protected] along with your name, graduation year, city of residence and information about the photo itself.

For more information about any of these events, contact the Office of Alumni and Events Management, 330-941-3497.

Save Date!THE

Aug. 15 –YSU Alumni reception in Chicago

Aug. 23 – “Drop By Alumni,” a Welcome Week event on the Alumni House lawn. Join us from 1-3 p.m. to welcome new students and enjoy refreshments.

Aug. 24 – YSU Night at Sharon Speedway Gates open at 5 p.m. , racing begins at 7 p.m., VIP Suite.

Aug. 28 through Sept. 2 – Alumni invited to volunteer at the Canfield Fair and help showcase the university.

Sept 21– YSU Student Government Alumni Reunion Luncheon.

Oct 17 – YSU Alumni Society hosts its annual Life Member Event, “An Autumn Evening in the Park.”

Oct 19 – YSU Homecoming.

Oct 20 – Half Century Club Reunion, showcases the Class of 1963 and includes those who previously celebrated their 50th reunion, DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium, reception at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon.

Oct 30 – Skeggs Lecture Series presents humor writer David Sedaris, 7 p.m. at Stambaugh Auditorium.

alumni news

mailto:[email protected]

26 YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY26

sports newspenguin

The YSU Penguins return to the gridiron this season with a talented offense led by a veteran quarterback,

an up-and-coming defense and a revamped special-teams unit, hoping to pave the way to a postseason for the team.The Penguins won more games than the previous season in both the

2012 and 2011 campaigns, finishing last year with a 7-4 record. Now the team is looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Senior quarterback Kurt Hess is the headliner. Hess has started 33 games as the

Penguins’ QB and ranks first in school history for career touchdown passes (53), passing yards per game (202.9), passer rating (141.78) and 200-yard passing games (18).

A strong group of receivers will help Hess make a run at holding every career passing record in school history. Leading the receiver corps are junior Christian Bryan, senior Kevin Watts, senior Jelani Berassa and sophomore Andrew Williams.

The offensive line will be led by returning first-team all-conference performer senior Chris Elkins. Elkins has started 26 straight games on the line. The only other starter returning is senior tackle Kyle Bryant. Bryant started the final six contests in

Veteran Quarterback to Lead Penguins’ 2013 Campaign

Aug. 29 vs. DaytonSept. 7 vs. Morehead State Sept. 14 at Michigan StateSept.21vs.Duquesne Sept. 28 at Southern Illinois Oct. 5 at Indiana State Oct. 12 vs. Illinois State Oct. 19 vs. Western Illinois Nov. 2 at South Dakota Nov. 9 at UNINov. 16 vs. North Dakota State Nov. 23 vs. South Dakota State

2012. YSU allowed a school-record low eight sacks in 2012.On defense, three of the four starters in the secondary are back along with all three

starters at linebacker. In the secondary, YSU returns cornerbacks Dale Peterman and Julius Childs along with safety Donald D’Alesio.

At linebacker, Teven Williams, Travis Williams and Dom Rich combined to start 27 games last season. The Williams’s combined for 124 tackles last year, ranking one and two on the team; Childs was third with 51 tackles while Peterman was fourth with 50. D’Alesio was sixth with 38 and has 113 tackles throughout his career.

The defensive front will feature four new starters in 2013. Senior punter Nick Liste has been a three-year starter and owns a career average of 40 yards per kick. Junior placekicker Joey Cejudo had a tremendous spring and is expected to be an asset for the Guins this fall.

For just the second time in school history the Penguins will play seven regular-season home games at Stambaugh Stadium.

YSU opens the season Aug. 29 against Dayton. For season tickets contact the YSU athletic ticket office at 330-941-1978.

Four-time FCS National Championship winning coach Jim Tressel will headline the class of seven inductees to be recognized at the 2013 YSU Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony, set for Nov. 16.

Tressel guided the Penguin football program to four national titles – 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997. A four-time National Coach of the Year, he also served as the director of Intercollegiate Athletics during his tenure.

Other Hall of Fame honorees will include: All-America defensive back LeVar Greene (1998-2001); Major League Baseball draft pick Mark Thomas (1997-99); the best women’s tennis player in school history, Santi Nalluri (Nallapaneni) (1993-96); two standout football players, Darnell Clark (1990-93) and Tom Harder (1977-79); and men’s basketball 1,000-point scorer Anthony Hunt (1995-98).

The Hall of Fame event is scheduled the morning of the Penguins’ contest against two-time defending national champion North Dakota State. For information on tickets, contact Emily Wollet in YSU Athletics, [email protected].

Hall of Fame Event Set Nov. 16

Major League Baseball draft pick Mark Thomas, who was selected in 1999 by the Montreal Expos, is one of seven to be inducted to the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in November.

(Home games are listed in bold.)

For more information on joining the YSU Penguin Club contact Tom Morella, 330-941-2351 or [email protected]; or Jim Morrison, 330-941-3720 or [email protected].

Penguin Football Schedule

BE A

PART OF THE TEAM

BEHIND THE TEAM

SCLUB

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SUMMER 2013 27

penguin sports news

Two Honored for Academic, Athletic Performance

Two YSU athletes were honored this year with Academic All-America Awards by the College Sports Information Directors of America, bringing the university’s total of CoSIDA awardees to 17. Thirteen were named over the past decade.

Brandi Brown, an outstanding Penguin women’s basketball player who graduated in May, became the first female athlete in school history to receive first-team Academic All-America honors. Brown won many other honors, as well, during her career at YSU, including Horizon League Player of the Year.

Also, for the second straight year, baseball standout Drew Dosch was a second-team Academic All-America pick. Dosch is just the second athlete in school history to be a two-time selection, joining track and field thrower Aaron Merrill (2009 and 2010).

YSU’s soccer program has a home of its own for the first time since the program began in 1996 and will host Toledo in its first match there Aug. 30. The Penguins are moving from Stambaugh Stadium, where they’ve shared space with the football program, across the street to Farmers National Bank Field, a newly constructed soccer complex.

Farmers National Bank donated $500,000 toward construction of the facility, located at the corner of the Madison Avenue Expressway service road and Fifth Avenue. The field features green synthetic turf, bleachers to accommodate 200 spectators, a scoreboard, press box and an eight-lane, all-weather track.

The track will be used for intramurals and by the YSU men’s and women’s track and field teams. The project also includes a complex for the YSU softball program.

“This is an exciting year for Youngstown State soccer with the opening of Farmer’s National Bank Field,” said head coach Will Lemke. “We have a challenging schedule ahead of us, but one that will push us to get better each day.”

The Penguins are coming off their best season in school history after posting a school-best eight wins in 2012 and finishing fourth in the Horizon League. The team has 17 letter winners and nine starters returning from last year’s squad.

Penguins Set for First Year at Farmers National Bank Field

In MemoriamCarmine L. Cassese

Carmine L. Cassese, who served as head equipment manager in YSU’s Athletic Department for 25 years before retiring in 2011, died June 28. He was 57.

He grew up on the South Side of Youngstown, attended Cardinal Mooney High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University in 1977.

He taught industrial arts at Cardinal Mooney and worked for the City of Youngstown before joining YSU. He worked tirelessly to transform his family’s small restaurant, Cassese’s MVR, into a destination spot and popular YSU gathering place.

Memorial contributions may be sent to: YSU Penguin Club, Youngstown State University, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. Funds will go to the Carmine L. Cassese Scholarship at YSU.

Soccer Home Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIMEAug. 30 TOLEDO 4 p.m.Sept. 6 AKRON 7 p.m.Sept. 11 ROBERT MORRIS 6 p.m.Sept. 13 OHIO 4 p.m.Sept. 24 CEDARVILLE 7 p.m.Oct. 5 GREEN BAY* 1 p.m.Oct. 19 VALPARAISO* NoonNov. 1 DETROIT* 4 p.m.


ALVY ARMSTRONG… and “Dinner”

Head Equipment Manager, Intercollegiate Athletics

Baseball bats. Shoulder pads. Golf clubs. Soccer cleats. Tennis racquets. Basketball shoes. “Dinner” the Yorky. Football helmets.

Softballs.Wait … er … “Dinner” the Yorky?

As YSU’s head equipment manager, Alvy Armstrong’s “office” in the bowels of Stambaugh Stadium is chock-full of equipment to suit the needs of the university’s 18 sports teams. But the one item that gets the most attention – and is certainly the most beloved – is “Dinner,” Armstrong’s football-sized Yorkshire Terrier who quietly roams the aisles of the equipment room and has even been

taken on road trips with the Penguin football team.

“He’s sort of become our unofficial mascot,” Armstrong, a YSU alum, said about the stray dog he found several years ago lingering in his front yard. “The athletes come in and hold him; he’s like their pet away from home.”

A native of East Palestine, Armstrong has been working

with athletes since he became a student sports manager in the

seventh grade. “If you look good, you feel good, you play good,” he said. “It’s all about self confidence.”

He enrolled at YSU in 1990, worked as a student

in the equipment room, graduated in 1996 with a

bachelor’s degree in exercise science and was hired as the

full-time assistant equipment manager. He left in 2002 to become

coordinator of equipment and facilities at Southern Illinois University and then took

a job as football equipment specialist with Northern Illinois University before returning to YSU as head

equipment manager last year – “Dinner” in tow.“It’s always good to go back home,” he said. “It’s

amazing how much more you appreciate it when you go away and then come back.”

Profile by Ron Cole

(Editor's Note: Longtime YSU Equipment Manager Carmine L. Cassese, one of Armstrong's mentors, died June 28. Cassese retired in 2011 after 25 years at YSU. Read more in Sports News, Page 27.)

SUMMER 2013 29

’50sSister Charlotte Italiano of Canfield, ’54 BSE

in elementary education, was presented a Golden Apple Award by the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. She is principal at Ursuline Preschool and Kindergarten, Canfield, and has served the diocese for 62 years as a teacher and administrator. She has a master’s degree in supervision and administration from the former St. John College in Cleveland. She established an enrichment program, the Ursuline Academy of Music, Yoga, Summer “Kamp,” developed a yearly parent evaluation form and a parent newsletter. Golden Apple Awards are presented annually to outstanding educators in the diocese.

Beverly Johnston Pariza of Boardman, ’55 AAS in business secretarial studies, was named to the Warren High Schools’ Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in May. Her 51-year career included 14 years with Arby’s in Youngstown, and she served as controller for Allen and Mattingly Advertising in Atlanta. She has been an active volunteer for several area agencies and accumulated more than 6,500 hours of volunteer service at St. Elizabeth and St. Joseph medical centers. She received many honors for her volunteerism, including a Lifetime Volunteer Award from President Obama, the Valley Legacy Award and the United Veterans Council Citizen of the Year Award.

notesclass’60sDonald Headley of Holly Springs, N.C., ’65

BE in mechanical engineering, has retired from Anchor Glass Container after 34 years in the company’s engineering department, where he was director of process equipment engineering.

James D. Hetherington of Bethany, Okla., ’66 BSBA, and his wife, Carol, were presented Champions for Change commendations and medallions by Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin in recognition of their 30 years of outstanding service as mental health volunteers. Hetherington retired from the Federal Aviation Administration Training Academy in Oklahoma City where he was the supervisor of instructor training.

’70sJames McCollum of

Millersville, Pa., ’71 BSBA, is executive deputy to the president and chief of staff at Millersville University, where he also served as acting president earlier this year. Previously he served 10 years as chief executive of the Inter-University Council of Ohio. After earning his law degree from the University of Akron, he held several positions at YSU, including

presidential assistant, governmental relations officer and head of the university relations unit.

Lawrence F. Zizzo of Middletown, Ohio, ’71 AB in sociology and psychology, ’75 MS in criminal justice, retired March 31 as vice president of human resources for AK Steel. His career in the steel industry spanned 35 years, and he joined AK in 2004. Previously, he held a succession of division-level and executive-level positions with the former National Steel Corp. He serves on the board of trustees for Abilities First in Middletown.

Frank Mento of Bois Colombes, France, ’72 BM, is titular organist at Saint-Jean de Montmartre Church in Paris and a professor of harpsichord at the Conservatory of the 18th precinct in Paris. A native of Campbell, Ohio, he completed his baccalaureate at YSU’s Dana School of Music, then earned a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati. Mento has performed recitals on all the major organs of Paris, including Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur, the Madeleine, Saint Etienne du Mont and Saint Augustin, and has also performed on the harpsichord, including a concert in Paris in which he played Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto.

Shirley M. Martin of New Orleans, ’73 BS in education, is now serving as operations project manager for the Army Reserve Yellow Ribbon program. Martin retired in 2010 as a colonel in the Army after serving for 38 years. She said she was the first female student from YSU to be commissioned, in June 1973, as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve.

Suzanne Hughes of Hudson, Ohio, ’74 AAS in nursing, was presented with the 2012 Healthcare Volunteer of the Year Award by the American Heart Association. Hughes, a registered nurse, also holds a nursing degree from the University of Akron and a master’s degree in nursing from Kent State. She is a clinical education project director at the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association in Hudson, has been a Heart Association volunteer for nearly three decades and launched a national program at the Akron General Medical Center to raise awareness of heart disease in women.

Linda Demeny of Poland, Ohio, ’77 BSED, was awarded a scholarship last summer by Harvard University to attend the Summer Institute on College Admissions @ Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. This March, she earned a College and Career Certification, with distinction, from the University of California at Los Angeles. Demeny, who holds a graduate degree in

James McCollum

Running Against Parkinson’s DiseaseJohn Carchedi has been running competitively since

he was in his 30s, so he wasn’t about to hang up his running shoes when a doctor diagnosed him with Parkinson’s Disease a decade ago. “He told me I wouldn’t be able to run much longer,” says Carchedi, ’72 BS in psychology. “I just wanted to prove him wrong.” He’s certainly done that. Since the day of his diagnosis, the Georgetown, Texas, resident, now 63, has run 27 marathons in 27 states. Over the years, his motivation has changed. “So many people have told me that I’ve been an inspiration,” he said. “I want people to realize that Parkinson’s is not a death sentence, that you can have a good life.” Carchedi retired in 2005 from Wallace Community College in Selma, Ala., where he taught psychology for 30 years, four of them as division chair. He believes that running has helped to slow the progress of his disease and kept him motivated, but his symptoms are worsening. He’s fallen in several races and broke a rib and a shoulder in marathon No. 26. Later this summer, Carchedi plans to undergo a medical procedure called deep brain stimulation that is expected to temporarily reduce or eliminate his symptoms. The procedure has some risks, and results can vary. “I guess I just want to be able to say that I did everything I could,” he said. “I don’t want to have regrets.”


consumer education from California State University in Los Angeles, joined the faculty of Youngstown Christian School in 2001 and in 2011 was appointed a high school guidance counselor there.

Thomas M. Humphries of Girard, ’77 AAB, was appointed by Gov. John Kasich to the Ohio Board of Regents for a term that began in March and continues through Sept. 20, 2018. Humphries has served as president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber since April 1997, and before that he was a general manager for Sprint’s Ohio East region. He holds a certificate in executive management from Duke University, is a principal of Data Voice Systems Review Inc., is a founding member of Team Northeast Ohio, and was appointed by the governor to the board of Partnership for Continued Learning in Columbus.

Roy Wilt of Chattahoochee, Fla., ’78 BM in music education, recently became board certified as a music therapist after successfully passing the music therapy certification exam for the state of Florida. He completed the bachelor equivalency program in Music Therapy at Florida State University in 2011, and is now employed as an activity leader at Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville, Ga. Wilt also serves as a human resources worker at Sunland in Marianna, Fla., and as choir director at First United Methodist Church

in Chattahoochee, where he is planning a series of concerts to mark the church’s 125th anniversary.

’80sTerry L. Chapin of

Cortland, ’80 BS in mechanical engineering technology, was recently named a senior materials engineer for Delphi Corp., where he previously served as a senior cost and technology leader. He has nearly 30 years experience in the rubber industry and has two patents. He teaches continuing education classes in rubber molding and parts design at the Akron Polymer Training Center and the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Chapin is a founding brother of Sigma Chi at YSU and has served as advisor to the YSU chapter for 13 years. Now grand praetor for Northern Ohio Sigma Chi, he was awarded the fraternity’s highest honor in 2012, the Sigma Chi Order of the Constantine.

Michael Dohar of Canfield, ’81 BE in chemical engineering, has been promoted to vice president of SR Products, a sister company of Simon Roofing. He is responsible for overseeing all manufacturing operations of advanced roof and floor coating products at the SR Plant in Struthers. Dohar joined Simon Roofing in 2008 as general manager of the SR Plant. After earning his degree

at YSU he also earned several business management certificates and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management.

Mary Pat Salomone of Charlotte, N.C., ’82 BS in civil engineering, retired June 30 as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Babcock & Wilcox Co., concluding 31 years of service. She will continue as CEO of Nuclear Production Partners, a joint venture competing for an important U.S. Department of Energy contract. Previously, she was president and CEO of Marine Mechanical Corp. from 2001 until 2007 when the company was acquired by B&W. She holds an MBA from Baldwin Wallace College and was awarded an outstanding alumni award recently by YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This year, she was chosen by the Manufacturing Institute and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers to receive the 2013 Women in Manufacturing STEP Award.

David D. Lewis of Cincinnati, ’83 AAS in nursing, is the transplant administrator for St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. He has a master’s degree in healthcare leadership from Friends University in Wichita, Kan. and has more than 25 years experience in the healthcare and non-profit sector. Previously, he worked at University Hospitals of Cleveland, LifeCenter Organ Donor Network in Cincinnati, and Via Christi Health in Wichita, Kan.

Carolyn J. Turk of Orwell, Ohio, ‘84 BSBA in accounting, was elected chairman of the board of directors for Middlefield Banc Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Middlefield Banking Co. Turk was first elected to the bank’s board of directors in 2003 and joined the company’s board a year later. A licensed CPA, she is the controller of Molded Fiberglass Companies in Ashtabula, Ohio.

Dr. Renee Wagner of Breman, Ohio, ’85 BS, was appointed to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster. Wagner, who earned her medical degree at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, is an anesthesiologist. She completed a transitional internship at

Thomas Humphries

Mary Pat Salomone

Terry Chapin

Trumpeter in the LimelightMaster Gunnery Sgt. Andrew Schuller, a

YSU alumnus, held a spot in the national limelight earlier this year as a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. On President Obama’s inauguration day, the band performed at the swearing-in ceremony, marched in the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue and entertained at several inaugural balls. “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization, and its primary mission is to provide music for the president and the commandant of the Marine Corps. Schuller of Alexandria, Va., ’81 BM in music education, is a native of Salem, Ohio. He joined the Marine Band in 1986, was appointed trumpet section leader in 1998 and named high brass section commander in 2003. He has a master’s degree in conducting from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. He also performs with the Marine Chamber Orchestra and the Marine Chamber Ensembles at the White House, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, and across the country during the band’s annual fall concert tour.

Renee Wagner

Class Notes

SUMMER 2013 31

Class Notes

(Are you a married YSU couple? If so, we’d like to hear your love story, whether you met as students or many years after graduation. Your story may be selected for publication. Tell us your story in 300 words or less, and send it with a current photograph and/or wedding photo. The photo should be a close-up, head-and-shoulders shot; if emailed, it should be a high-resolution jpeg, at least 3.5”x 5” and 300 dpi. Be sure to include an email address and phone number so that we can contact you. Send your Penguin Mates story to: [email protected] or Editor, YSU Magazine, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44515.)

Riverside Methodist Hospital and an anesthesia residency at Ohio State University Hospital, both in Columbus.

Holly Wells of Cibolo, Texas, ’88 BA in English, ’01 MA in English, will start a new position this fall as an assistant professor of English and coordinator of the graduate program in professional and new media writing at East Stroudsburg University. She completed her PhD at Kent State University in 2012, where her dissertation was titled “Picture a scientist: A visual rhetoric approach to the problem of gender disparity in STEM fields.” Previously, she taught at YSU, Kent, Texas Lutheran University and Concordia University. Wells is married to a YSU graduate, Jaryl Altomare (‘05 BA, ‘10 MA).

’90sSean Wilson of Cape

Coral, Fla., ’95 AB in anthropology, was named general manager at Sandoval, a 524-acre gated community now under development. He will oversee the community’s management and operations and its homeowners association. Previously, Wilson served as Sandoval’s community maintenance manager, played catcher for a Division 1 baseball team with the Cleveland Indians, was a Merchant Marines captain and ran his own swimming pool company.

Jim Brocious of Cortland, Ohio, ’99 BSBA in marketing management, has been named Ohio Valley territory sales manager for the Boral TruExterior Trim product line, a building product manufactured by Boral Composites Inc. He will be based in Youngstown. Previously, he served as regional sales representative for Lumbermens Inc. and for the Rollex Corp.

’00sChris J. Morrone III of Youngstown, ’01 BE in

mechanical engineering, was promoted to partner with CJL Engineering. Previously, he was mechanical and electrical engineering associate and LEED commissioning agent for YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration building, which was awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Penguin

at YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY

Holly Wells

Sean Wilson

How We Met…Megan (Malone), ’09, & Michael Vargo, ’06 Michael and I were both YSU graduates and had been out of school for several years when

we met at a party for a mutual friend in May 2010. While we were not college sweethearts, YSU did play a part in our love story. The party that we were both attending was a YSU graduation party – the guest of honor attended classes with me, and Michael knew him through college employment. I didn’t know anyone at the party, so I took it upon myself to introduce myself to Michael. We started a conversation and talked for hours. By the end of the evening, I was so certain I wanted to talk to him again that I slipped him my business card with a note asking him to text me. He did, immediately after leaving the party, and we had our first official date three days later.

Michael and I got engaged on December 9, 2011, and were married on September 1, 2012. While planning our professional photos for our wedding, we chose the Williamson College of Business Administration as one of our sites. We chose Williamson for a unique and one of a kind look for our photos, knowing that not many couples had taken their wedding photos there, and also because we were both college of business graduates. It seemed sentimental and special for us to pay tribute to a place that, in a way, helped us find each other.

We have been happily married for nine months, living in Hubbard with our dog, Ralph. We are excited to say that we are expecting our first child, a boy, in November.

While we met after college, we can honestly say that YSU played a part in bringing us together, and creating our own love story.

– Megan Vargo


Class Notes

Help YSU Magazine share your career news in

Class Notes. You can visit ysumag-azine.org, click on the “Tell Us Your Story” icon

and fill out the form online. Or,

mail your news to: YSU Magazine, YSU

Marketing and Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. Please include your degree, graduation year and an email address or telephone number.

Robert Pavalko II of Boardman, ’01 BM in education, MS in educational administration, is a music teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in Cortland, one of only 51 music educators in Ohio who have earned a National

Board Teaching Certification in music, early and middle childhood. Pavalko is president of the Lakeview Teachers Association and is a professional violinist, performing with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the Elegant String Quartet, and several independent recording studios.

Cassandra Donofrio of Randolph, Ohio, ’02 BSE, a seventh grade teacher at St. Joseph School in Randolph, was presented a Golden Apple Award in May by the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. The award is presented annually to eight educators in the diocese, along with a monetary award. Besides her YSU degree, Donofrio holds a baccalaureate in journalism from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in education from Walsh University. She is a mentor teacher and a charter member of YSU’s first Student Advisory Council to the dean of education.

Heather Zernich of East Liverpool, ’03 BSE in middle school language arts and social studies, who is employed as a fourth grade teacher at St. Aloysius School in East Liverpool, was presented a Golden Apple Award in May by the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. Zernich is a resident educator mentor at her school, provides academic tutoring, and she designed and maintains the church and school website.

Ben Reeder of Hudson, OH, ’04 MBA, is a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual and recently obtained his Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Advisor for Senior Living designations from American College. He assists in recruiting and training of student interns and new full-time financial advisors at the firm’s Northern Ohio office in Akron.

Annie Lois (Hughes) Hines of New Castle, Pa., ’05 ASAS in social services, is employed as a supervisor for Treloar & Heisel Inc. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from Geneva College and also holds a commissioned pastor certification from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2011. She is a commissioned ruling elder in

the Shenango Presbytery branch of the Presbyterian Church USA.

Laura A. Brown of Strongsville, Ohio, ’07 BA in professional writing and editing, summa cum laude, is a senior editor and content specialist for P.R. Newswire in Cleveland. She was recently recognized as a recipient of the President’s Club Award for Excellence.

Sean Petiya of Youngstown, ‘08 BFA in graphic design, was awarded the H.W. Wilson Scholarship from the School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually and is based

on a student’s prior academic performance and accomplishments. Petiya is working as a web developer while pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at KSU.

Holly L. Welch of Youngstown, ’08 MS in educational administration, was honored as the Youngstown City Schools Teacher of the Year for 2012-13. She teaches biotechnology tech prep at the Choffin Career and Technical Center and has been on the YCS faculty for 12 years. She earned her undergraduate degree at Geneva College before coming to YSU for graduate study. Previously, she was named Ohio’s Outstanding Teacher in Community Service and was nominated three times for YCS Teacher of the Year. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at YSU.

’10sJennifer McCallister

of Wilder, Ky., ’10 BS in family and consumer studies/human ecology, is a principal trainer for Catholic Health Partners, working out of the company’s corporate offices in Cincinnati. She trains nurses and hospital personnel on computerized electronic medical/health records. McCallister began her career at St. Elizabeth Hospitals in

Boardman and Youngstown, where she also trained nursing staff.

Doug Livingston of Akron, ’12 BA in journalism, is the education reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal. He won third place for investigative reporting in the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors newspaper competition for a series of articles he completed while still a student at YSU.

Chelsea Miller of Elyria, Ohio, ’12 BA in journalism is a reporter for the Elyria Chronicle Telegram. She won first place in the enterprise reporting category in the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors newspaper competition. Miller competed in Division III for newspapers with a daily circulation between 13,000 and 24,999.

Stacey Pavlik of New Middletown, ’12 MS in biology, has been named a Woodrow Wilson Ohio Teaching Fellow. She will receive a $30,000 stipend to complete an intensive master’s degree program at the University of Akron that will prepare her to teach math and/or science in a high-need Ohio school. Pavlik earned her undergraduate degree at Waynesburg University and was awarded a North American Bluebird Society award for her thesis research.

JacobRafidi of Lowellville, ’13 BSBA in finance with minors in military science and theater, was recognized for his achievements in YSU’s Army ROTC program at the Youngstown Air Reserve Base Community Council’s 62nd Annual Armed Forces Recognition Dinner in May. As a student, he participated in a study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland, and served as president of the Student Investment Fund, managing a $700,000 portfolio. After attending the Army’s Ordnance Officer’s Basic Course in Fort Lee, Va., he will proceed to his first duty station with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Laura Brown

Sean Petiya

Jennifer McCallister

Holly Welch

Jacob Radifi

Annie Lois Hines

Robert Pavalko

• Master of Business Administration

• Master of Science in Engineering Management

• Master of Science in Criminal Justice

• Master of Science in Respiratory Care

• Master of Science in Teacher Education, Early Childhood Education

• Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Public Health

• Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Allied Health

www.ysu.edu/distance 330-941-1526

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Office of University DevelopmentOne University PlazaYoungstown, Ohio 44555-0001

Uniform fashions for majorettes and cheerleaders have undergone

dramatic changes since 1938, when Youngstown College

organized its first football team and its first 50-member marching

band. In the 1938 photo on the top left, cheerleaders Ruth

Boldt, top left, and Thelma Evans model military-style hats and

ankle-length culottes that were popular for cheerleading squads at the time. Drum major Charles

Axtmann is in the center.

In the 1954 photo, marching band members practice under the direction of Raymond Dehnbostel,

standing on the far left in the white suit, while majorettes

display uniform skirts hemmed just above the knee.

And on the top right, in the 1968 photo, an unnamed majorette

pairs a mini-skirt with a sleeveless top. Here, the band marches

through downtown Youngstown’s bustling shopping district in what was then Youngstown University’s

Homecoming parade.

Changing Fashion on the Football Field

ysu summer magazine 2013

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