O N T H E COVER Standing in Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals building in downtown Youngstown are YSU alumnae, from left, Appellate Judges Mary DeGenaro, Cheryl Waite and Carol Ann Robb. Learn how they and and two other alumnae judges serving on the Illinois Appellate Court reached the upper echelon in their profession. Our cover story, Honorable Alums, starts on Page 8.
YSU President
YSU Board of Trustees Chair Vice Chair Secretary Student Trustees
James Tressel Carole S. Weimer, ’89 Leonard Schiavone Delores Crawford, ’68 David C. Deibel, ’75 Sudershan K. Garg James B. Greene John R. Jakubek, ’79 Harry Meshel, ’49 James Roberts, ’70 Franklin S. Bennett Jr. Bryce A. Miner Eric Shehadi
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Magazine Editor
Public Information Officer
Executive Director of Marketing & Communications
Layout Design Artist
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Cynthia Vinarsky Ron Cole Mark W. Van Tilburg
Renée Cannon, ’90 Joel Lewis
Director, Office Jacquelyn LeViseur, ’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 21 online edition, Spring 2015, is published twice a year by the YSU Office of Marketing & Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Youngstown State University, Office of Marketing & 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 universitymagazine@ysu.edu. Youngstown State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, age, religion or veteran/military status in its programs or activities. Please visit www.ysu.edu/ada-accessibility for contact information for persons designated to handle questions about this policy. 8-001
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Lab Pairs Art with Engineering Preparing metal alloys in YSU’s Launch Lab at Bliss Hall are Ed Stride, left, and Walt Whitman, of Fireline, Inc., a Youngstown company. Launch Lab is a partnership between the university’s visual arts and engineering programs and includes an induction furnace donated by Ajax Tocco Magnethermic Corp. in Warren. The lab was created by Greg Moring, professor and chair of the Art Department, and Brian Vuksanovich, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, to bring students from the two disciplines together to collaborate on various projects. Fireline, which has a long-standing research partnership with YSU, was using the equipment to prepare metallic alloys for its product development efforts.
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Around Campus – Two families have joined the ranks of YSU’s most generous donors – their combined gifts to the university total nearly $5 million. The story leads our campus news pages.
COVER STORY: Honorable Alums – Read about five YSU alumnae, all women with stellar law careers, who now serve as Appellate Court Judges in Illinois and Northeast Ohio.
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Student Success Stories – A regular feature highlighting the achievements of exceptional YSU students.
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Help, Hope … and Excellence – An inside look at YSU’s award-winning Counseling program, where faculty and students alike have a heart for helping others.
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Faculty/Staff Bookshelf and Art – Proudly celebrating the achievements of faculty and staff who have recently published books, released musical recordings and had their work featured in art or photography exhibitions.
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Win-Win: Student Interns Create County GIS – Geography students are creating a digital mapping system for Columbiana County, and gaining professional work experience in the process. Alumni Spotlight: Alums Hit the Mark in Hospitality – We profile two YSU graduates who have earned their reputations as leaders in the hospitality industry. Meet Steve Bartolin, ‘75 BSBA, and Bill Mehalco, ’05 BS.
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President’s Message Alumni News Penguin Sports Philanthropy at YSU Class Notes
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Our Alumni: An Impressive Legacy
James P. Tressel President
Had to chuckle a bit when I read the cover story in this edition of YSU Magazine about Mary Seminara Schostok and Laura Liu. Successful attorneys and judges in Chicago, friends and colleagues for years, but they didn’t know until recently that they were both graduates of YSU. It’s really a Penguin world out there, isn’t it? I’ve been fortunate enough, in my first few months as YSU president, to travel around a bit for a variety of reasons, from Massachusetts to Florida to California, and it’s always so uplifting to see how many of our graduates are out there, making their marks, succeeding, pursuing their professional goals and personal dreams. That’s one of the great things about YSU and the greater Mahoning and Shenango valley region. People are tightly tied to this area. They may go off, like Judge Seminara Schostok and Judge Liu, but there’s always that connection. The memories are fond; the experiences are sustaining. There’s a thread of pride, of family and of history that weaves through the fabric of everyone who’s ever lived here or attended YSU. In this issue of the magazine, we walk along that thread, telling the stories of dozens of our alumni. When you finish reading about Seminara Schostok, Liu and three other top notch female graduates who have gone on to successful judicial careers, flip the pages to the story about two exceptional alums in the hospitality industry on opposite ends of their careers – Steve Bartolin, the newly retired president and CEO of the historic Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado, and Bill Mehalco, the talented young general manager of the trendy Hotel Indigo in New York. And, in the last pages of the magazine, sit back and take time to skim through Class Notes, filled with dozens of items about outstanding graduates – singing in Westminster Abbey, authoring books, serving on international boards, earning awards, winning championships and breaking barriers. We are doing great things here at your alma mater. We have talented, hard-working students achieving national praise and honors, an international faculty recognized throughout their disciplines for superlative teaching and scholarly work, and supporters who understand the importance of this institution in the lives of our students and the community. But, at the end of the day, our legacy is our alumni. And what an impressive legacy it is. Go Penguins,
James P. Tressel, President
P.S. Ellen and I are actually going to visit Steve and Barb Bartolin in August … He always rolls out the red carpet for Penguins!
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Sharing a Heritage: Two Families Donate Nearly $5 M
wo married couples – one that traces its roots to Czechoslovakia and the other to China – have made combined donations to YSU of nearly $5 million, among the largest gifts in the university’s history. Morris I. Friedman, founder of United Steel Service Inc. in Brookfield, Ohio, and his wife, Phyllis, gifted $2.5 million to establish the Morris and Phyllis Friedman Chair in Engineering. And the late Thomas Fok, former associate professor of Civil Engineering at YSU, and his late wife, Maria, a physician, donated $2.2 million to establish the Thomas and Maria Fok Scholarship. “On behalf of every one of us at YSU, I want to thank the Friedmans and the Foks for their generosity and for ensuring this lasting Celebrating Morris I. Friedman’s $2.5 million gift to the university are, from left: legacy at YSU,” President Jim Tressel said. Paul McFadden, president, YSU Foundation; Martin Abraham, YSU interim provost; Friedman, founder of United Steel Service Inc. in Brookfield, Ohio; Jim Tressel, YSU “YSU is privileged and fortunate to have the president; and Steven Friedman, chief executive of United Steel Service. support of these two very special couples.” Born in 1919 in Vapenik, Czechoslovakia, Mr. Friedman fled the impending Nazi occupation and came to the United States when he was 15 years old. His parents and two younger brothers would later die in Nazi concentration camps. Friedman lived in the Bronx and then moved to Cleveland. After serving in a tank division in World War II, Friedman married Phyllis. He became president of Allied Metals in Niles, Ohio, and then, in 1968, founded United Steel Service, also known as Uniserv. The company is one of the nation’s largest steel-slitting plants. “My business has been successful, and I feel I want to give back to the community that has given so much to me,” said Friedman, 95. With the gift to the YSU Foundation, the university will establish and maintain a full professor faculty position in the Rayen School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Thomas Fok was born in 1921, in Canton, China. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in China, a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, an MBA from New York University, and a PhD in Civil Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1958, he joined the YSU faculty and taught until 1967, when he started his own business, forming a partnership in Mosure-Fok Consulting Engineers. In 1976, he served as chair of his own business, Thomas Fok and Associates. He died in August 2013. Maria Fok, also born in Canton, China, married Thomas Fok in 1949. She earned an MD from National Sun-Yat-Sen University in China, and was a family physician in Austintown, Ohio, for more than 40 years. She died in November 2014. In recognition of the gift, YSU has renamed Alumni House on Wick Avenue as Fok’s Hall. President Tressel presents a glass penguin to Maria M.L. Fok, widow of the late Thomas Fok, whose framed photos is on the table in the background. The Fok family donated $2.2 million to YSU to establish a scholarship.
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Veterans Resource Center ‘A Dream Come True’ Seven months after a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September marked its official opening, YSU’s new $1.3 million Veterans Resource Center is up and running, offering services to ease the transition to student life for veteran students and active military students. Located at 633 Wick Avenue between the Pollock House and Melnick Hall, the center now houses YSU’s Office of Veterans Affairs. Amenities include a computer lab, community room/classroom, a recreational lounge equipped with a 55-inch flat screen TV and gaming systems and kitchenette. YSU is the only university in Ohio with a building solely dedicated for the use of its military and veteran students. “The opening of this facility raises YSU several rungs higher on the ‘Veteran Friendly’ ladder,” said Rick Williams, office coordinator. Three YSU alumni who are also military veterans – Carl Nunziato, Bernie Kosar Sr. and former state Senator Harry Meshel – spearheaded the project and remained involved throughout the building process. They are part of a 17-member cabinet coordinating the fundraising drive for the center, which is being paid for entirely by private donations. “This is a dream come true for many of us in the veteran community who have worked so hard for this,” Nunziato commented. Kosar said the fundraising campaign has been especially satisfying for the cabinet members because donors have been so receptive. “The cause is noble, and no one has said ‘no’ to us,” he said. “This building could never have been constructed without the support of some very selfless contributors from
Abraham Named Interim Provost The university has a new chief academic officer. Martin Abraham, founding dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is the new interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “Dr. Abraham has the skills, the experience and the confidence of the Martin Abraham campus and the community to fill this important role in leading our outstanding academic enterprise,” President Jim Tressel said. Abraham came to YSU in 2007 after 11 years at the University of Toledo as a professor, associate dean and finally as dean of the College of Graduate Studies. In the seven years since taking over the newly-formed STEM College, Abraham has advanced the College’s engagement in cutting-edge research and connections with the business and entrepreneurial communities. 4
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Three YSU alumni, all military veterans, who spearheaded the Veterans Resource Center project are, from left, Carl Nunziato, Harry Meshel and Bernie Kosar Sr.
our community, and the Board of Trustees deserves enormous commendation for providing the land,” added Meshel, also a member of the YSU Board of Trustees. “The board views this as YSU’s educational monument to veterans.” For more information, contact the center at 941-2503.
Sign Up for YSU Magazine Online ‘Green’ Edition Whether your days as a Penguin go back to the ’60s, the ’80s, or just last year, YSU Magazine aims to keep you informed and connected. It’s your source for campus news, alumni events, and great stories about our bright students, our world-class faculty and our exceptional graduates. If you prefer to receive and read your magazine online, check out YSU Magazine’s “green” edition by visiting www.ysumagazine.org, or go to the YSU home page, www.ysu.edu, and hit the “outreach” tab. You can sign up to receive email notifications by clicking the green sign-up box on the magazine website. Once you’ve registered, you will receive an email whenever a new issue is published, along with a link to the web edition. Readers may choose to receive both the print and the web editions, or they may opt out of the print version.
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KUDOS • HONORS • LAURELS • BRAGGING POINTS Call them what you want, but YSU has been raking in the accolades lately, highlighting the continuing quality, innovation and impact of the university, its programs, faculty, students and alumni. For the second consecutive year, Forbes magazine included YSU on its list of Top Colleges, and Washington Monthly ranked YSU among the top 25 percent of universities nationally. YSU also was the only comprehensive public university included on a list of Ohio’s best colleges and universities by CollegeCompare.com. Meanwhile, AACSB International, the hallmark of excellence for business schools worldwide, extended its accreditation for the Williamson College of Business Administration. Also, the Affordable Colleges Foundation recognized the university’s online MBA program as one of the nation’s best, and Military Times magazine named WCBA a “Best for Vets Business School.” In addition, the graduate program in Counseling, featured on pages 16 and 17 of this edition of YSU Magazine, was listed among the top 25 most affordable in the Midwest by “Best Counseling Degrees” – the only program at an Ohio public university to make
the top 25. Counseling also received the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Innovative Counseling Program Award. The master of Arts in Financial Economics program also brought in two impressive honors, ranking in the top 15 nationally by Financial Engineer and being accepted into the University Recognition Program of the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. The Kennedy Center American College Theater awarded two productions of YSU Theater with Certificates of Merit. The College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics was designated a 2015 STEM Jobs Approved College. Newsweek gave Youngstown Early College, a partnership of YSU and the Youngstown city schools, a gold star as one of the nation’s top high schools. The university was named one of the 15+ Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs. And finally, for the fourth consecutive year, the Ohio Department of Health recognized YSU with the Healthy Worksite Award, the only university in the state to earn the honor. Read more at the YSU Points of Excellence webpage, web.ysu.edu/pointsofexcellence.
Bridging Generations Members of the Stavich family were on campus this winter to celebrate the naming of the Wick Avenue pedestrian bridge as the Stavich Family Bridge. Pictured, from left, are Bill Beck, Donna Stavich, Alice Stavich-Klempay, Edward “Butch” Klempay, President Jim Tressel and Steve Klempay. Brothers Steve, George, John and Andrew Stavich founded the Calex Corp. in 1952 and built the company into one of the largest aluminum processors in the nation. In 1993, the family established a scholarship fund, and in 2008 the Stavich Family Trust donated $2.7 million to the fund. The last surviving brother, Andrew, passed away in 2010.
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Research Achievements: First U.S. Patent, First Clinical Drug Study YSU celebrated two research firsts this academic year – the university’s first federal patent and its first clinical drug study. “Engaging in the discovery of knowledge and sharing that knowledge is central to any outstanding university,” President Jim Tressel said. “This new patent and drug study reflect YSU’s commitment to scholarly activity and discovery that serves to improve the region, state and nation.” Tom Oder, professor of Physics, was awarded the first federal patent in the university’s history for a method he Tom Oder devised that improves the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices. Oder has been awarded three grants from the National Science Foundation totaling more than $700,000 to support his research, which has applications in the automotive, aerospace and other industries. Meanwhile, the Physical Therapy department is leading the university’s first-ever clinical drug study, examining the impact that a medication produced by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals may have on kidney function, nutritional status, quality of life and physical performance for people Jane Wetzel with end stage renal disease. Mallinckrodt awarded a research grant of more than $70,000 to Jane Wetzel, associate professor of Physical Therapy, and Erdal Sarac, medical director at the Centers for Dialysis Care in Canfield, to conduct the drug trials.
Memories
Commencement Schedule Revamped Starting in May, YSU will conduct two commencements per year, in May and December, eliminating the summer ceremony formerly held in August. Students who would otherwise participate in the August ceremony will have the opportunity to attend commencement in either May or December. “We believe this new schedule will provide a more enhanced and distinct commencement for all of our graduates, their families and friends,” said Interim Provost Martin Abraham. Morning and afternoon ceremonies will be scheduled for the May commencement, which always has the largest participation, but they will be divided by college, rather than by undergraduate and graduate degrees as in the past.
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The first five students to complete YSU’s new master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Communication graduated at the December 2014 commencement. In left photo above, they are, from left: Elyse Gessler, Christina Miadich, Zach Humphries, Kaely Hawkins and Sarah Chill. In photo at right, new Social Work graduates showing off their red graduation shoes are, from left, Lisa Chesnak, Julia Smiley, Debra Cielto, Alteeka Vanwright, Sharla Cottle and Christine Peters. Dennis Morawski, professor and chair of Social Work, said the red shoe tradition began five years ago when graduates realized that social work students were always last to process across the commencement stage. “They decided to add some ‘color’ to the long wait,” he said, “and the tradition has continued.” 6
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Diffraction Lab Places YSU Among Top in Nation Best in the nation and state-of-the-art. That best describes YSU’s new X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. “The equipment in this lab places our STEM College and Chemistry department among some of the elite science programs in the nation,” President Jim Tressel said. The equipment was funded via a $475,000 competitive grant awarded by the National Science Foundation. “In order to design and build the new economy, you have to have the technology to conduct the research and to develop the future workforce,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who joined Tressel and others to officially cut the ribbon on the new lab. “That’s what this grant and YSU’s STEM College are all about.” The lab on the fifth floor of Ward Beecher Hall is the latest step in the continued development of the YSU Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Engineering, which provides structural analysis of materials ranging from metals for improved automotive parts to organic materials for the discovery of new medicines. Junior Chemistry major Jennifer Miller “We have built, right here at YSU, a demonstrates equipment in the new X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory. global reputation for cutting-edge facilities and advanced analysis on an array of materials,” Chemistry Professor Allen Hunter said. “This has helped make our graduates exceptionally competitive when they enter the job market.” Freshmen
Tressel Joins College Football Hall of Fame YSU President Jim Tressel will join the ranks of college football’s all-time bests when he is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during a ceremony in New York in December. The National Football Foundation and College Football HoF announced earlier this year that Tressel, former head coach of the Penguins and Ohio State, would be part of the 2015 class of inductees. “I am forever indebted to the outstanding student-athletes and coaches that have made this moment possible,” said Tressel, who won four national championships at YSU and one at Ohio State.
Get a Jump Start on Success
Freshmen are getting the chance to get out in front of their pursuit for a YSU diploma through the new Jump Start program – and save some money along the way. “Jump Start gets freshmen on campus and enrolled in classes over the summer, helping them acclimate to college, giving them a head start on their studies, and doing it all at a reduced cost,” said Karla Krodel, director of YSU Metro Credit Education Outreach. Freshmen enrolling at YSU for the first time in Fall Semester 2015 can take up to two, three-credit courses June 15 to Aug. 7. The cost for one threecredit class is a flat $500, less than half the regular tuition. YSU rolled out the program this spring as hundreds of incoming freshmen attended orientation and class registration sessions on campus. For more information, visit jumpstart@ysu.edu.
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Meet five YSU grads, all women with stellar law careers, who have reached the upper echelon in their profession as state appellate court judges – two serving in the Chicago area and three in Northeast Ohio. By Cynthia Vinarsky
Seated on Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals bench in downtown Youngstown are, from left, YSU alumnae Judges Mary DeGenaro, Cheryl Waite and Carol Ann Robb.
Making History
Three AlumnAE Women on 7th District Appeals Court Bench When Judge Cheryl Waite started out as a young lawyer in the mid-1980s, female attorneys were accustomed to being called “honey” and “dear” in the courtroom. Women in law school weren’t really expected to finish. “We were still unusual,” she recalled. “In court, people assumed I was a secretary, or someone’s wife. There were very few women practicing law at the time in Youngstown.” Three decades later, so much has changed. Now Waite
sits on Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals bench, one of three women on the four-judge panel – and all four are proud graduates of Youngstown State University. Waite made history as the first woman and the youngest to take the bench in 1996, Judge Mary DeGenaro joined her there in 2001, and Judge Carol Ann Robb made history again this year when she took office in February. Judge Gene Donofrio, on the bench since 1993, serves as presiding judge. See “Making History,” Page 10.
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Judge Mary Seminara Schostok, left, is presiding judge of the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois; and Judge Laura Liu, of the First District Appellate Court of Illinois, is the first Chinese-American in the state to serve on the appellate court. Both are proud YSU alumnae.
Across the Miles: YSU Alums Hold Court in ‘Chicagoland’ Judges Mary Seminara Schostok and Laura Liu had been friends and colleagues for years, and they knew they had a lot in common. They’re both attorneys, live in the Chicago area and have risen to heights in the legal profession as District Appellate Court Judges in Illinois. What they didn’t know until recently? They’re both Penguins. “I was attending Judge Liu’s swearing-in ceremony, read her bio and realized the amazing coincidence – that we’re both YSU graduates,” Seminara Schostok said. “YSU certainly deserves some bragging rights, having two alumnae appellate judges here in Chicagoland.” Both women grew up in the Mahoning-Shenango Valley area and have maintained strong connections to their ethnic roots. Liu, the daughter of retired YSU statistics and economics professor Yih-Wu Liu, was the only ChineseAmerican in her 1984 graduating class at Fitch High School in Austintown. Now, as the first Chinese-American to serve
as a District Appellate Court Judge in the state of Illinois, she serves all of Cook County, including the state’s most populous city, Chicago. Seminara Schostok, who grew up in the close-knit Italian family in New Castle, Pa., that founded the popular Pizza Joe’s restaurant chain, was the first in her family to go to college. As Presiding Judge of the Second District Appellate Court, she hears appeals from the northernmost 13 counties in Illinois. “We do very similar work, we often have lunch or breakfast together,” said Schostok, describing the alumnae colleagues’ relationship. “Being judges is like a fraternity. We’re a unique faction of the legal profession, and we tend to bond.”
A Fateful Courtroom Tour Judge Liu was born in the U.S., but her parents were recent immigrants – her mother from Vietnam, her father See “Chicagoland,” Page 11.
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Making History, continued from Page 8.
“What’s remarkable is that, in 2015, it’s still remarkable to have three women on the bench, but it is worth celebrating because it shows how far we’ve come,” Waite said. “Maybe now we can say, we’re all just people. We’re all just professionals. We’re putting ourselves out there, not to say, ‘I’m the best woman for the job,’ but that I’m the best person for the job.” Judges on Ohio’s Court of Appeals, just one step away from the Ohio Supreme Court, consider legal appeals from the common pleas courts, municipal courts, county courts and others. They are elected to six-year terms, and the Seventh District judges serve eight counties: Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson, Carroll, Belmont, Harrison, Monroe and Noble.
Landing a Dream Job For Judge Waite, the path to law school started in 1982 with a YSU bachelor’s degree in English literature. “So many of the English Department faculty mentored and encouraged me,” she said. “I’m especially grateful to Dr. Barbara Brothers. She’s the one who made me wake up and ask myself: ‘What do I want to do when I grow up?’” Waite earned her law degree from ClevelandMarshall College of Law, at Cleveland State University and then worked for 13 years as an assistant law director for the city of Youngstown. There, she met and married her husband, Ed Romero, also an attorney and an assistant law director at the time, and gained extensive experience in civil law and appellate court work. Waite was living in Boardman, a young mother with a 4-year-old and an infant, when the Ohio legislature added a fourth judge seat to the Seventh District Court of Appeals in 1995. “My husband told me it was my dream job and I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try,” she said. She spent the next year campaigning hard, attending corn roasts and tractor pulls, fairs and festivals, often with her children in tow. Waite won her first election – a tough contest against a wellestablished local judge – and was unopposed in three subsequent elections. 10
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But the Appeals Court in Ohio was a man’s world at first – at the time there were only six women on appeals court benches statewide. “I was one woman in a sea of men, and it was tough sledding, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “A lot of the judges were not willing to accept a relatively young woman, but from the beginning there were always some mentors who treated me with a great deal of respect.” In just a few years, by 2000, women began making inroads, winning more judgeships, and the numbers had begun to shift. “Now, occasionally, we do have a line at the ladies room,” she quipped. Though she hasn’t had to campaign as vigorously in her recent, unopposed races, Waite enjoys speaking and educating the public about the work the courts do. “I like to tout the court of appeals, and the trial courts too, “ she said. “In the appeals court, we get to be Monday morning quarterbacks. We have the luxury of time, to research and go through the transcripts, and I’m constantly amazed at how often the trial courts get things right.”
New Goal: Ohio’s Supreme Court For Judge Mary DeGenaro, unseating an incumbent three-term Democratic judge seemed to be more noteworthy than becoming the second woman on the bench when she first won election to the Appeals Court in 2000. “I was the first lawyer to unseat an elected incumbent judge since the early 1960s and the first Republican to serve on this court since 1974,” she said. “Quite frankly, my coming on the court was more of a big deal because of my party affiliation than my gender.” A Cuyahoga County native whose family moved to Canfield when she was in high school, DeGenaro said she initially majored in accounting when she enrolled at YSU. She graduated in 1983 with a double major in economics and combined business, and credits a YSU business law course for rekindling her interest in law school. She completed her law degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and married her husband, Stephen A. DeGenaro, a home healthcare consultant and also a YSU alumnus. They eventually settled in Poland, and her next 14 years working in a private law practice included handling the appellate practice for her firm – valuable experience for her future on the Appeals Court – and rare opportunities for a private practitioner to brief two cases before the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing one. Re-elected to her third, six-year term on the Appellate bench in 2012, DeGenaro has decided to pursue nomination to Ohio’s Supreme Court in 2016. “I’m in my 15th year as an appellate judge; my reasoning and writing have matured to the point that I feel I am ready to serve on Ohio’s highest court,” she said. She’s begun a statewide campaign for one of two Supreme Court open seats that will be vacant by 2017 and plans to visit every one of Ohio’s 88 counties. “I’ve run in eight counties in three contested elections. What’s 80 more,” See “Making History,” page 12.
Chicagoland, continued from Page 9.
from China. Both college-educated, they had high academic standards for their daughter, standards that she now finds herself setting for her own school-aged daughter. “Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor, just like every Asian-American student in the 1970s,” she joked, and so she enrolled in YSU’s six-year BS-MD program. In 1987, after completing a BS in combined sciences in just three years, Liu went to Ohio State University to take some graduate classes and met friends in Columbus who worked in the legal field. “I toured a courtroom, and I was hooked,” she recalls. Soon after, she was admitted to the University of Cincinnati College of Law on a scholarship, and she gained experience through summer clerkships in Cincinnati and Chicago. The latter was life changing. “I fell instantly in love with Chicago. I knew this was where I wanted to be.” Liu spent the first 19 years of her career as a trial attorney, often defending healthcare providers in medical malpractice cases and representing clients in other healthcare transactions and litigation. She’s especially proud of a case she defended with her attorney husband, her fiancé at the time, who served as lead counsel. Some of her most memorable and challenging cases were pro bono, for people who couldn’t afford a lawyer. “I think pro bono work should be mandatory for attorneys to retain licensure,” she said. “It’s a vital part of what it means to provide legal services.” In 2010, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Liu to fill a Circuit Court vacancy, making her the first Chinese American female judge in Illinois. The following year she decided to seek reelection, but her first political campaign came at a time of personal crisis – she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “It was a punishing schedule. I had 11 fundraisers scheduled, five in that month alone, and I needed to start treatment,” she said. “Luckily and fortunately, I have an incredibly supportive and thoughtful husband, I had an amazing campaign team and colleagues that helped me.” Liu won a six-year term and continued on the Circuit Court bench until 2014 when the state’s high court appointed her again, this time to a vacancy on the First District Appellate Court. “This is a dream job,” she said. “It’s so satisfying because everyday I have new legal questions to research. In many ways, it inspires the same intellectual curiosity as when I was a law student.” Now, as a cancer survivor, Liu has been active since 2012 with the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation, a leading breast cancer research and education charity.
As a Chinese-American, she’s involved in several AsianAmerican legal organizations and is working toward better language access, making the court system and court buildings more user friendly for people for whom English is not a first language. “I view being the first Chinese-American in my position as both an honor and a responsibility,” she said. “It invites scrutiny. It requires me to focus on doing a good job.”
‘100 Percent Calabrese’ Judge Seminara Schostok grew up with many of the same old-country house rules as her colleague. One of six children, her father came to Youngstown from Italy at 16 to work in the steel mills; her mother, also Italian, was born in Hillsville, Pa. “We were 100 percent Calabrese,” she said, laughing. “My father never conformed to the American ways. We were not allowed to leave home until we got married. Dad would only permit me to go to YSU because it was within driving distance.” She majored in business at first, then education, earning an AAB in 1979 and a BSEd in 1982. “YSU made it easy to be a commuter,” she said. “I had a lot of friends, I had a sense of college, even though I was coming back and forth.” But working part-time at a law office revived her interest in studying law, and she moved – Judge Laura Liu to Columbus to attend Capital University Law School. Seminara Schostok met her husband, Michael, in law school. He had grown up in the Chicago area and wanted to return, so they settled there after graduation and took jobs as Lake County prosecutors about an hour outside of Chicago. The husband and wife team worked together at first, then he left for private practice while she continued for a decade, successfully trying murder, rape, arson, child abuse and white collar crime cases and advancing to the position of Chief of Special Investigations. “Trial work is the most exciting work a lawyer can do. You get a rush,” she said describing her specialties as a prosecutor of child abuse/assault and arson cases. “In those types of cases, especially, you feel like you’re doing God’s work. You’re wearing the white hat.” In 1998, Seminara Schostok took her first seat on the bench when she was appointed a Lake County Associate Judge. Two years later the Illinois Supreme Court named her a Circuit Court Judge, she won an election to retain the position and served on the trial court bench until 2008. That year, the high court elevated her to the Appellate Court, and she ran a successful 13-county campaign to retain her seat two years later.
I view being the first Chinese-American in my position as both an honor and a responsibility.
See “Chicagoland,” Page 13.
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Making History, continued from page 10.
she joked. “Because of my judicial and campaign experience, I’m ready for the challenge.” It helps that DeGenaro enjoys campaigning. “I love driving around the state, meeting people. I think there’s an opportunity to educate the public on what we do, and it’s a way to be accountable to the public that elects us.”
Columbiana County Proud Judge Carol Ann Robb’s arrival on the Appeals Court bench earlier this year was celebrated by local news media as history making, but she was more proud of what it meant to her home county. “I’m very proud of being a woman who’s serving in this capacity,” she said, “but it’s even more meaningful to me that I’m the first Columbiana County judge to serve this court since 1917.” A lifelong resident of New Waterford, Robb worked fulltime while pursuing a business degree at YSU and graduated in 1977, the first in her family to complete college. She landed a job as an office manager for a construction company and began working on an MBA at the University of Akron, but a friend persuaded her go to law school instead. Robb switched to the UA School of Law, carpooled to evening classes with other Youngstown-area law students, completed her law degree and went to work with a private law firm in Youngstown. There, she practiced law for five years before starting her own private law practice in
Columbiana County and partnered with her husband Ken, also a YSU alum, to start a multi-faceted family business, C&K Petroleum. In 2001 she accepted a position as magistrate for the Common Pleas Court in Columbiana County, was appointed to an unexpired term as County Municipal Court Judge four years later, and then ran two successful re-election campaigns. “I’ve run both ways, opposed and unopposed,” she said, laughing. “I like unopposed better.” As municipal court judge, one of Robb’s proudest achievements was creating a mental health court program designed to reduce recidivism that became the first program of its kind certified by the Ohio Supreme Court. She has served on an advisory committee and a Specialty Docket Commission for the high court that established standards for mental health courts statewide, and the program she founded is now being used as a model for other courts across Ohio. When a longtime Seventh District appellate judge announced plans to retire in 2013, Robb decided to run for the position – she was unopposed as a Republican in the primary, but defeated her Democratic opponent in November. She took office in February. “I’m thrilled to serve with the other judges. They’ve all been extremely gracious,” she said. “I think we all aspire to the same thing. We just want to be recognized as individuals. I want people to say, there is an excellent attorney, an excellent judge, who just happens to be a woman.”
YSU’s Rich Heritage of
Legal Education
Hundreds of talented legal professionals, including the five alumnae judges profiled on these pages, went on to law school after earning undergraduate degrees at YSU. But in its early days – from 1908 through 1957 – the university had its own law school. The Youngstown YMCA began offering night classes for adults in the 1880s, and its first college-level course was a Friday night class in commercial law. Nine male students registered and paid the $5 tuition for that class in 1908 – and it is considered YSU’s official founding date. By 1920 the YMCA’s Youngstown Association School had a law school that the Ohio Department of Education had authorized to award Bachelor of Laws degrees. That law school was part of Youngstown College when it separated from the YMCA, and later, when it became Youngstown University. YU closed the law school permanently in 1957 at the state’s request and stopped admitting students to the program, but those already enrolled were permitted to complete their studies. The final YU
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Bachelor of Laws degree was conferred in 1960. On Sept. 26, 1969, YSU conducted a special convocation giving 239 previous YU Law School graduates the opportunity to exchange their baccalaureate law degrees for juris doctorate degrees. Each JD degree was marked retroactively with the date the graduate’s BL degree was earned. Today, about 15 new YSU graduates and a similar number of recent grads apply to attend law school each year. Although students can apply to law school from any major, many gravitate to the department of Politics and International Relations. One attraction, said Paul Sracic, professor and chair of Politics and International Relations and director of its Rigelhaupt Pre-Law Center, is the department’s successful moot court program, where students argue hypothetical constitutional law cases before panels of judges. YSU’s moot court team was ranked sixth in the nation last year, said Sracic, who founded the moot court program
Chicagoland, continued from page 11.
Seminara Schostok calls the appellate judge seat “a lonely job” because it requires many hours of study, reading court records and reviewing the law. The judges are always busy, but they hear oral arguments only a couple times a month. “It’s very academic, but after all these years I could never go back,” she Mary Seminara said. “I truly love what I do.” Schostok In 2011, Seminara Schostok, her husband and their three adult children received devastating news – he was diagnosed with a deadly glioblastoma brain tumor. He survived for 15 months. “Michael was one of the best trial attorneys in the state of Illinois, yet very humble and a very compassionate man,” she recalled. “Hospital visits during his illness often upset him. He would comment, ‘The poor people have
it worse than me, Mary,’ because he realized that some were coping with financial hardships, in addition to their medical struggles.” Finances were not a struggle for the Schostoks. In his memory, she created the Michael Matters Foundation to help with the financial hardships that families of brain tumor victims face. The foundation awards grants to help with incidental expenses, such as day care and parking, wheel chair ramps and bus fare. Support for the foundation has grown “exponentially,” she said. “It’s a little something that can help them worry a little less and concentrate more on getting better. I know that’s what he would have wanted us to do.” Seminara Schostok has also found ways to reconnect to her Italian heritage in Chicagoland. “It was so hard to leave my big Italian family, so I sought out Italians,” she said. She’s the founder and first president of the Justinian Society of Lake County, a bar association for Italian attorneys.
Students from the Youngstown College School of Law, in top photo, participate in a mock court in the Mahoning County Courthouse in this 1938 photo. Presiding is Judge George H. Gessner, at far right, who served as Dean of Law at the time. In lower photo, law students attend a night class in the Main Building, which was later renamed Jones Hall.
in the mid-1990s, and the university has qualified at least one team for national competition every year since 2007. The Seventh District Court of Appeals judges deserve some credit for the teams’ successes, he said, because they volunteer their time and expertise every year as practice judges to help YSU’s moot court teams prepare. The Department of Politics and International Relations also makes scholarship support available for pre-law students, Sracic said, through the Judge Sidney and Bert Rigelhaupt Pre-Law Scholarship. Patty Wagner, associate professor and chair of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences and an attorney, said many students planning law school also choose her department for their undergraduate studies because it offers a wide range of law classes. “We have numerous legal courses that are excellent preparation for law school,” she said, “and every law class is taught by an experienced judge or lawyer.”
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Taylor Sebring
Communications Major Interns with Pro Soccer Team When Taylor Sebring and her family relocated to Youngstown a few years ago, she didn’t expect to return to her hometown of Salt Lake City for anything except to visit family and friends. A senior communications major and lifelong soccer player, Sebring landed an internship with Real Salt Lake, a Major League Soccer team based in her hometown. Her time was spent working in ticket sales, organizing activities for children during games, arranging halftime activities and community outreach.
SAE President Chosen for Elite Program Vaughn Gobel Jr. of Poland, a medical laboratory technology major, is one of just 25 college students selected to attend the national Sigma Alpha Vaughn Gobel Jr. Epsilon fraternity “Inner Circle” leadership program. Gobel, a junior, is the first YSU student ever selected for the elite program, which was conducted in March in Prince Frederick, Md. Currently serving an internship at Allegheny General Hospital Core Lab in Pittsburgh, Gobel is president of SAE’s Ohio Alpha chapter at YSU, was awarded the national Order of the Phoenix award for leadership and named his chapter’s “Brother of the Year” for 2014-15. 14
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BEEGHLY FELLOWS
Highlighting the Achievements of Exceptional YSU Students
Beeghly Fellows are, from left, front row, Paige Rassega, Sterling Morris and Timothy Cheslik; second row, Joseph Czekaj, Corey Patrick and Dominic Jackett.
Six Business Students Named Beeghly Fellows Six business majors were selected as John D. Beeghly Fellows, a program that provides students with up to a $2,500 stipend and valuable career experience working with clients of the Ohio Small Business Development Center and the International Trade Assistance Center at YSU. The honorees are: Timothy Cheslik, a senior accounting and finance major who will begin a full time position at Ernst & Young upon graduating in May 2015; Joseph Czekaj, a senior accounting major; Dominic Jackett, an MBA student; Sterling Morris II, a senior finance major who will begin a full-time position in investment banking for KeyBanc Capital Markets after graduation in May; Corey Patrick, a finance major; and Paige Rassega, a senior human resource management major.
Business Major Wins National HR Scholarship Paige Rassega of Mineral Ridge, a senior in YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration, is one of only six students nationwide to receive a Society of Human Resource Management Foundation Undergraduate Academic Award Scholarship. The scholarship is $2,500. Rassega expects to graduate in May and has accepted a full-time position as human resource coordinator with The Brilex Group upon graduation. She served twice as an intern for the John D. Beeghly Fellows Program, working with the Small Business Development Center and the International Trade Assistance Center at YSU, and completed a human resource management internship with Brilex.
Sophomores Compete in National Moot Court Event
Andrik Massaro, left, and Erik Glasgow.
Political science majors Erik Glasgow of Warren and Andrik Massaro of Canfield were in Miami, Fla., in January, representing YSU in the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s National Tournament. Both sophomores, they qualified to compete in the national event when their two-person team placed third in the ACMCA’s regional tournament at the College of Wooster. Massaro also won an Individual Orator award at the regional tournament. In total, 16 YSU students competed in the regional contest. Massaro and Glasgow also competed in the 2013 regional as freshmen, and theirs was YSU’s first freshman team ever to qualify for the national moot court tourney.
Anthropology Major Earns Top Conference Award Senior anthropology major Zaakiyah Cua of Bristolville took top honors at a regional geography conference for her research on how three small primitive cultures adapted to depletion of their natural resources. Cua’s paper won the first place undergraduate paper award at the joint meeting of the East Lakes and West Lakes Divisions of the American Association of Geographers at Western Michigan University. She expects to graduate in the fall with a major in anthropology and a minor in geographic information science. Cua added the minor after a summer 2013 internship in Italy, where she worked on an archeological dig.
Karen Webb-Johnson, left, division chair of the Association of American Geographers, presents award to YSU senior Zaakiyah Cua.
Dental Hygiene Students Take State Honors Three senior dental hygiene students earned a second place award for their presentation, titled “Sip All Day, Get Tooth Decay,” at the Ohio Dental Hygienists Association’s Annual Session, and another YSU team took third place. Jonna Omerzo of Fowler, Hannah Ropp of West Liberty, Ohio, and Michele Sosnick of Beloit, Ohio, were the second place winners with a study that examined how various acidic beverages can damage tooth structure. Earning third place honors for their presentation, titled “Oral Appliances Got You Feeling Buggy?” were Nicole Bodnar of Austintown, Krystal Fuller of Henderson, Nev., and Dana Powell of Boardman. They studied ways to reduce or eliminate bacteria from removable oral appliances. All six students expect to graduate in May with BS degrees in dental hygiene.
Ashley Orr
Junior is Finalist for Prestigious Award Ashley Orr of Columbiana, Ohio, a junior majoring in economics and mathematics, was named a finalist for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship – the first YSU student ever to reach finalist status. A 2012 graduate of Columbiana High School and a Leslie H. Cochran University Scholar at YSU, Orr plans to graduate in May 2016 with two bachelor’s degrees – Mathematics and Economics. She completed an internship as a research assistant for the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland. The Truman Scholarship, created in 1975 by an act of Congress, is considered one of the nation’s top academic awards. “To be named a finalist is a singular honor in itself,” said Ron Shaklee, director of University Scholars and Honors Programs at YSU. Winners will be announced in mid-April. Scholars receive up to $30,000 for post-graduate education.
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Help, Hope ... and Excellence
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By Ron Cole
In fact, after an extensive review, the Council for The room in the Community Counseling Clinic is Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational smallish, modestly decorated, but warm and inviting, with a Programs – the gold standard in the counseling field – has camera inconspicuously tucked in a corner near the ceiling. recognized YSU Counseling as a national model, meeting all Maggie Wansack, a student in YSU’s master’s program of the 475 detailed standards set forth by the council. That’s in Counseling, sits across from a 17-year-old female, also a a rarity, evidence that YSU student. A computer the YSU program has screen glows off to the become among the side, as the teenager talks elite in the nation. about financial troubles “We have an and having difficulty expectation for adjusting to the rigors of excellence,” said Jake college. Protivnak, associate A few doors down, professor and chair in a room ringed with of the Department of keyboards and remote Counseling, Special TV screens, Meghan Education and School Fortner, YSU instructor Psychology. of Counseling, dons a With 128 pair of headphones as she students, Counseling looks and listens in on is the single largest the counseling session. master’s-degree “Go with those program at YSU, feelings,” Fortner offering tracks in types. The words clinical mental health instantaneously pop counseling, addiction up on the screen in counseling, school the counseling room. counseling and Wansack probes, subtly Meghan Fortner, Counseling instructor, monitors a session at the Community Counseling Clinic in Beeghly Hall. student affairs/college challenges the teen, counseling. Go to steering the conversation. just about any school, “In the counseling college or counseling clinic in the region, and you’re sure field, feedback is everything,” Fortner says later. “Getting to find at least one of the more than 1,500 individuals who live feedback like this, it doesn’t happen very often. It’s an have graduated from the program since its start more than invaluable tool.” 40 years ago. The so-called “bug-in-the-eye” technology, which helps Counseling’s six full-time faculty members are among students learn how to work directly with clients on realthe most prolific scholars on campus, publishing textbooks life, real-time issues under the guidance of an experienced and articles and earning national accolades for their teaching counselor, is one of the many advances that is making people and leadership in the discipline. across Ohio, and the nation, sit up and take note of YSU’s “We have talented and engaged faculty, who work master’s program in Counseling. to admit students who are the best fit for our program,”
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Protivnak said. “Our program is rigorous, and we make sure Fortner, who earned a master’s degree in Counseling that every student who leaves here is prepared to help.” from YSU in 2006, is now vice president for Clinical Providing help is central to everything the Treatment at Meridian Community Care in Youngstown, Counseling program does. where she supervises a team of directors and managers that “Fundamentally, all of our students are looking for ways manage about 120 employees in programs that run the gamut to help people,” said Matthew Paylo, of social services. She has associate professor and director of been a part-time instructor Counseling. “They have an innate desire in the Counseling program to serve individuals and do the greater for about eight years. good.” “A lot of times when Take Katina Hetrick, for instance. someone comes to us, Hetrick grew up in poverty and they think very negatively in a broken home, shuffling between about themselves, about Youngstown’s West Side, Struthers and their capabilities, about North Lima. The daughter of parents their ability to get what with drug and alcohol addictions, and they want out of life,” she a father who was abusive to her mother said. “It’s not about being and spent various stints incarcerated, a cheerleader and giving Hetrick persevered and earned a advice. It’s about being bachelor’s degree in Social Work from present with someone when YSU in 2001. She’s worked the last 14 they’re struggling. You’re Maggie Wansack, a student in the master's program years at Daybreak Youth Crisis Center with them probably in one in Counseling. in Youngstown, helping neglected, of the hardest times in their homeless kids find the right track in life. She’s now enrolled life. You’re there to help. But if you don’t have hope, it will in the Counseling program to help expand her services to the never work.” Daybreak youths. “A lot of the issues and challenges that I see with these kids are the same things I experienced myself,” she said. “It developed my desire and my compassion for people, and to help.” Wansack’s “help” motivation grows out of a childhood ON THE where she says she was bullied in school. “There were many times when I wanted someone to talk to, someone to listen,” recalls Wansack, who earned a bachelor’s degree Counseling is projected to be among the nation’s fastest-growing careers. in Psychology at YSU before enrolling in the Counseling Here are the projected increases by 2022: program in January 2013. Now she’s the one doing the listening. “We talk a lot Substance Abuse/Behavioral 31% Disorder Counselors in this program about having a heart with ears,” she said. “It’s all about listening.” Marriage and 31% Family Therapists While a desire to help is vital, Fortner adds another “H” word to the mix – Hope. “You have to be a person who can have hope for 29% 20% Mental Health somebody when they don’t have hope for themselves,” Counselors Guidance, School she said. and Vocational
Grow
Counselors
20% All other Counseling
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(Editor's Note: The YSU Community Counseling Clinic adheres to a strict policy of confidentiality and prohibits anyone other than qualified faculty from observing counseling sessions. Photographs and text in this story do not include any actual clients or counseling sessions.)
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Something to Brag About: New Books, Music and Art on Display Writing a book and getting it published is a goal on many a “bucket list” – and in academia it’s considered an important milestone, a way to share knowledge and demonstrate expertise outside the classroom. In this issue, YSU Magazine continues its tradition of celebrating faculty and professional staff who recently published books, released musical recordings or had their work featured in art or photo exhibitions. This time, we’re also including some tech-related publications: an online software program and two interactive apps. Read on, and find out why our dedicated YSU faculty and staff members make us feel so Penguin Proud! The American Story: Perspectives and Encounters from 1877, by L. Diane Barnes, professor, History, and Mark Bowles. Published by Bridgepoint Education, January 2015. This United States history textbook uses the lens of ordinary people to explore the history of America from the end of Reconstruction to the present. Written, designed and produced as a digitally born book, it will be used extensively in distance education courses. Barnes has published five books since 2008. Total Fitness Assessment, by Frank Bosso, professor, Human Performance and Exercise Science, with co-author, Nelson K. Ng. Published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2014. The authors spent more than a decade creating this subscription-based online software program that includes 700 physical fitness assessments based on the published work of 3,000 researchers. It has the endorsement of the American College of Sports Medicine and can be used in the study and practice of exercise physiology, exercise testing and prescription, strength and conditioning, fitness assessment and personal training. Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation: An Introduction to Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics for Nonspecialists, Third Edition, by Steven Brown, professor of English, Cynthia Vigliotti, assistant professor of English, and Salvatore Attardo. Published by University of Michigan Press, 2014, 373 pages. An introduction to the study of language and applied linguistics for those working in fields such as education,
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English as a second language, sociology and psychology. Each chapter debunks a common language myth and incorporates exercises that, in prior editions, appeared in the supplementary workbook. Numerical Analysis, 10th edition, by Richard L. Burden, professor emeritus, Annette M. Burden, professor, and the late J. Douglas Faires, professor emeritus, all of Mathematics and Statistics. Published by Cengage Learning, 2015, 912 pages. The authors explore the theory and application of modern numerical approximation techniques. The book offers examples and exercises demonstrating practical applications to everyday problems in math, computing, engineering and physical science disciplines. Concepts, Sources, Integration: A Step-byStep Guide to Writing Your Literature Review in Communication Studies, co-authored by Rebecca Curnalia, associate professor, Communication, and Amber Ferris. Published by Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2014. The authors use the CSI theme to take students step-bystep through the process of conceptualizing research projects; finding, evaluating and reading sources; and integrating those sources to complete literature reviews and research presentations. Becoming a Critic: An Introduction to Analyzing Media Content, co-authored by Rebecca Curnalia, associate professor, Communication, and Cary Wecht, associate dean of the College of Creative Arts and
Communication. Published by Kendall Hunt Publishers, 2014. The text is an introduction to current, approachable theory and research on media content. The authors address undergraduate readers as student scholars and discuss ways to objectively assess the content and implications of media messages. Introduction to Diagnostic Microbiology for the Laboratory Sciences, by Maria E. Delost, director of Medical Laboratory Programs. Published by Jones and Bartlett Learning in 2015, 587 pages. The text is a combination lecture and laboratory manual on diagnostic and clinical microbiology with applications toward medical laboratory professionals. The book includes objectives, review questions, Power Point presentations and a test bank for instructors. Foundations of Family and Consumer Sciences, Second Edition, by Janice G. Elias, professor emeritus, Human Ecology, and S.L. Kato. Published by Goodheart-Wilcox, 2015, 348 pages. The text introduces college students to the mission, history, philosophy, career opportunities and current issues in the family and consumer sciences discipline. It also includes profiles of successful professionals, all YSU graduates, who are working in various aspects of the field. Selected Poems, by Will Greenway, professor, English. Published by FutureCycle Press, 2014. This collection of poems from Greenway’s previous 10 books was awarded the publisher’s annual award for Best Poetry Book of 2014.
The Poetry of Personality: The Poetic Diction of Dylan Thomas, by Will Greenway, professor, English. Published by Lexington Press, 2014. This text explores the heart and mind behind the famous work of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and demonstrates why his work will always remain in the top ranks of English poetry. The Accidental Garden, by Will Greenway, professor, English. Published by Word Press, 2014. A collection of poetry that touches on new marriage, moving, aging, first-time fatherhood and late-life changes in general. Rave Reviews: The History of Tuesday Musical, contributing co-editor Cynthia L. Harrison, assistant reference librarian, Science and Engineering, Maag Library; general editor Thomas Bacher; contributing co-editor Sharon Cebula. Published by Ringtaw Books, 2014, 163 pages. The book profiles the individuals who founded, fostered, and forwarded the Tuesday Musical organization and includes images, newspaper stories, memorabilia and biographies. Enacting Nationhood: Identity, Ideology and the Theatre, 1855-99, by Scott R. Irelan, chair, Theater and Dance. Published by Cambridge Scholars, October 2014. This edited collection explores how notions of “North” and “South” were both constructed and disseminated through dramatic literature and live performances during the mid-to-late 19th Century. The Children of Ch4ernobyl, by Alan M. Jacobs, professor, Geological & Environmental Sciences. Published by Kindle Direct Publishing, 2014. In this novel, designed to teach geology and environmental science through fictional settings, genetic mutations resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 have unusual results. A group of academics studies the results, their research gets into the hands of terrorists and a struggle ensues. A Practical Guide to Greener Theatre: Introduce Sustainability Into Your Productions, by Ellen J. Jones, assistant professor, Theater, with contributors Jessica Pribble, Paul J. Brunner and Maja White. Published by Focal Press, an imprint of Taylor & Francis, December 2013. The book outlines techniques for critical analysis and evaluation of the environmental impact of theatrical design and production processes. It includes strategies to make theatre productions more sustainable. Treating Those with Mental Disorders: A Comprehensive Approach to Case Conceptualization and Treatment, by Victoria E. Kress, professor, and Matthew J. Paylo, associate professor, Counseling, Special Education and School Psychology. Published by Pearson Education, 2014. The book is an authoritative reference on selecting and applying treatments for use in counseling and treating those with mental disorders.
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“Dec 5, 2012 pm.2,” by Claudia Berlinski Emancipation, a solo photography exhibition by Claudia Berlinski, assistant professor of Art, opened Jan. 12 and runs through March 13 at Malone University’s McFadden Gallery in Canton, Ohio. The exhibition features 15 pieces that create a photographic montage of sky imagery, reflecting the photographer’s impression of changing sun and cloud patterns over a period of time. Berlinski’s work was also included in Light Show, a group exhibition featuring nine contemporary Northeast Ohio artists, Heights Arts in Cleveland Heights, Jan. 16 – Feb. 28, and in Meditation/Creation at the Box Gallery in Akron, Jan. 16 – Feb. 22.
“Princess Elinor,” by Joy Christiansen Erb Marker, a solo photography exhibit by Joy Christiansen Erb, associate professor of Art, opened Feb. 13 and continues through May 3 at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The 17-piece exhibit explores the subject of motherhood and family from a personal and universal perspective. Through this series, the artist examines her role as a mother and documents private moments in her home and family.
Serving Dish - Remnants of Memory Series, by Missy McCormick Juxtaposed Connections, a two-person ceramic art exhibition featuring the work of Missy McCormick, assistant professor, Art, and Jeff Oestreich, at the TRAX Ceramics Gallery in Berkeley, Calif., opened Feb. 7 and continued through March 12. McCormick had 30 pieces in the exhibit, which reflect the way her perspectives have changed with motherhood. “I also pull from the idea of holding things close – like moments, keepsakes, memories, nostalgia,” she wrote, “and how comfort can now be defined as simplicity and sameness.”
“Poppies,” by Noreen A. Zazvac One with Nature, a solo art exhibit by Noreen A. Yazvac, administrative assistant, Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress, at the Davis Center Weller Gallery in Fellows Riverside Garden, Youngstown, scheduled March 6 through April 12. The exhibit is comprised of 40 to 50 pieces of artwork in various mediums such as acrylic, watercolor and alcohol inks. Yazvac earned a Down BA in art history with an emphasis on studio the Hill art from YSU in 2006. by the Stomp Pass the Water Pump Make Right, by Dragana Crnjak, assistant professor, Art, was featured this summer in an exhibition titled “Multiple Propositions: a Look at Contemporary Drawing” at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, one of the nation’s top art schools. Crnjak, one of nine artists invited to participate, developed the 15-foot-square site-specific drawing directly on the gallery wall. Her work investigates drawing and painting practices within a contemporary context, using charcoal as her primary medium. Crnjak was presented the Individual Council in Excellence Award by the Ohio Arts SPRING 2015 19 www.ysu.edu 2011 and in 2008.
Mus i C F A C U L T Y
Beyond Boundaries, a new vocal music recording, was arranged and coproduced by Dave Morgan, professor of Jazz Studies and String Bass, Dana School of Music. The CD was released by Being Time in January, 2015. A collection of songs from around the world, the recording features vocalist Amanda Powell. Dana School of Music faculty members participating include clarinetist Alice Wang, percussionist Glenn Schaft, pianists Cicilia Yudha and Alton Merrell, and Morgan on bass.
Venezia e Napoli, a musical recording showcasing the work of concert pianist Caroline Oltmanns, professor of Piano, Dana School of Music. Released on the Filia Mundi label in August 2014. An international Steinway artist, Oltmanns has recorded five albums. Music on the album highlights the interplay between water, light, and movement that are prominent in the storied cities of Venice and Naples.
Caroline Oltmanns
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NCLEX-RN Questions and Answers Made Incredibly Easy, by Susan A. Lisko, associate professor, Nursing. Published by Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, October 2013, 907 pages. The text provides review questions for students preparing for the NCLEX-RN examination, along with study and test-taking strategies and a detailed description of the test format. Conducting: The Art of Communication, Second Edition, by Brandt Payne, assistant professor and director, Dana School of Music, and Wayne Bailey. Published by Oxford University Press, 2014, 240 pages. The book features a range of flexible and practical instrumentation exercises and a comprehensive treatment of the technical, analytical and expressive aspects of instrumental conducting. The Complete Marching Band Resource Manual, Third Edition, by Brandt Payne, assistant professor and director, Wayne Bailey and Cormac Cannon. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press, 320 pages. This manual is a definitive guide to the art of directing college and high school marching bands. Supplemented with musical arrangements, warm-up exercises and drill charts, it presents fundamentals and advanced techniques that are essential for successful marching band leadership. Discovering GIS and ArcGIS, First Edition, by Bradley A. Shellito, associate professor, Geography. Published by Macmillan, December 2014, 571 pages. This book provides an in-depth look at the theory and methods of Geographic Information Science embedded in the applications of the ArcGIS software. GIS is a fast-growing job field for multiple industries, while ArcGIS is the industry standard software. Introduction to Geospatial Technologies, Second edition, by Brad Shellito, associate professor, Geography. Published by WH Freeman, December 2013, 512 pages. Intended for beginner audiences and adopted at more than 100 universities across the United States and Canada, the text provides an introduction to different applications of geospatial technologies.
The Joys of Haar Measure, by Angela Spalsbury, professor and chair, Mathematics and Statistics, with co-author Joe Diestel. Published by The American Mathematical Society, May 2014, 327 pages. From the early days of the 20th century, great efforts were expanded on invariant measures – ways to measure lengths and volumes of quantities so the measurement was independent of the position of the object to be measured. This book elaborates on the advances made in this subject. Intro to Typography, An Interactive Application For Smart Phones, by Robert J. Thompson, assistant professor, Graphic and Interactive Design. Published by Apple App Store, January 2014. The author’s course app features a detailed course syllabus, project and assignment details, class schedule, required reading and student design work samples. Intro to Interactive Design, An Interactive Application For Smart Phones, by Robert J. Thompson, assistant professor, Graphic and Interactive Design. Published by Apple App Store, January 2015. This app includes a course syllabus, project and assignment details, class schedule, required reading and student design work examples. Children’s Rights and Moral Parenting, by Mark C. Vopat, associate professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies. Published by Lexington Press, 2015. The author offers a systematic treatment of a variety of issues involving the intersection of the rights of children and the moral responsibility of parents. The text presents a theory of the relationship between parents and children, and how it can be applied to the real life decisions that parents must often make on behalf of their children. The Stubborn System of Moral Responsibility, by Bruce Waller, professor and chair, Philosophy and Religious Studies. Published by MIT Press, 2015, 304 pages. The text is a monograph that examines questions related to free will and moral responsibility. Congenial Debates on Controversial Questions, by Bruce Waller, professor and chair, Philosophy and Religious Studies. Published by Pearson, 2014, 227 pages. A textbook designed primarily for introductory courses on ethical issues.
Music is Bliss!
Photos by JoeL Lewis
The Dana School of Music
Faculty in YSU's Dana School of Music shared their expertise with student musicians from two Northeast Ohio high schools - Poland and Wadsworth - during a recent "Fridays at Bliss" event in Bliss Hall. Clockwise from top left are Glenn Schaft, professor of Percussion; a group of high school trumpeters in rehearsal; Brian Kiser, associate professor of Tuba/Euphonium; James Umble, professor of Saxophone; and Alice Wang, associate professor of Clarinet and acting director of the Dana School of Music. After the master classes, the students participated in an evening concert at Stambaugh Auditorium with the YSU Percussion Ensemble and the YSU Wind Ensemble.
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Win-Win: Interns Gain Experience,
Student interns who have contributed to creating Columbiana County’s new GIS program are seniors, from left, Bobby Ritchey, Nathaniel Simmons and Ben Lynch.
T
he geography of Columbiana County seems to be ideal for Penguins – Penguin Geography majors, that is. They’re creating an essential economic development tool for the county, and gaining professional work experience in the process. YSU alum Tad Herold, ’95 BA in Geography and City Planning, got the YSU/Columbiana partnership started when he took a new job as the county’s Director of Economic Development in fall 2013. He soon discovered that Columbiana was one of the few counties in Ohio not equipped with Tad Herold a digital mapping system, known as a Geographic Information System, or GIS. The technology has many applications, but economic development officers use it to
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compete for state and federal funds and to attract prospective businesses. “I knew GIS had to be one of my first projects,” he said. Herold returned to his old stomping grounds at YSU to discuss the county’s need with Dawna Cerney, associate professor and chair of YSU’s Geography Department. Together they crafted a plan to employ bright student interns, using digital mapping technology on campus, to create a limited GIS program for Columbiana. “The [Columbiana County] commissioners had faith in me,” he said. “When I explained our options – we could either partner with YSU or bring in a team of consultants and purchase additional equipment for a cost that could easily reach $100,000, it was an easy decision.” Cerney recruited Bobby Ritchey, a senior Geography major from Columbiana, to kickoff the project. Ritchey drafted a letter to the county’s three cities, 10 villages and 18 townships,
Create Digital Mapping System requesting the types of data needed to build a GIS model – building sites available for development, tax abatement zones, zoning districts, utilities, roads, bridges and railroads. Nathaniel Simmons, a senior Geography major from North Lima, was the next intern to join the process, and Ben Lynch, a Business Economics major from Boardman, got involved through a related internship in the Columbiana County village of Leetonia. As information trickled in, the interns began “building” layers of data that could be used to create customized maps. For example, a grant application might require a map marked with zoning districts, neighborhood income levels, utilities and infrastructure, while a prospective developer might want different criteria. With a GIS, county officials can now create either option in minutes – without the technology, it would have taken days. If Herold has his way, the county will continue to offer GISrelated internships for YSU students indefinitely. “We could be at this for years, making our GIS program rich and fullyformed,” he said, “and there’s always maintenance that has to be done.” For now, student interns are gaining real-life problemsolving experience while saving the county tens of thousands of dollars in labor and equipment costs. Over time, Herold believes the digital mapping capability could literally bring millions of dollars in new business, grants and other benefits to the county. The new system is already having an impact. When a business contacted his office recently, looking for a new plant location and comparing sites in Columbiana County and in the Carolinas, Herold was able to quickly respond to the company’s inquiries with detailed digital maps. “The deal is still a possibility,” he said. “The fact that we could get the information they wanted, and get it quickly, allowed us to carry the conversation along.” Cerney, the department chair, said YSU Geography majors have definitely caught on to the value of internships, and most complete at least one before graduation. In addition to Columbiana County, the department has developed relationships with several other agencies that regularly provide internship opportunities, she said, including the Eastgate Council of Governments, Mill Creek Metroparks and YSU’s Urban Planning Department. The department does not require internships, but they are “heartily encouraged,” said Ron Shaklee, professor of Geography. “The experience is extremely valuable,” he said. “Most internships have a GIS component these days, and we suggest they try it even if they think they’re not interested in GIS work. Today, GIS experience is just expected in the field.”
Housed in the Phelps Building, YSU’s Geography Department offers a BA in Geography, a new Bachelor of Applied Science in Spatial Information Systems, a certificate program in Geospatial Science and Technology (GSAT), and four Geography minors. The department employs seven fulltime faculty members, and seven part-time. Shaklee, also director of University Scholars and Honors, said the field of geography has changed dramatically since he joined the YSU faculty in 1987, and job prospects have also improved. “The technical side of things really started to take off in the mid-1990s, with GPS, satellites and GIS, and now it’s growing rapidly on a global and national basis,” he said. On average, he “I think people are said about half beginning to recognize the the department’s graduates find work value of the Geography in their field. “A discipline, and it’s not just few still have to about the technology … it’s leave the region, but also that employers appreciate there are more jobs geographers’ unique problem available than in the solving skills.” past. Dominion East Ohio is almost always – Dawna Cerney, Geography associate professor and chair hiring, and some students get jobs in county auditors’ offices,” he said. “The expansion of the oil and gas industry has created more jobs too.” The U.S. Department of Labor confirms Shaklee’s observations. The agency projects more than average growth in job openings for geographers, a 29 percent increase from 2012 through 2022, but calls the job market “competitive.” Cerney said entry-level geography jobs are usually available to graduates with a bachelor’s degree, but many students decide to go on to earn a graduate degree or a PhD in the field. “I think people are beginning to recognize the value of the Geography discipline, and it’s not just about the technology,” Cerney said. “It is true that GIS and geospatial technology are being used in more fields than ever – real estate, business, conservation, healthcare and beyond. But it’s also that employers appreciate geographers’ unique problem solving skills. Geography is rated as one of the most flexible disciplines because our students have highly transferable skills.”
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alumni
SPOTLIGHT
C E L E B R AT I N G A C C O M P L I S H E D G R A D U AT E S
At Your Service: YSU Alums Hit the Mark in Hospitality Steve Bartolin, ’75 BSBA
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Bill Mehalco, ’05 BS
YSU alum Steve Bartolin, above, stands outside the iconic Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. At left, a wider view of the Broadmoor property.
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From opposite ends of the country, hotel patrons are getting a healthy dose of Youngstown hospitality from two Youngstown State University alumni. Steve Bartolin and Bill Mehalco are making strides in hospitality management at two prominent hotels and at two different stages of their careers. While Bartolin is nearing the end of a stellar 40-year career, stepping down as president and chief executive officer of the historic Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Mehalco is proving himself as a talented young general manager of the trendy Hotel Indigo in New York City. Choosing Hospitality For Mehalco, a career in hospitality has been a thing of destiny mixed with a little Disney magic. “I was 7 years old when we took a trip to Disney and stayed at the Polynesian Resort,” Mehalco remembers. “I would walk up and down the floors, watch the staff, pay attention to the operations. I was fascinated being in this place that somehow housed all of these people.” Whether the exotic Polynesian or a standard. Best Western, Mehalco has been intrigued by the business since he can remember. So when it came time to start college at YSU, the Hubbard native found his fit in the hospitality management program and never looked back. For Bartolin though, also a Hubbard native, running a front desk took a temporary backseat to running the bases during his early years as a top YSU student-athlete. Pitching for the Penguins on some of the best baseball teams in school history would later earn Bartolin a spot in the YSU Hall of Fame and Penguin of the Year award. But in 1972, it first gave him a ticket to play professional ball for the Detroit Tigers—a career that was cut short by a shoulder injury. “It was the first time I understood how fleeting life in professional sports could be,” said Bartolin. “I came back to YSU to finish my degree; I realized baseball wasn’t going to be the thing that would support me.” Moving On Up Graduating with a business degree in 1975, Bartolin was off to West Virginia for a job at the highprofile Greenbrier hotel. The job, however, was less glamorous than the property. “I was running golf carts around and cleaning clubs,” said Bartolin, laughing. “But starting out in a place of such renown like the Greenbrier was lucky. It was an opportunity for great experience early on.” The experience served him well over the next 12 years. Bartolin landed director and manager positions at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville and returned to the Greenbrier as general manager before his biggest opportunity surfaced four years later. It was 1991 when the Opryland bought the Broadmoor
Bill Mehalco
Hotel and Bartolin’s old connections gave him the job offer of his lifetime – he would be recruited as the next leader of the famed Broadmoor. Mehalco started out in an entry level position, as well. His first industry job came when he was a student – a part-time bellman position at the Boardman Holiday Inn. “It was a sacrifice at the time,” said Mehalco, who had been working in a higher paying job at a Hubbard grocery store. “But I knew I had to put in the time before I was ever going to get a management position in hospitality.” In just three months, Mehalco moved up to the front desk. And in two years, with a hospitality management degree in hand, Mehalco was hired as the hotel’s front office manager straight out of college. Success in the City But Mehalco was set on even bigger career goals. During his years in the Hospitality Management Student Society at YSU, he had traveled to New York for the annual International Hotel and Motel Show and fell in love with the city. “I was 26, working at the Holiday Inn and thought, ‘If I don’t do this now, I don’t know if I ever will,’” said Mehalco. “So I packed up and moved to New York City.” Settling into a tiny apartment in Manhattan with an “eyeopening” high rent and no job, Mehalco started interviewing. His first break came at the Soho House, a 30-room, membersonly posh hotel in the meatpacking district of the city that boasted an A-list clientele. “I was dealing with people like Madonna and Vin Diesel,”
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Mehalco said. “I was just a kid from Ohio used to working with your everyday person. Switching to something almost make-believe was a hard adjustment.” But it was the experience that would set him up for his introduction to Hotel Indigo and later, the position he’d come to New York for. In 2009, the Indigo was a newly built property in the Chelsea district of Manhattan looking for a front office manager. Mehalco fit the bill perfectly. “I would get to hire my own staff and get back to what I was familiar with because it was within the same franchise as the Holiday Inn,” he explained. A trendy 4-star boutique hotel with a neighborhood story tapping into the floral, art and Photos show the trendy Hotel Indigo in New York from the street, left, and fashion influences of the Chelsea district, the Indigo its front desk. YSU alumnus Bill Mehalco is general manager. would finally be the hotel where Mehalco could is the longest run of any Broadmoor president over the hotel’s settle down – and move up. nearly 100-year history. Today Mehalco is general manager of “It’s a very successful, profitable business, and I’m not Hotel Indigo, overseeing the operations of the hotel to ensure ashamed to say that,” said Bartolin. the property is at its highest value, profitable, and offering Fiscal accomplishments aside, Bartolin will also leave exceptional customer service. Last May he saw the opening a legacy of success with his staff, as he’s known for his of a new independent hotel in Soho, and he’s at the helm of personal relationships and hands-off approach in believing in two more property openings planned for the near future. his people. It’s a career that Mehalco had set a personal goal to reach “I care deeply about this place and our people. It’s nice by 30 – and had accomplished. to plan a succession in full faith that you’ll be leaving a “There’s a lot of pressure that comes with New York,” good place in good hands,” said Bartolin, who stepped down he said. “Being a younger GM is also a huge part of the as president this March and now serves as chairman of the challenge. I’ve always got to be on my game to prove myself Broadmoor and its related businesses. and deliver consistent results.” And into the good hands of another Youngstown native the Broadmoor goes – the new manager is Bartolin’s close Club Cleaner to CEO friend, Jack Damioli, who also attended YSU. Bartolin knows about proving himself. He’s had almost 24 years to do it as CEO and president of the Broadmoor Youngstown Born and Built and has more than delivered, earning such awards as Resort Forty-five years after his YSU baseball career, Bartolin Executive of the Year, Colorado Hotel Executive of the Year, still keeps up with his teammates. A core group meets every CEO of the Year, and Independent Hotelier of the World. fall at the Broadmoor. But they’re not the only familiar But when he was offered the job in 1991, he was not as Youngstown faces Bartolin has had the opportunity to see in confident that such success would follow. Colorado. “The Broadmoor was faded in its glory at that time, and “There’s a hometown connection that exists here,” said I was almost a little afraid to take the position,” Bartolin Bartolin. “And I have to say that when I hire people from admitted. “There was a lot of new competition coming onto back home, they tend to be the hardest working. Even in my the landscape, business was declining with the recession, and own experience, there were so many people equally smart or the place needed a major capital infusion. smarter than I was, but I would put in that extra effort. That’s “I set a goal early on that when the time came for me to Youngstown.” hand it off, the Broadmoor would be in exceptional condition Mehalco has a soft spot for his hometown, too. When he both fiscally and physically.” visits his family in Hubbard, he takes time to speak to YSU Now as Bartolin passes the torch to a new Broadmoor hospitality students and offers help whenever he can with a leader this year, it’s clear that he’s accomplished the task. true passion for the program. He wants to see them succeed, The picturesque, 5,000-acre resort is the longest-running, just as his professors wanted the best for him. consecutive winner of the Forbes Mobil Five Star Award and “The faculty pushed me to be the president of our recipient of the AAA Five Diamond Award since its inception hospitality society,” Mehalco remembers, “and that opened in 1977. Bartolin has not only kept the standard but enhanced my eyes to pushing beyond the envelope, not being OK it, leading the company through major renovations; bolstering with the status quo. I wouldn’t have made it in New York its world-renowned golf, tennis, spa and dining offerings; and without that.” adding new value to its portfolio during his 24 years – which Profiles by Andrea Tharp
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alumni news
Jaworski is Guest Speaker for Bitonte College Event Alumnus Ron Jaworski, a football analyst for ESPN and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, was keynote speaker and an honoree at the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services’ Sixth Annual Alumni Recognition Dinner in February. Jaworski, ’00, earned a BS in Human Performance and Exercise Sciences. In the photo at right, joining in the celebration are, from left, Sara Michaliszyn, ’00, assistant professor, Human Performance and Exercise Sciences; Mary Pipino, president and chief executive officer of Donald P. Pipino Insurance Agency; Jaworski; Jennifer Pintar, professor and chair, Human Performance and Exercise Sciences; and Andrea Ryan ’99, ’14, an elementary school teacher and wife of Congressman Tim Ryan. In addition to Jaworski, other honorees were: Pat Billett, ’93, Military Science; Markus Douglas, ’98, Social Work; Donald Terpak, ’79, ’86, Health Professions; Christine Snipes, ’05, ’08, Physical Therapy; Field Lt. Anne Ralston, ’96, Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences; Wendy Thomas, ’94, ’11, Nursing; Jim White, ’05, Human Ecology. Dean’s Appreciation Awards were presented to Madeleine Haggerty and Leonard Perry, part-time faculty, both of Health Professions.
Arizona Alumni Group Awards Fifth Scholarship YSU’s Arizona Alumni Chapter has awarded its fifth Art McGaffic-Ed Stizza Scholarship, a $2,000 award presented to Brittany Veltri, a freshman pursuing a degree in exercise science/physical therapy. Veltri, a 2014 Austintown Fitch High School graduate, said she discovered her interest in exercise science and physical therapy after she tore ligaments in her ankle playing soccer and underwent several months of physical therapy. “I just loved the people there, and knew I wanted to help others in this same way,” she said. The Arizona Alumni Chapter has awarded five scholarships since it was founded in 2001 by a group of five charter members. The scholarship was recently named in memory of two of those members, Art McGaffic and Ed
Stizza, now deceased. Laura Stizza proudly continues the work her late husband started by chairing the scholarship committee. YSU students must be related to a member of the Arizona group to apply for the scholarship. YSU’s Arizona Alumni Chapter is looking for future members as it considers plans for new events, such as a wine tasting, a museum tour and a Brittany Veltri baseball game outing. For more information on the Phoenix-based group or to join, contact Elaine Timmins, laneytim@cox.net or 602-996-4701.
Columbus-area Penguins Cheer On the Blue Jackets YSU alumni living in the Columbus, Ohio, area gathered for an evening of fellowship and fun at a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game. The team rolled out the red carpet for the visiting Penguins, giving them VIP access for a photo on the ice. Members also organized an outing at a Columbus Clippers baseball game recently, and a Hollywood Casino night. For more information, contact YSU Columbus Alumni President Eric Boldan, ’94, ’01, eric.m.boldan@hotmail.com or Treasurer Bill Kasiara, ’74, wkasiara@columbus.rr.com.
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alumni news YO U N G S TO W N
S TAT E
U N I V E R S I T Y
Hundreds of Alumni and Friends Join Campus Volunteer Initiative Bruce and Carol Sherman are long-time Penguin boosters – the 1970 grads are life members of YSU’s Alumni Society, he’s held several leadership positions on campus and they’re regular attenders at YSU sporting events. But Pete’s Pride, the university’s new volunteer initiative, has given the Boardman couple a new feeling of purpose. “Before, we supported YSU in spirit, but Pete’s Pride gives us a reason to be here,” Carol Sherman said. “It makes us feel like we’re making a positive difference. It makes us feel needed.” President Jim Tressel launched Pete’s Pride when he took office last summer, and in just eight months its membership has topped 575. Though focused mainly on YSU alumni, it is open to anyone, anywhere, who feels a strong sense of loyalty to YSU.
The purpose of Pete’s Pride, said coordinator Heather Belgin, is to involve volunteer alumni and friends in recruiting new students, mentoring current students and engaging recent graduates to get involved with the university. It is modeled after a similar effort Tressel started at the University of Akron, where he previously served as executive vice president for Student Success. “This is a way to tap into one of our greatest resources, our graduates, and the people who love and support YSU,” Tressel said. “We’re giving them opportunities to share their stories and their positive experiences with prospective students, and I think they are having a tremendous impact on our recruitment efforts.” Belgin, who coordinates the program out of YSU’s Office of Alumni Engagement, said the growing army of Penguin volunteers also helps to stretch staff resources.
Greeting visitors at a holiday parade and festival in downtown Youngstown, in photo at left, are Pete’s Pride members Yvonne Fayard and Robert Joshua ’86. In photo above, Bruce and Carol Sherman, also representing Pete’s Pride, register volunteers for the new initiative at a basketball game at Beeghly Center.
We’ve invited YSU alumni to take Pete the Penguin along on their vacations, and we continue to receive fun photos like these. The year 2014 was a big year for Pete – he traveled to two European countries. In photo at far left, Deb Sause Bogossian, ’75, of Haverstown, Pa., posed with Pete in Killarney National Park along the coast between Dublin and Shannon during an eight-day driving trip across Ireland. Gregg Gillis, ’06, of Mineral Ridge, and his wife, Patty, took Pete to Paris and to the Rhone River of Southern France. In photo at left, Gregg holds Pete in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. To participate in “Take Pete Along,” take your photo with any version of our Pete mascot at a vacation landmark and email the photo to Ed Goist, emgoist@ysu.edu. Please include your name, graduation year, city of residence and information about the photo. 28
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A sampling of events scheduled this spring for Pete’s Pride volunteers:
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Tuesday, April 14: Backpacks to Briefcases. Conduct mock interviews, review resumes for students preparing for the job market.
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For example, when admissions counselors have written more than 4,000 letters to preparing for the university’s Crash Day open prospective students, made welcoming phone house in November realized that more than calls to close to 500 students who signed up for 1,000 prospective students and parents had early registration, helped staff four campus open registered, they were thrilled at the response. houses and recruited volunteers at many campus But there was concern, as well – how would and community events. they staff such a large event? Partnering with Career Services, members They turned to Pete’s participated in a Career Pride, and 25 volunteers Exploration Series in which showed up to greet Crash Day successful professionals visitors that day, give directions representing various career and share their experiences. areas met with students Bruce Sherman was one of on campus. In another them. “We just tried to give initiative, Backpacks to everybody a friendly welcome Briefcases, Pete’s Pride to YSU and let them know that representatives conduct it’s a great place to be,” he said. mock interviews and coach Robert G. Lynn, ’54, students who are about to who retired from the Army as enter the job market. a Major General, is working Also in the works is for Pete’s Pride from his a one-on-one mentoring Pete’s Pride member Jen Latell, left, ’99 home in Summerfield, Fla. program that will use a and ’02, a teacher at Campbell Memorial High School, has some fun with mascot He’s a volunteer letter-writer, database to match students Pete the Penguin and YSU cheerleader mailing off personal messages with successful Pete’s Pride Taylor Amato at the 2015 Game of Hope. to students who have been volunteers working in their accepted for admission in the fields of study. As in the fall. “I’ve mailed out 25 letters so far, and I’m letter writing and phone call efforts, Belgin working on the next 25,” he said. “Growing up, said, volunteer mentors from outside the region my parents were adamant that we should always are welcome to participate as mentors. give back. Youngstown and YSU played an To sign up for Pete’s Pride, or for more important part in my life, so I’m very glad for an information, email petespride@ysu.edu or call Heather Belgin, 330-941-1591. “Like” opportunity to help.” Pete’s Pride on Facebook. So far, Belgin said, Pete’s Pride volunteers
Wednesday, April 22: English Festival. Staff Pete’s Pride kiosk, provide admission information. May, 2015: High school assemblies. Represent YSU by presenting scholarships. Monday, May 4: Grad Central. Staff a table to congratulate graduating YSU seniors. Saturday, May 16: Spring Commencement. Distribute alumni pins to graduates, staff Pete’s Pride kiosk. Saturday, May 30: Streetscape. Work with YSU Alumni Society planting team in a Youngstown beautification effort.
Homecoming Marks 75th, Past Kings and Queens Invited to Return YSU is extending a special invitation to all previous Penguin Homecoming Kings and Queens to return to campus this fall as the university celebrates its 75th annual Homecoming in 2015. This year’s celebration begins Oct. 11 and will culminate with a parade and football game on Sat., Oct. 17. If you are a past king or queen and would like more information about this year’s festivities, contact Ed Goist in Alumni Engagement, emgoist@ysu.edu or 330-941-2753.
Save Date! THE
July 9-12 – Theta Chi’s Summer Reunion is timed to coincide with YSU’s Summer Festival of the Arts (July 11-12) and other events on campus and in downtown Youngstown. On Saturday, July 11, Theta Chi will host cocktails and dinner in the atrium of the Williamson College of Business Administration. Visit ysuoxalumni.blogspot.com for information and updates. Sunday, July 12 – YSU’s Half Century Reunion, for YSU alumni who graduated in 1965 or earlier, featuring brunch in the Presidential Suites in Kilcawley Center. November 28 – Dana School of Music’s first All Alumni Reunion, scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown. Cocktails at 5:30 p.m., dinner by Saratoga at 6:30 p.m., followed by dancing to the music of Ovation – all in the newly remodeled Stambaugh Ballroom. For more information, contact Martha Young, ’79, at marcor297@aol.com.
Jackie (Fynes) Boesel, ’67, crowned Youngstown University’s 1965 Homecoming Queen, dances with her escort, Paul Hamilton ’68.
Rebecca Banks and Everet Thompson were honored as YSU’s 2014 Homecoming King and Queen. This year’s celebration runs Oct. 11-17.
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penguin sports news
Penguins’ New Football Coach Takes a Local Approach Bo Pelini had plenty of options when he made the decision to return to his hometown in December as YSU’s new head football coach. It was a bold and surprising move for a former NFL assistant coach who spent the past seven years successfully coaching a Big Ten Team at the University of Nebraska. “My wife and I were looking for something that made sense for our family,” he said. “This being the place where we grew up, and taking everything into account, we felt this was the right place for us.” Pelini took a similar approach in recruiting his first class of 30 new Penguin players in early February. Eight states are represented by the group of newcomers, but the coach said he purposely focused most of his efforts on Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. “They understand the traditions at YSU, our expectations and our standards,” he said of the 19 Ohio and Pa. recruits. “We decided from the start that there are a lot of good football players in the area and that’s the way we were going to go. I’m thrilled to say that we got most of the kids we targeted, and that doesn’t always happen.” Pelini said he and his staff looked for “high character young men” who are good students as well as good football players. “We targeted high school kids who will be in this program for a number of years. We want them to help us build the culture and represent us well, both on and off the field.” Pelini, a Youngstown native and Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, has an impressive 21 years of coaching experience with 12 as either a head coach or collegiate coordinator and nine as a defensive assistant in the NFL. Before taking over the Nebraska program, where he guided the Cornhuskers to nine or more wins every season, he was an assistant coach for the Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers, then served as linebacker coach for the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers. In all, Pelini has coached in 12 bowl games, 11 NFL playoff games and six conference-title contests. Pelini earned a BSBA in marketing and a master’s degree in sports administration, both from Ohio State University. He and his wife, Mary Pat, have three children.
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Coach Bo Pelini
Football Season Tickets On Sale Now Season ticket packages are available now for the 2015 Youngstown State football season, which will feature six home contests. Here’s the schedule:
Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 21
at Pittsburgh vs. Robert Morris* vs. Saint Francis (Pa.)* at South Dakota vs. Illinois State* vs. South Dakota State (Homecoming) * at Southern Illinois at Western Illinois vs. Missouri State* vs. North Dakota State* at Indiana State
In 2015, reserved season ticket packages are available for $99; general admission packages are $77. For more information, call the YSU Athletic Ticket Office, 330-941-1978. (*Home Games.)
penguin sports news
OF
THE YEAR
Gasser Family Honored with 2015 Award The Gasser family, longtime supporters of YSU and the YSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, was recognized with the 2015 Penguin of the Year award. Owners of the Gasser Chair Co. in Youngstown, the family has furnished its chairs for many YSU athletic facilities, including the Jermaine Hopkins Academic Center, the Watson Family Sports Media Center and the YSU football conference rooms. The Gasser family annually supports Penguin Club events, has advertised in the YSU football program for more than two decades, and is part of a select group of companies and families that cheer on the football team from atop Stambaugh Stadium in the Scholarship Loge complex. In November, the Gasser family and YSU announced creation of the George E. Gasser Scholarship, as part of the YSU Athletics Scholarship Endowment fund. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student-athlete who is enrolled in the Williamson College of Business Administration. Mark Eugene Gasser of Hubbard, a son of George E. Gasser and president and member of the Board of Directors of the Gasser Chair Company, accepted the award for the family. Mark Gasser is also active in the other family businesses – Gasser Associates, Chestnut Ridge Park and Mastercraft Industries. He is a member of the Stambaugh Auditorium Board of Directors and its Capitol Campaign Chair, serves on the Board of Directors of Compass, formerly the Burdman Group, and is incoming president of the Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries.
Student-Athletes Break Academic Records
Student-athletes broke another school record in fall 2014 when a total of 57 posted perfect 4.0 grade-point averages for the semester, surpassing the previous record of 47 perfect GPAs a year before. Twenty-seven of last semester’s 4.0 students have maintained perfect GPAs throughout their undergraduate careers – another school best. YSU’s 334 student-athletes earned a combined 3.07 overall GPA in the fall – 61 percent earned better than a 3.0. Penguin athletes have maintained a cumulative GPA above 3.0 since spring, 2012, a total of five semesters. The women’s tennis team led the way in the fall, with an outstanding 3.75 semester GPA, while women’s golf ranked an impressive second at 3.65. The men’s tennis team had a 3.64 GPA, the highest for all men’s programs.
Golf Team Project Honors War Heroes The YSU women’s golf team helped raise awareness and support for the military by participating in The Folds of Honor Foundation, a program that honors U.S. soldiers killed or disabled while on active duty. Golfer Emily Dixon, a junior from Pataskala, Ohio, carried a YSU golf bag throughout the 2014-15 golf season that honored a fallen soldier, U.S. Army First Class Lt. Ashley White-Stumpf. The bag, imprinted with White-Stumpf’s name, rank and military branch, will be sold at auction, with proceeds to benefit Folds of Honor. White-Stumpf, 24, was serving in Afghanistan in October 2011, when the assault force she was supporting triggered an improvised explosive device. White-Stumpf was killed in the blast. A graduate of Marlington High School and Kent State University, she is survived by her husband, Cpt. Jason Stumpf, her parents, Robert and Deborah, a twin sister, Brittany, and a brother, Josh. The Folds of Honor Program was founded in 2007 by Maj. Dan Rooney, a former F-16 pilot who served three tours in Iraq. Funds benefit the spouses and families of soldiers killed or disabled while serving in the military. The Lady Penguin golfers began their spring season in February, with tournaments scheduled in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Maryland and Florida.
Junior Emily Dixon of Pataskala, Ohio, carried a golf bag honoring an Afghanistan war hero.
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P
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 Y
Agreement Transfers Fundraising Duties to YSU Foundation
YSU’s fundraising operations have moved to the YSU Foundation. “We believe that this change in how the university’s fundraising activities are managed will help us meet the increasingly significant philanthropic needs of the institution moving forward,” YSU President Jim Tressel said. Paul McFadden Trustees for both the university and the Foundation approved the change last fall. Founded in 1966 by the university’s long-time president, Howard Jones, the YSU Foundation – with nearly $240 million in assets – is a private, nonprofit corporation independent from YSU that supports YSU exclusively, mostly through scholarships for students. This academic year, the Foundation allocated more than $7 million in scholarships for YSU students.
For years, the Office of University Development and the YSU Foundation worked side by side, collaborating on the most successful campaign in university history – the Centennial Campaign. Under the new agreement, all fundraising functions will move to the Foundation, which will now serve as the primary point of solicitation in support of the university. “We look forward to working hand-inhand with President Tressel, the administration, faculty and everyone on campus to maximize YSU’s development capacity,” said Paul McFadden, Foundation president. Meanwhile, the YSU Office of Alumni and Events Management has relocated from Alumni House to the first floor of Tod Hall in office space previously held by the Office of University Development. The Foundation, which now occupies the second floor of Alumni House, has expanded to the first floor. Discussions regarding a new home for the YSU Foundation are ongoing.
Donor: Scholarship Fits Recipient ‘To a T’ Richard Peterson’s heart is as big as his infectious smile. So when Peterson, a 1968 graduate of YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration, decided he wanted to make an impact in the community, he looked no further than his beloved alma mater. Peterson, along with his wife, Janet, established the Richard R. Peterson Family Scholarship in 2000. This year’s recipient is Cole Kochman, a communications major and red-shirt member of the YSU football team. The $7,500 yearly-scholarship is something the Peterson family felt compelled to establish, given what the university has meant to them – the South Bend, Ind., couple met as students at YSU. Peterson said the late Bill Knecht, a former YSU trustee, was instrumental in guiding him toward establishing the scholarship. “My first job when I got out of YSU was at IBM,’’ said Peterson, now senior vice president of Global Imaging Systems, a subsidiary of Xerox Corporation. “Bill was at IBM, as well, and he was my mentor.’’ Part of Peterson’s criteria for the scholarship was that the
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recipient be a native of western Pennsylvania, a solid student with strong family values. “This scholarship fits (Kochman) to a ‘T,’ and I couldn’t be happier,’’ Peterson said. Kochman, a red-shirt linebacker for the Penguins, has lived up to Peterson’s expectations. He earned a place on the Dean’s List for the fall semester and is taking the “student-athlete” role seriously. “Being able to have some of my school paid for, I feel it’s my obligation to work hard in the classroom, and I try to take advantage of every opportunity I can,’’ said Kochman, who graduated from Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pa., 15 miles from Pittsburgh. “I’m really thankful and grateful for the opportunity Mr. Peterson and his family have given me.’’ And the advice Peterson has for Kochman? “You don’t know it now, but one or two significant things are going to happen while you’re here at YSU and down the road you’re going to realize that they made a big difference in your life,” he said. “They can be positive or they can be negative. It’s all up to us. In my case, it was all positive, and I’m sure in Cole’s case, it will be the same.’’
Philanthropy Libertin Scholarship Honors Family’s Heritage There was no better way for George and Ruth Libertin’s children are proud of them, and the scholarship is a way to four adult children to honor their parents than by establishing show it.” a scholarship, the George and Ruth George Libertin, who turns 90 this Libertin Scholarship in Engineering at spring, worked full time while pursuing YSU. his metallurgical engineering degree at The Liberty township couple always Youngstown University. “We have a fine demonstrated by their own example how educational institution here at YSU,’’ said hard work could make a difference in Libertin, who completed his degree in every aspect of life, especially education. 1960 at the age of 35. He later served as Their children took heed. All four, Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer and like their father, are YSU graduates and chaired the building campaign for St. John have established distinguished careers: the Baptist Orthodox Church in Campbell. • Monica Libertin Vansuch, MS, was a All the while, he said, his late wife, literacy specialist/coach with Warren Ruth, remained the inspiration for him to City Schools and the Trumbull earn his degree and set an example for his County Educational Service Center family. The Libertins were married for for almost 43 years and is now a more than 59 years. “She encouraged me to literacy coach for Howland Local go back to school,’’ Libertin said. “My wife Schools. knew how important having an education • Mary Libertin, PhD, is a professor of George Libertin and his late wife, Ruth. would be for me and for our children, so I English literature at Shippensburg University in was determined. She always supported me.’’ Carlisle, Pa. The purpose of the Libertin scholarship is to recognize • Dr. Claudia R. Libertin is a medical doctor and infectious and support working engineering students at YSU who share disease specialist with the Mayo Clinic in Waycross, Ga. the philosophy the Libertin family lives by. Applicants must • Dr. Andrew George Libertin is a medical doctor and be full-time junior or senior engineering majors at YSU, gastroenterology specialist in North Canton, Ohio. working at least 20 hours per week during the academic “Our parents accomplished wondrous works with four year. They must be graduates of an Ohio high school, with children, and their strong marriage and hard work have preference to Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana county always been models for others,” said Claudia Libertin. “Their residents, and must have earned a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Retired Nurse Creates Nursing Scholarship
Richard Peterson and scholarship recipient Cole Kochman.
Susan Spencer Briney never realized what an impact her parents had on students when they started a scholarship endowment at the YSU Foundation – not until the thank you letters came pouring in. Now she’s following their example by creating her own scholarship fund. Briney, who was forced to retire early from nursing after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, has given $100,000 to the YSU Foundation to fund the Susan Spencer Briney Scholarship for students pursuing undergraduate degrees in nursing. “It makes me happy to realize that now I’m in a position to cultivate another generation of nurses,” she said. When her mother and father died within a month of each other, Briney became the point of contact for the scholarship they had established in 2005, the William and Margaret Spencer Scholarship. Until then, she was unaware that her parents’ endowment had grown to nearly $1 million. “I received 35 thank you notes from students in the first few months,” she said. “It was amazing to see what an influence my parents’ generosity is having, even now.” Formerly of Boardman, Briney now lives in Fremont, Ohio, with husband James. She worked 30 years as a nurse, mostly in geriatric and hospice nursing, and is now leading a community effort to establish a Hospice House in Fremont. For more information about the Susan Spencer Briney Scholarship, or on how to establish a YSU scholarship endowment, contact the YSU Foundation, 330-941-3211.
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class ’60s
notes
Jarrett Slaven of Brandon, Fla., ’68 BSEd, is in his 16th season as head cross country coach at the University of Tampa, where the school’s male and female runners have captured numerous titles and Jarrett Slaven championships during his tenure. The 12-time Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year also worked for nearly 25 years as a United States probation officer, retiring in 1999. He has a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Florida. Robert Tortora of Dumfries, Va., ’68 BS in Mathematics, has joined ICF International as a senior fellow in the health, education and social programs area. Tortora has more than 40 years experience in Robert Tortora statistics and methods in both federal and commercial sectors. He holds a master’s degree from Catholic University and a PhD from Bowling Green State University. Previously, he was chief methodologist for the Gallup World Poll. He is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association.
’70s Frank Mento of Bois Colombes, Hauts de Seine, France, ’72 BM, is employed as the Titular Organist at Saint-Jean de Montmartre Church in Paris, as well as a professor of harpsichord at the Frank Mento Conservatory of the 18th precinct in Paris. He has a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati and a Licence de Concert degree from the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Over his career, Mento has performed recitals on all the major organs of Paris, and he recently published his own online harpsichord method for children and other beginners. Riyad H. Mansour of Orlando, Fla., ’73 MSEd in counseling, is a United Nations ambassador and permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, a position he has held since 2005. In January, he spoke at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law in a presentation titled “States of Palestine at the International Arena: A Discussion on Current Events in Palestine.” Mansour has been engaged in Palestinian diplomatic service for more than 30 years and has a doctorate in counseling from the University of Akron. Dale Collins of Ashville, N.C., ’74 AAB, has been named to the board of directors
for Paradigm Precision, a manufacturer of components for the aerospace and gas turbine engines. A former aerospace company executive, he has a BS in industrial management from the University of Cincinnati. Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata of Gates Mills, Ohio, ’74 AB in French and Spanish, ’80 MBA in Management, was recognized by YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration with Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata its 2014 Outstanding Service Award. A YSU Foundation trustee since 2007, she is vice chair of the board and serves in numerous other charitable, health and service-related leadership positions, is a member of the YSU President’s Council, and serves on advisory councils for the WCBA and the Beeghly College of Education. Anthony Januszkiewicz of Wadmalaw Island, S.C., ’75 BSAS in Law Enforcement Administration, is a court security officer for the Federal District of South Carolina in Charleston. Januszkiewicz retired as a lieutenant with the Charleston Police Department, where he served for 28 years, and he also spent a year with the South Carolina Highway Patrol. In addition to his YSU degree, he earned an MA in History from the Citadel Military College and attended the FBI National Academy in 2000.
Alumnus Featured in Tiffany & Co. Ad Campaign Thomas R. Trube-Bourne of New York, N.Y., '99 AB in Communications, left, is featured with his husband, Eric Trube-Bourne, in jeweler Tiffany & Co.’s new, national advertising campaign for engagement rings. Married May 22, 2014, they are the first same-sex couple the retailer has spotlighted in an ad campaign. Thomas is vice president of sales for Sophie Theallet, a fashion wholesaler, and an actor/model with Don Buchwald & Assoc. and CESD Talent Agency; Eric is a performer and choreographer for Parsons Dance Company and an indoor cycling instructor.
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Class Notes
Linda Gooden of Bethesda, Md., ’77 AAS in Computer Technology, has been named chair of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association International board of directors. She is the Linda Gooden retired executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business area and worked more than 40 years in the aerospace and defense industry. She was inducted into the prestigious Career Communications Hall of Fame and Black Enterprise magazine featured her in its 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America in 2009. Frank Hierro of Poland, ’77 BSBA in Finance and Economics, has joined Home Savings and Loan Co. as Mahoning Valley Regional President. Previously, Hierro retired from Huntington Bank, where he was a valley executive. A board member for the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown Area C.I.C. and the YSU Foundation, Hierro is also an active member of both YSU’s President’s Council and the YSU Alumni Society. Scott Rummel of Canton, Ohio, ’79 BSBA in Business Administration and Industrial Management, has been named plant manager for Greer Steel Co. in Dover, Ohio. He has more than 16 years experience as an operations manager.
’80s Mary Jo Dolson of Berea, ’81 BSBA in Accounting and Finance, has joined Skoda Minotti, a national accounting, financial and business advisory firm, as a partner and member of the leadership team Mary Jo Dolson in its tax preparation and planning group. She has more than 30 years experience in state and local taxation, most recently as director of a regional CPA firm, where she co-chaired the firm’s state and local tax practice. Samuel Grooms of Columbus, Ohio, ’81 BSBA, was recognized as YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration Outstanding Business Alumnus for 2014. Grooms is chief
executive officer for Hy-Tek Material Handling in Columbus. He spent his entire 33-year professional career at the company, holding a succession of management positions, and sales have grown nearly seven-fold over the past decade under his leadership. Adele K. Langworthy of Long Beach, Calif., ’81 AB in Physics, was named a 2014 Professional Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women. Langworthy is executive director of Rising TIDE @ MKEC, a ministry that provides after-school childcare for low-income, multicultural families. She is also associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach and has a M.Div. from McCormick Theological Seminary.
Joseph Sanchez
Joseph Sanchez of Grand Prairie, Texas, ’81 BFA, recently joined Century 21 - A Judge Fite Management Company as a realtor representing the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. Previously he was employed for 20 years with AT&T in Dallas.
Jeffrey Carr of Cary, N.C., ’83 BSBA, has joined William Peace University as assistant professor and chair of Business Administration. Previously, Carr worked as an attorney and mediator while also serving as campus dean Jeffrey Carr at Strayer University, department chair at Herzing University, and senior lecturer at the University of Akron. He has a law degree from Akron and an MBA from Kent State. Tammy Swearingen of Petersburg, Ohio, ’83 BSEd, has been promoted to professor of Physical Education at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa. She has been teaching at the college since 1993 and also serves as assistant athletic director. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Akron. Brian Chermside of Bay Harbor, Mich., ’85 MBA, recently retired as executive officer and chief commercial officer at Dow Corning Corporation in Midland, Mich. He is now working with Resinate Materials Group in Brian Chermside Plymouth, Mich., as the company’s chief operating officer.
Singer Performs at Westminster Abbey Todd Beckham of Falmouth, Mass., ’81 BM, was one of 35 singers nationwide chosen to be part of the Royal School of Church Music in America’s National Choir. Beckham, who is employed as music director and organist at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Falmouth, was one of three countertenors in the choir. The group rehearsed in Durham, N.C., then met again in London to perform daily Evensong services at Westminster Abbey from December 29, 2014 through January 2. Beckham also directs the Meridian Singers of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and tutors for harpsichord, early music and vocal ensembles in the chamber music program at Harvard University. He holds an MM from Converse College.
Joseph Hamrock of Westerville, Ohio, ’85 BE in Electrical Engineering, has been named chief executive officer of NiSource Inc., a natural gas and electric utilities company. Previously, he was executive vice president and group CEO for the company’s gas distribution business unit. Previously, Hamrock was president and chief operating officer of American Electric Power Ohio. He has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he was a Sloan fellow.
Larry Moliterno
Samuel Grooms
Larry Moliterno of Boardman, ’85 AB, ’99 MBA, was recognized as YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration Outstanding MBA Alumnus. He is president and chief executive officer of Meridian Community Care, an agency that includes primary and SPRING 2015
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Class Notes
Penguin Reunion in Vegas YSU Dana School of Music grads that reunited at the House of Blues restaurant in Las Vegas recently are, from left, Bill Gonda, David Perrico and Jim Frank. Gonda of Austintown, ‘75, is retired after 35 years as a teacher in the Youngstown City Schools and now works part time with the Austintown Fitch Percussion Band; Perrico, ’03, of Las Vegas, is a conductor, musician, composer and musical director of a stage show at the Stratosphere Casino and Hotel and a part-time instructor at the University of Las Vegas; and Frank of Boardman, ’71, is retired after 37 years teaching in the Girard City Schools.
behavioral health care and corporate wellness services. He has 24 years experience in nonprofit leadership, including the Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way and Catholic Charities Regional Agency. Bret H. Bartosh of Delray Beach, Fla., ’86 AAS in Computer Technology, ’06 BSEd, is a high school special education teacher in the Palm Beach County School District. He recently earned a MEd from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa. Tim Dixon of Youngstown, ’88 AAS in Mechanical Engineering Technology and Drafting Design Technology, was named Midwest sales and applications manager for Unilux Inc. Dixon has more than 20 years industrial sales and field service engineering experience in the Midwest, Germany and China, mostly in the metals industries. Kathy Cook of Kinsman, Ohio, ’89 BSN, was named a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a credential considered the highest standard of professional development for health care executives. A former chief nursing officer at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, she was named president of St. Joseph Health Center in Warren in 2013 after serving in a succession of other nursing management positions. Cook has a nursing diploma from St. Elizabeth School of Nursing and a master’s degree in nursing administration from Gannon University. Guy C. Coviello of Liberty, ’89 AB, was named vice president of government affairs for the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber. Formerly, he was editor of the Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio. He started at the newspaper as a part-time sportswriter in 1984 and held a succession of positions as a reporter, copy editor and editor.
’90s Troy K. Rhoades of Canfield, ’90 BSBA, retired from the Air Force in 2014 after 31 years of service, most recently, as Command Chief of the 910th Airlift Wing in Vienna. He is employed as manager of physical Troy K. Rhoads security for FirstEnergy in Akron. His wife is Christine Fedor Rhoades, a 1986 YSU alumna. Mike Scudier of Youngstown, ’90 BSBA, has joined Home Savings and Loan as senior branch manager for the Newport Glen and Kirk Road branches. He has an MBA from Malone University and has more than a decade of banking experience, most recently with PNC Bank. Kurt Roscoe of Solon, Ohio, ’91 BFA, was promoted to associate professor of media art and design at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa. He has an MFA from Kent State. Bill H. Bishop of Savannah, Ga., ’92 BSBA, was named vice president of real estate and development for The Parker Companies in Savannah. Previously, Bishop served as senior real estate manager for Thornton’s Inc., a convenience store group. Presley Gillespie of Pittsburgh, ’92 AB in Organizational Communications, is the inaugural president of Neighborhood Allies, a community development intermediary in Pittsburgh. Previously, Presley Gillespie he was founding executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.
He came to the non-profit sector from a position as vice president for KeyBank and after a successful 18-year banking career. Christy (Countryman) Pepperney of Poland, ’94 BSBA in Marketing, is employed by the Weathersfield Local Schools where she began the district’s first Cognitive Ability Unit. In 2013 she earned a teaching certificate Christy Pepperney from Notre Dame College in Cleveland and was named Student Teacher of the Year for the college of education. She is married to Jim Pepperney, ’94 AB in Organizational Communication. Thomas E. Green of Hudson, Ohio, ’93 BS in Education, was elected chairman of the board of directors for the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. An attorney and shareholder with Kastner Westman & Wilkins, LLC, an Akron labor and employment law firm representing management, Green has served in several volunteer capacities for the Conservancy for CVNP since 2007. Jack Savage of Boardman, ’93 AB in History, is the new assistant executive director of the Mahoning Valley Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Savage is an attorney and owned and operated Tag Media, a video production company. He earned his law degree from the University of Akron.
Julie Farr
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Julie (LeMay) Farr of Massillon, Ohio, ’94 BE in Materials Engineering, has been named Member of the Year by the Association of Women in the Metal Industries. Farr, an engineer at TimkenSteel for
Class Notes
20 years, was chosen for the national organization’s highest honor because she exemplifies its goals of education, mentoring, networking and growth. She earned a ME from Case Western University and has held technical sales responsibility for Honda and Toyota, two major automotive customers for TimkenSteel. Marc A. Krohn of Austin, Texas, ’94 BSBA in Finance, has joined CBRE Group’s Austin office as managing director of asset services for the Central Texas region. He relocated there from Cincinnati, where he was director of asset services for the real estate management company’s Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky markets. He has more than 16 years experience in real estate and also received an honorable discharge after eight years service to the Army National Guard.
Kelly Colwell of Youngstown, ’99 BSAS, ’14 MS in Respiratory Therapy, was presented the Neonatal/Pediatric Respiratory Practitioner of the Year award for 2014 at the Ohio State Society for Respiratory Care’s Kelly Colwell annual conference. He was chosen for the honor based on his leadership, mentorship, clinical expertise, team building, professionalism and community involvement. Colwell is employed by Akron Children’s Hospital and is also a part-time faculty member in YSU’s respiratory care program. He is pursuing a doctorate in YSU’s education leadership program. Christopher Elias of Ann Arbor, Mich., ’99 AB in Economics and Anthropology, ’02 MS in Industrial Engineering, is an assistant professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University in
Scott R. Schulick of Youngstown, ’94 BSBA in Accounting, ’96 MBA, has been appointed to a three-year term on the Mill Creek Metroparks Board of Commissioners. Schulick is vice president/investments and an investment advisor for Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Marly Kosinski of Youngstown, ’95 AB in English, is a web producer at WKBN/WYTV television in Youngstown, the local CBS and ABC affiliates. Previously, she worked for 13 years in print journalism. Jeanie Dubinski of Orlando, Fla., ’96 AB, has been named vice president of business development for Big Truck Rental in Tampa and a member of its board of directors. She came to the company from Waste Pro USA, Jeanie Dubinski where she was chief legal officer. Dubinski earned her law degree from the Stetson University College of Law and holds an executive MBA from Boston University School of Management. Derek Mihalcin of Hubbard, ’98 BS in Secondary Education and ’99 MS in Curriculum and Instruction, is a licensed psychologist, a board certified behavior analyst – doctoral and a certified Derek Mihalcin Ohio Behavior Analyst at Oakwood Counseling Center, Warren. He holds a PhD from Capella University, is a graduate professor at Kaplan University and a national presenter for PESI, which provides continuing education for teachers, counselors and other professionals.
Christopher Elias
alumni
Ypsilanti, Mich. He has an MS in Economics from Florida State University, served five years as an officer in the Navy, and earned a PhD in Economics from the University of California Irvine. Joan Humphrey of Brookfield, Ohio, ’99 BS in Applied Science, ’04 MPH, has joined the full-time nursing faculty at Penn State Shenango, where she previously taught part-time Joan Humphrey and was awarded its prestigious Margaret Cunningham Foley teaching award last year. Also a former instructor at YSU, she continues to practice clinical nursing at Tod Minor Emergency Clinic. She is a registered nurse, has a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, holds an MS in Public Health Education from Northeast Ohio Medical University and a nursing degree from Sharon Regional Health System School of Nursing.
authors
Jamie Marich of Warren, ’00 AB in History and American Studies, has completed her fourth book, Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, published by PESI Education & Media in Eau Claire, Wis. The book reflects Marich’s work as a humanitarian aid worker in post-war Bosnia, a trauma clinician and an educator. She has a PhD in counseling studies from Capella University and Jamie Marich a master’s degree in counseling from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. A clinical counselor, she maintains a small private practice in the Youngstown-Warren area and travels as a continuing education provider for health professionals. Randi Barlow Pappa of Brookfield, Ohio, ’96 AB in Religious Studies, has written her first novel, titled Under the Rock and published by EWH Press. The author spent seven years on the book, a multi-generational saga set in an Appalachian river town in 1949. Pappa is also employed as a bookkeeper, a wedding celebrant and a funeral celebrant. Her book is available on Amazon.com. Randi Barlow Pappa
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Class Notes
Carolyn Guju Kotsol of Sharon, Pa., ’99 BS in Chemical Engineering, is the new president and chief executive officer of Winner Water Services, a water management company serving the oil and gas well industry. She Carolyn Guju Kotsol joined the company in 2012 and previously was manager of its Process Engineering Systems Resource Group.
Scott Lenhart of Boardman, ’01 BSEd, participated in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions global field course in India last summer. He studied the ecological, cultural and spiritual landscapes of the Western Ghats. Lenhart is a teacher at Boardman Glenwood Middle School and is pursuing a master’s degree from Miami U.
’00s
Seth Wollam of Lock Haven, Pa., ’02 BM in Music Education, is band director at Lock Haven University, coming from the University of North Texas, where he was a teaching fellow, assistant and Seth Wollam guest conductor, instructor and a guest lecturer. He has a master’s degree in wind conducting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his doctorate is pending his dissertation at the University of North Texas.
Laura Thomas Kaulen of Hilliard, Ohio, ’00 BSEd in Elementary and Special Education, won the Erie Marathon in September, breaking the course record by 12 minutes with a speed of 2:42:12 and qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials. She plans to participate in the Olympic trials in February 2016. Kaulen is a teacher in the SouthWestern City Schools in Grove City, Ohio. Steven Little of Pittsburgh, ’00 BE in Chemical Engineering, was presented the 2015 Curtis W. McGraw Research Award by the American Society of Engineering Education. He is an associate professor, CNG Faculty Fellow and Steven Little chair of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. The award recognizes young engineering college researchers 40 and younger. Little holds eight patents and has received more than $5 million for his research. He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Elliott Hilton of Royal Oak, Michigan, ’01 BSAS in Hospitality Management, is culinary academic director for the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Michigan. He is responsible Elliott Hilton for managing 14 faculty members and a student body of 300 majoring in Culinary Arts, Culinary Management and Baking and Pastry Programs. Previously, Elliott was an instructor at the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of OhioCincinnati and in Hospitality Management at Butler County Community College, Butler, Pa. 38
YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
Rob Lipowski of Shawnee, Kan., ’02 BSAS in Computer Information Systems, has joined Perceptive Software as director of healthcare solutions. Lipowski previously served as director of IT for the Cleveland Clinic. He has an MBA from Lake Erie College.
Dennis M. Dlugosz of Avon, Ohio, ’03 BSBA in Accounting, is a CPA and a director in Corrigan Krause, a regional accounting firm that was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’s Fast 50 list, a ranking of the top Dennis Dlugosz 50 fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio. Corrigan Krause was the only CPA firm to make this year’s list. Alisa Balestra of Cincinnati, ’04 AB in English and Philosophy, ’06 MA in English, accepted a position as specialist-project management and clinical research professional with Innovations in Community Research and Program Evaluation at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Previously, Balestra was a director for Public Allies Cincinnati, a leadership and professional development nonprofit. She earned her PhD in English from Miami University. Ann Amicucci of Colorado Springs, Colo., ’05 MA, has been named assistant professor of English at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Previously, she was assistant program director for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania writing program and director of the writing center at Duquesne University. She earned a PhD from Indiana U. of Pa., and a bachelor’s from Kent State.
Walter A. Zuhosky of Masury, Ohio, ’05 AA, ’11 BGS, recently completed an MA in Gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Amanda Gerstnecker of Freedom, Pa., ’06 BSBA, corporate attorney with Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP in Pittsburgh, was elected to serve as program chairperson for the Allegheny County Bar Association Business Law Section’s executive council. A member of the firm’s corporate & business law and real estate & lending groups, he has a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. John G. Shanks of Amarillo, Texas, ’06 BM in Trombone Performance, has joined the faculty of West Texas A&M University as an assistant professor of Music. He conducts the university’s Trombone Choir, performs in its Faculty Brass Quintet, leads weekly studio classes and is principal trombone for the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. Shanks has an MM from Indiana University and a DMA from the University of Alabama. Previously, he was principal trombone for the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and an adjunct instructor at Jackson State University. John Shanks
James Mrozek of Mentor, Ohio, ’07 AB in History, is in his third year of teaching ancient world history, U.S. history and government at Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby. He is also in his third year as James Mrozek girls’ varsity basketball coach and, at press time, had compiled the most wins as a girl’s coach in school history. Mrozek is developing a curriculum for new Sociology courses at the school. Janet Gbur of Canfield, ’08 BE in Materials Engineering, ’11 MSE in Mechanical Engineering, is a fourth-year PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She placed first
Class Notes
authors
alumni
Two veteran law enforcement officers, both YSU alums, have co-authored the book K-PhD School and Campus Shootings Awareness, published by Kendall Hunt Publishing. The authors are Gregory Truhan of Strongsville, Ohio, ’81 BSAS, ’86 MS, a retired Secret Service senior agent, and James T. McBride of Mentor, Ohio, ’69 BSAS, a retired college police chief and public safety director. Truhan is an associate professor of Criminal Justice at Lakeland Community College, an Ohio Basic Police Academy instructor and a police inservice crisis intervention trainer. McBride also holds an MPA degree from Cleveland State and teaches criminal justice at Lakeland Community College. On their book, the authors combine 70 years of law enforcement experience to address the preventability of school and campus shootings. Susan Farah of Versailles, KY., ’87 AAS, has authored her second book, titled So, a book of encouragement, purpose and inspiration that she said was inspired by her own neardeath experience. It is available on Amazon. com. Farah has been nursing and in healthcare management for 27 years and founded a nonprofit 501c3 that she operated for 10 years. Presently, she is Staff Development Coordinator at Glenbridge Health and Rehab in Boone, N.C. Susan Farah
Dee (Bosak) Leone of Houston, ’78 BS in Education, has written a children’s book for early readers titled Bizz and Buzz, published by Grosset & Dunlap Penguin Books. The story features two bees who use a little “flower” to follow a recipe, creating a fun introduction to homophones. The book is available online from Amazon.com and major book sellers. Leone has written more than 20 reproducible books for the educational market, and her poems, plays, stories and puzzles have appeared in numerous magazines. In addition, she taught in Ohio, California, and Texas, and she worked as an aide for a gifted program in Alaska.
in the Student Presentation Competition sponsored by ASTM Committee E08 on Fatigue and Fracture in New Orleans. Her presentation resulted from three years of research, collecting fatigue data for wirebased systems used in biomedical devices. Tim Petrey of Youngstown, ’09 BSBA, was recognized as a YSU Williamson College of Business Administration 2014 Outstanding Recent Alumnus. Petrey is a managing partner at HD Davis CPAs LLC, and co-founded the Tim Petrey firm’s Geauga and Canton offices.
Thaddeus Smith of Canfield, ’09 MBA, was recognized as a YSU Williamson College of Business Administration 2014 Outstanding Recent Alumnus. Smith is vice president of administration for Thaddeus Smith Callos Resource, where he oversees sales, risk management and human resources. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington and Jefferson College.
’10s Kellie Brautigam of Boardman, ’10 BSEd, participated in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions global field course in Thailand
last summer. She studied Buddhism and spiritual connections to nature. Brautigam teaches English at Canfield High School. Kelly Croasmun of Grafton, Ohio, ’11 BSAS in Allied Health, is one of 64 authors featured in 360 Degrees of Grief, a book published by Selah Press Publications. Her story is titled Kelly Croasmun “Let Go and Let God.” Croasmun, who is employed by LifeShare Community Blood Services, said she has written poetry for three presidents and the Queen of England. She is working on a novel, to be completed this year. Ruthie Madden of Youngstown, ’14 MSEd in Student Affairs Leadership and Practice, ’12 BA in Psychology, has accepted a position as a specialist in enrollment services at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Jessica Valsi of Columbus, Ohio, ’12 BA in Political Science, was chosen to participate in the 2014 Diversity and Explorations Jessica Valsi Program at Harvard Divinity School, a highly competitive program designed for college students and graduates committed to diversity and social justice. As a participant, she explored the study of religion, theology and ethics offered by the graduate programs at the school. Valsi is employed as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives. Cary Dabney of Boston, ’13 BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies, was the subject of an article titled “Faith and Family” and published on the Harvard University Divinity School website. The article examined Dabney’s journey to graduate study, including his years as a student at YSU, and his conversion to Catholicism. Dabney was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship at Harvard and is pursuing a master of divinity degree. Ryan Lopez of Miami, Fla., ’13 BS in Mathematics, has been named a junior actuary at Ingham Retirement Group in Miami where he runs valuations on retirement plans for companies. As a student, Lopez was
Ryan Lopez
SPRING 2015
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Class Notes
Penguin at YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
How We Met… Since the summer of 2013, YSU Magazine has been inviting married YSU couples to share their love stories in Penguin Mates. We invite you to visit our magazine website, ysumagazine.org, to see each couple’s complete story and all their photos. Mike Hall, ’70 BSBA, Transportation, and Henri Caruso Hall, ’71 BSBA, Marketing, were married October 23, 1971. They live in Saint Joseph, Michigan. David Rider, ’95, BSBA, and Lynn Hanna Rider, ’96, BS in Elementary Education, were married Sept. 12, 1998. They live in Cortland, Ohio.
Justin Waite, ’08 AB in Telecommunications, and Renee Hardman Waite, ’07 AB in English, were married June 27, 2008. They live in Twinsburg, Ohio.
a member of YSU’s Actuarial Science Club, and he is pursuing associate designation in the Society of Actuaries. Louis Gallo of Starkville, Miss., ’14 MA in American Studies, has been hired as publications editor for the Ulysses S. Grant Papers at Mississippi State University. The staff is editing Grant’s personal memoirs into a modern letterpress edition with updated explanatory notes. AJ Grayson of Cortland, ’14 BE in Mechanical Engineering, has begun a two-year training program with General Electric. As an operations management leadership program AJ Grayson associate, he’ll spend six month rotations working in different job assignments at the company’s Erie, Pa., facility. P.J. Rassega of Youngstown, ’14 BSBA in Management Information Systems, is employed as a support specialist at J & M Technologies, Inc. in Canfield.
Stephanie Day Kozak, ’07 AB in Geography and Political Science, and Mike Kozak, ’04 BE in electrical engineering, ’07 MS in computing and information systems, were married July 21, 2012, in Lawrence, Kansas. They live in Kansas City, Mo.
Michael Klapchar, ’08 BS in Combined Science, and Amanda Sommers Klapchar, ’08 BS in Biology, were married June 7, 2014. They live in Canton, Ohio.
Joshua Wilson, ’07 BSBA in Marketing, and Allyson Hayes Wilson, ’07 BA in Advertising Art, were married Sept. 27, 2014. They live in Pittsburgh.
If you and your spouse are both YSU graduates, we’d like to share your story in Penguin Mates. Tell us how you met, and a little about your life today, in 300 words or less, and email or mail with a current photograph and/or a wedding photo. Be sure to include your degrees, graduation years, city of residence, an email address and phone number so that we can contact you. Email to: cevinarsky@ysu.edu or mail to Editor, YSU Magazine, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44515.
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YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY
Help YSU Magazine share your career news in Class Notes. You can visit ysumagazine.org, click on the “Tell Us Your Story” icon and fill out the form online. Or, mail your news to: YSU Magazine, YSU Marketing & Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555. Please include your degree, graduation year and an email address or telephone number.
VETERANS RESOURCE CENTER Youngstown State University supports its veteran/military students, and the new, 6,000 square foot Veterans Resource Center on campus makes that commitment stronger than ever. Students will find a comfortable, friendly atmosphere with resources and services exclusively offered to those who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Services offered to Veteran / Military students include: Waived application and orientation fees Veteran specific breakout at orientation GI Bill registration and certification Priority registration Select “Veterans-Only” classes Coordination with Disability Services Office Access to VA counselors Student Veterans Group Military Friendly Deployment Policies Special recognition at graduation
We salute all veteran and military students. Thank you for your service!
Military Veterans and YSU Alumni Bernie Kosar Sr., Harry Meshel and Carl Nunziato were instrumental in the creation of the new Veterans Resource Center.
Rick Williams MAJ, (USA Retired), Coordinator
Service Road (RT 422)
330-941-2503 plwilliams@ysu.edu
ysu.edu/veterans Youngstown State University • One University Plaza • Youngstown, Ohio 44555
CAMPUS
Wick Avenue
• • • • • • • • • •
University Plaza
Melnick Hall Veterans Resource Center Pollock House
Office of University Development One University Plaza Youngstown, Ohio 44555
WWII Vets Enroll at Youngstown College,1945 Members of the newly organized Veterans Collegiate Association had recently returned from service in World War II and many proudly wore their military uniforms in this 1945 Neon yearbook photo, taken outside the ivycovered walls of Jones Hall. They were among millions of servicemen and servicewomen who enrolled in college after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill of Rights into law in 1944, providing free college education for veterans. Enrollment at Youngstown College nearly quadrupled during that period, reaching 4,359 in 1948 – YSU Trustee Harry Meshel and former trustee Frank C. Watson, both veterans, were enrolled then, members of the class of 1949. Today, YSU remains strongly committed to serving veterans and armed service members transitioning to student life. The new YSU Veterans Resource Center on Wick Avenue opened last spring, paid for entirely by private donations and making YSU the only university in Ohio with a building solely dedicated for the use of military and veteran students. (For more on YSU’s new Veterans Resource Center, see Page 4.)
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Send your letters to: universitymagazine@ysu.edu or YSU Office of Marketing & Communications, One University Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44555.