Youngstown Association School (1908–1921) Youngstown Institute of Technology (1921–1928) Youngstown College (1928–1955) Youngstown University (1955–1967)
The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges and a graduate college. Youngstown State University has over 100 undergraduate degree programs and 50 graduate degree programs serving over 11,000 students in studies up to the doctoral level. Beyond its current student body, the university has more than 115,000 alumni across the country and around the world.
The university's origins trace back to 1908, when the local branch of the YMCA established a school of law within the Youngstown Association School.[5] In 1921, the school became known as the Youngstown Institute of Technology and offered its first evening courses.[5] In 1928, a year after establishing a College of Arts and Sciences, the institute once again changed its name to Youngstown College. In 1955, the name was changed again to Youngstown University to reflect the school's broadening curriculum.[5] On September 1, 1967, after becoming a public institution, it was renamed once more to Youngstown State University.[5] The following spring, YSU opened a Graduate School and College of Applied Science and Technology. In 1974, the College of Fine and Performing Arts was established.
In August 2005, just before the start of the 2005–06 academic year, two of four campus unions were on strike. Following the conclusion of the strike, relations remained strained, with some faculty and staff calling for the resignation of YSU president David Sweet in May 2007.[6]
Kilcawley Center is the university's student center, located at the center of campus. It features reading rooms, computer labs, a copying center, a variety of restaurants and student affairs offices. Offices for many university student media outlets are housed here, including student newspaper The Jambar, student magazine The Yo, and student radio Rookery Radio. There are also many meeting and seminar rooms, which can be rented out for community events.[8]
Jones Hall
Jones Hall, often the building that welcomes those coming onto YSU's campus, was built in 1931 and is one of the campus's oldest buildings, having been built in 1931. The building was renamed Jones Hall in honor of the institution's first president, Dr. Howard Jones. Today, the building is used as administrative office space.[8]
Fok Hall houses the Sokolov Honors College, which consists of administrative offices and classrooms. It was built in 1893 and is the oldest building on campus.[8] Previously the Alumni Building, Fok Hall was renamed in 2014 after a $2.5 million donation to the university by Maria Fok, whose late husband was a professor and trustee of YSU.[9]
In 2013, the former Wick Pollock Inn was converted into the university president's house. The three-year project to renovate the mansion cost YSU over $4 million.[10]
The first facility of its kind at any university in Ohio, the 6,000 sq. ft., fully handicap-accessible Veterans Resource Center houses the Office of Veteran Affairs, as well as lounges, computer labs, and community spaces reserved for student veterans, currently serving members of the military, and military-dependent students.[8]
Home to the YSU Foundation, Melnick Hall is also home to the university's public radio station, WYSU-FM 88.5, which is affiliated with NPR and American Public Media.[8]
Bliss Hall is the home of the Cliffe College of Creative Arts, including the Departments of Art, Theater & Dance, and the Dana School of Music. This building also houses the Department of Communication with programs in communication studies, journalism, and multimedia communications. The building, completed in 1977, features the 390-seat Ford Theatre, the 248-seat Bliss Recital Hall, an experimental theatre, 80 practice rooms with Steinway pianos, TV studio, and audio production labs, as well as the Judith Rae Solomon Gallery, and fully equipped ceramics, photography, metals, and other artistic studios.[8]
Ward Beecher Hall houses the departments of biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy. The five-story original unit was constructed in 1958, a major addition was built in 1967 and a small addition comprising chemical storerooms was completed in 1997. The building contains 31 laboratories, including a planetarium and greenhouse, nine classrooms, 53 faculty-research rooms, and a seminar room. Ward Beecher houses the university's planetarium, which opened in 1967 and includes a planetarium projector.
Tod Hall houses the administrative offices of many university officials, including the president, provost, and the Board of Trustees, as well as the Offices of Assessment, Marketing Communications, Human Resources, and others.[8] Other academic buildings on campus include Beeghly Hall, Coffelt Hall, Cushwa Hall, DeBartolo Hall, Fedor Hall, Cafaro Hall, Meshel Hall, Moser Hall, Silvestri Hall, Sweeney Hall, and Williamson Hall.[8]
Museums
The McDonough Museum of Art is one of two art museums located in Youngstown, Ohio. The McDonough Museum of Art is closely affiliated with the university, acting as an outreach for the Department of Art. The 14,000 sq. ft. space serves as a showing facility for art students and faculty alike, as well as local and regional talents.[8][11]
The Butler Institute of American Art is located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio. Falling directly on YSU's campus, it is the flagship art museum of the city.
Academics
Greenspace between Jones Hall and Maag Library (right)
The university comprises seven undergraduate and graduate colleges:[12]
Beeghly College of Liberal Arts, Social Science & Education
Bitonte College of Health and Human Services
Cliffe College of Creative Arts
College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University was deemed an "All-Steinway" school in 2004. The Dana School of Music is one of the oldest non-conservatory schools of music in the United States.[15] The Williamson College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
In addition to traditional four-year programs, Youngstown State University also offers online degree programs and three-year degree pathways.[12] Since 2004, YSU has participated in the Youngstown Early College program, through which students from the Youngstown City School District can take courses for college credit and earn an associate's degree while in high school.[16]
Centers and institutes
YSU operates several Centers of Excellence and designated research and economic development programs, including the Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering, the Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Engineering, the Center of Excellence in International Business, the Center for Applied Chemical Biology, the Institute for Applied Topology, and effective in 2012, the Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute.
Youngstown State University is also home to the Center for Working Class Studies and offers a Regional and American Studies program, which was the first of its kind in the United States. The school assisted the University of Chicago in developing a similar program.
The university's Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies was put into jeopardy when Jacob Ari Labendz, the only professor at YSU qualified to teach Holocaust studies, was laid off in 2021.[17][18]
Library
The Maag Library opened in 1976 and was named after one of the local public library and Youngstown State University's trustees, William F. Maag, Jr.[19] Before it opened, Maag Library became a member of the Federal Depository Library Program in 1971.[19] Currently, it is a six-story building with over 500,000 volumes in-house, as well as access to the collections of 84 other Ohio institutions via participation in the OhioLINK program. The building also houses the writing center and the university's English Language Institute.[8]
Located on the fifth floor of Maag Library, the Archives and Special Collections at Youngstown State is meant to preserve items with historical significance to the school, Youngstown and Mahoning County, as well as its history in the iron and steel industry.[20]
Student life
As of fall 2019, the student body totaled approximately 12,155, 10% of whom were dual-enrolled high school students.[3] YSU has approximately 2,100 full and part-time employees and 426 full-time faculty with 543 part-time faculty. 165 faculty members have full-professor rank, with 79% of the instructors holding doctorates or terminal degrees. The university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 14:1.
YSU owns and operates five on-campus residence halls: Cafaro House, Kilcawley House, Lyden House, Weller House, and Wick House.[21] Numerous privately-owned student apartment complexes are located close to YSU's campus.[22][23]
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, Salem, and Warren, along with additional regional and international facilities in Cleveland, Independence, and Twinsburg, Ohio; New York City; and Florence, Italy.
Youngstown is a city in and the county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 60,068, making it the eleventh-most populous city in Ohio. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which had 430,591 residents in 2020 and is the seventh-largest metro area in Ohio. Youngstown is situated on the Mahoning River in Northeast Ohio, 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Cleveland and 61 miles (100 km) northwest of Pittsburgh.
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James Patrick Tressel is an American college football coach and university administrator who served as president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio from 2014 to 2023. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the head football coach of the Youngstown State Penguins and later the Ohio State Buckeyes in a career that spanned from 1986 until 2010. Tressel's teams earned several national championships during the course of his career, earning him numerous accolades.
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The Beeghly Physical Education Center, or simply Beeghly Center, is a 6,300-seat multi-purpose arena in Youngstown, Ohio. The arena, built at a cost of $5.5 million and named for local businessman Leon A. Beeghly, opened on December 2, 1972. It is home to the Youngstown State University Penguins basketball, volleyball, and swimming teams. The first event at the arena was a basketball game against the Ohio University Bobcats, which ended in a 68-59 Youngstown State victory.
The Youngstown State Penguins are the athletic teams of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, and the Penguins compete in football as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Most other sports compete as members of the Horizon League.
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The Youngstown State Penguins football team represents Youngstown State University in American college football. Youngstown State currently plays as a member of the NCAA at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC). The Penguins have played their home games in Stambaugh Stadium, more commonly called "The Ice Castle," since 1982.
The McDonough Museum of Art is a center for contemporary art located in Youngstown, Ohio, US, on the campus of Youngstown State University (YSU). Opened in 1991 in a building designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, the museum focuses on contemporary art through exhibits and art education. The origins of the museum begin in 1986 through the donations and efforts of local physician and art collector John J. McDonough, who used proceeds from the sale of his painting Gloucester Harbor by Childe Hassam to fund construction. Along with the proceeds from McDonough, Attorney Paul M. Dutton and the State of Ohio assisted in the effort to finally begin construction in the fall of 1990.
The Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team represents Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The team currently competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Horizon League, of which it has been a member since 2001. Since 1972, home games are played at the 6,300-seat Beeghly Center on the YSU campus.
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