YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – As Luke Politsky puts it, to say Scott R. Schulick, is involved in the community is an understatement. Schulick is first vice president/investments with Stifel in Canfield.
Just a few of the organizations he has served as board president include the Youngstown State University Penguin Club, Youngstown CityScape, Ursuline High School and Rotary Club of Youngstown, which he has twice served as president, as well as serving as Rotary district governor. Others he is or has been involved with include Mahoning Valley Historical Society, YSU Research Foundation, YSU Alumni Society, Community Corrections Association and Lake Erie College Board of Directors.
Schulick, who grew up on Youngstown’s West Side, points to his upbringing, both at home and in the Catholic schools he attended. His parents “encouraged me to be involved in things, especially if I wanted to have a say, or make a difference or try to change things,” he says.
Because of his personality, he tends to “like to be around people and get involved in things. And I suppose one thing has led to another over the years,” he continues.
“Just the depth of his involvement in the community is unprecedented,” says Paul McFadden, the president of the YSU Foundation. “I thought he was a no-brainer for the award.”
McFadden says he has known Schulick since Schulick was a student at YSU and served as a student trustee on the board of trustees. They later engaged professionally when Schulick, in his financial services career, was engaged with some of YSU’s “significant donors” and assisted with their gifts.
A nomination letter from McFadden and the Rev. Richard Murphy of Ursuline High School credits Schulick with securing nearly $7 million for just seven local organizations identified in the letter.
“A lot of my efforts have to do with education,” whether involving YSU, city schools or Catholic schools in the city, Schulick says. “If we are to improve the lives of people in the community, from whatever walk of life they come, the way to do that is through education.”
Another focus is downtown revitalization. Downtown Youngstown, when he went to work there in 1994, “was essentially a ghost town,” he recalls. At the time, Lin Cochran, wife of then-YSU President Leslie Cochran, spearheaded what was then known as the Downtown Revitalization Committee.
“We’re still attempting to revitalize but in many ways we’ve succeeded because downtown is no longer a ghost town. It’s alive and well with activity,” he says. “We now see the fruits of our labor and the return on investment, which can only leverage future investment.”