By Debora Flora

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Some surnames from our region’s history are widely recognized because of individuals’ leadership and legacies. These household names, by county, include Wick, Beeghly, Berry and Stambaugh; Heaton, Packard, McKinley and Upton; Street, Thomas and Bennett; and, in Western Pennsylvania, Buhl, Stewart and Morgan.

If the Skeggs name sounds vaguely familiar, it is likely because of a longtime lecture series. The leadership of Leonard Tucker Skeggs Sr., for whom the series is named, still impacts our lives.

Skeggs’ career was rooted in the Young Men’s Christian Association, said H. William Lawson, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. Commonly known for physical education and recreation, the YMCA’s mission also promotes intellectual growth, social support and spiritual development.

YMCAs nationwide started association schools in the late 19th century as the Industrial Revolution changed the economy and accelerated immigration. In Youngstown, men attended classes in English, law and math. By 1908, the Y’s law classes evolved into a state-approved, college-level course. When the Youngstown Association School was incorporated in 1916, classes were opened to men and women.

Skeggs moved from Sandusky to Youngstown in 1919 as the YMCA’s new educational secretary. He was responsible for all educational programming and launched a “robust campaign” to expand the association school, Lawson said.

In 1920, the association school was certified to offer a four-year law program and award bachelor of law degrees. One year later, the Youngstown Association School became the Youngstown Institute of Technology, with an elementary school, high school, secretarial school and schools of engineering, law, trade and commerce and finance. Many night classes were available to the local workforce, Lawson noted.

Skeggs was promoted to Youngstown YMCA general secretary in 1923, which increased his influence. Although creation of a YMCA branch for black men and boys was moving forward in 1925, Skeggs emphasized in a letter to his colleagues that educational and religious programs would not be segregated. “It is our sincere hope that these privileges at the Central Building will attract a greater number of [black] men each year,” he wrote. With the introduction of daytime, liberal-arts classes in 1927, the institute was rebranded as Youngstown College. Its board was comprised of YMCA trustees and community representatives.

Skeggs also rose to leadership positions in a service club. He joined the Rotary Club of Youngstown in 1919 and was named club president in 1923. Two years later, he became the first district governor of a wide swath of northern Ohio. Rotary had existed for less than 20 years, and leadership prioritized club expansion. Amazingly, Skeggs organized 23 new clubs (including one in Niles) in a single year.

“Skeggs was a man with a vision, and he seems like someone who had bounds of energy given the number of clubs formed during his tenure as district governor and his rise to the vice presidency of Rotary International in 1928,” said Scott Schulick, a member and former president of the Rotary Club of Youngstown and former district governor. Rotary now has 45,000 clubs and more than 1.2 million members in 200 countries.

With leadership came challenges. Skeggs was central to a fundraising campaign that raised $1 million for capital projects, including a new educational building known today as YSU’s Jones Hall. After the stock market crash of 1929, some donors could not fulfill their pledges. Eventually, companies and wealthy residents made up most of the difference. Skeggs also faced conflict between the education visions of Homer Nearpass, director of the Institute of Technology, and Howard Jones, the Y’s associate general secretary who advocated for transitioning to a college. The YMCA chose Jones as director of Youngtown College in 1931. His title changed to president in 1935.

That was two years after Skeggs’ death, in 1933. He was 43.

A gift from the Skeggs Family Trust launched the lecture series in 1966. Its board seeks diverse, dynamic speakers in liberal arts to bring to the YSU campus and community. Ronald Reagan spoke here in 1978 as the former California governor and a presidential candidate. So did retired Congresswoman and assassination survivor Gabby Giffords, accompanied in 2018 by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. Other notable guests were authors Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood; journalists Bob Woodward and Anderson Cooper; National Football League Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter; and Hank Green, also known as the internet’s Science Guy.

Admission to Skeggs lectures is free. Jodi Skeggs Naji, granddaughter of Leonard Skeggs, and her husband, Loren Naji, serve on the board with YSU staff members and a PNC Bank financial adviser. “Not many colleges are as fortunate to have wonderful family foundations supporting them,” said Jackie LeViseur, YSU’s director of university events. 

The next Skeggs lecturer will be presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 25 at Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown. Get free tickets in advance at stambaughauditorium.com or at the DeYor Performing Arts Box Office in downtown
Youngstown.