Former YSU President Denounces Trustees’ ‘Indefensible Action’

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – David C. Sweet, Youngstown State University president emeritus and president from 2000 to 2010, sent a letter Tuesday addressed to “Friends of Youngstown State University.”

In the letter, Sweet denounced “the indefensible action of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees” in choosing U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson as the university’s next president.

“Notwithstanding his position as a politician, his professed views do not lend themselves to serving and leading a higher education institution,” Sweet wrote. “As an election denier, opponent of the LGBTQ community, doubter of climate change and scientific facts, and with no higher education experience, he is not in a position to be President of YSU.”

The letter was sent the same day Johnson submitted his resignation from Congress, effective at the end of the day Jan. 21. Johnson will begin his term as the university’s 10th president Jan. 22.

Sweet’s full letter can be viewed below.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.