Former YSU President Calls on DeWine to Remove Trustees

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In an open letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, the fifth president of Youngstown State University calls for the removal of YSU trustees.

Les Cochran, in his second opinion piece opposing the trustees’ selection of Bill Johnson as YSU’s 10th president, cites concerns about university accreditation, the presidential search process and the search firm.

“Board members have a responsibility to ‘serve the public good,’ and so, are accountable to the institution. All but one of the Board members ignored stated institutional values, accreditation standard, and the important role of students in the process,” the letter states. “By ignoring their obligation to the University, these Board members forfeited their right to serve as Trustees, and if not willing to resign, should be removed from the Board by the Governor.”

Cochran also wrote an open letter to the community, which was published last month on BusinessJournalDaily.com, that was critical of Johnson’s selection.

The full letter to DeWine can be viewed below.

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