YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – If you ask Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson his proudest accomplishment for his first year in office, he points to the nearly 11% increase in fall enrollment.
“I won’t call it a trend just yet, because it’s only one data point. But we have the highest enrollment increase of any of the 14 universities in our public university system in the state,” says Johnson, who became YSU’s 10th president in January.
There are other improvements at the university, including stable finances.
“Our credit rating by Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s – we’re a plus stable,” Johnson says. “We actually got that tick up into a stable outlook this year. That was viewed very positively and it is reflected in our investment portfolio.”
All of this bears a sharp contrast to a year ago.
YSU trustees’ November 2023 selection of Johnson, who served 13 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, brought criticism from members of the faculty, alumni, student body and community at large both because of the way they made the selection and because of some of Johnson’s political positions while he was in Congress.
Unlike previous YSU presidential searches, this one didn’t allow input from the wider campus community. Finalists’ visits weren’t announced, and no forums were conducted where people could ask questions. Johnson’s presidential tenure began Jan. 21.
“I never paid a lot of attention to the naysayers and the negative talk,” Johnson says. “I believe so strongly in the legacy of this institution of YSU and in the role that it plays in the cultural, social and economic survivability of this region. The people here, the people throughout this vast region, depend on this university.”
It’s his job to make that sustainable, he says.
A STUDENT’S VIEW
Rayvin Gorrell is a YSU senior studying anthropology and the chief of staff for the Student Government Association. Initially, she was concerned about Johnson’s lack of higher education experience.
“I just felt that hiring someone with no, I guess, point of reference for higher education – [he] more worked in the political sphere – I was concerned that it wouldn’t work out,” Gorrell says.
There has been an adjustment period for the president from his previous career, she says, “but I think he is doing it very well.”
While Gorrell and others were concerned that Johnson’s politics would come into policies at YSU, that hasn’t happened, she says.
The only issue Gorrell sees is Johnson’s communication style, which she says everyone is working on. She says Johnson lays out facts to show what he’s doing. But some students who don’t interact with him or the administration often have a difficult time understanding. But others in the administration, including the provost and government affairs personnel, are helping with that, she says.
Gorrell is president of the campus LGBTQ club and involved in other campus organizations.
Johnson’s selection last year brought concerns from some about positions he took in congress related to LGBTQ issues. Gorrell hasn’t experienced any such problems with Johnson, nor does she know anyone else who has.
“I think he’s not focused on his past,” she says. “I think he’s very much focused on building this university up. So, I don’t think that’s something that even crosses his mind – where his political views were. Because that is not a concern that he is having as president.”
She’s also in YSU’s Presidential Mentors, a group of about 20 students from across campus who serve in leadership roles in various organizations. That group meets with Johnson twice monthly. Gorrell says she and Johnson are on a first-name basis.
Overall, she grades him a B so far.
“I think there is a lot of learning to do on the job when you have not worked in higher education or run a university,” Gorrell explains.
It’s different from being in Congress.
“It’s a very different organizational hierarchy that may take time to adjust to and then all the different generations and ages and backgrounds that you have to deal with is a lot more broad,” she says. “We are in a very big adjustment period. But he is definitely taking strides.”
PROGRAM REALIGNMENT
Shortly before Johnson took office, the university announced what it termed a realignment, eliminating six majors, many in the Dana School of Music, with low enrollment and low graduation rates. That also involved elimination of faculty positions through separation agreements.
Johnson emphasizes that those decisions were based on student demand, not the budget.
Businessman Bruce Zoldan and his family had pledged $5 million for the renovation of Kilcawley Center, but announced after Johnson was named YSU president that he didn’t want his pledge nor his family’s name to go to the center. In October, though, Zoldan and the YSU Foundation announced that Zoldan’s pledge would be redirected to the Dana School of Music.
“My family was dismayed to learn of the significant program cuts imposed on the Dana School, and despite our differences with the board and administration of YSU, we felt the importance of the Dana School to the community and surrounding areas took precedence,” Zoldan said in an October news release from the YSU Foundation.
KILCAWLEY CENTER
Last month, the university kicked off the Kilcawley: Centered on the Future campaign, chaired by alumnus and community leader Scott Schulick.
The cost to renovate the center, built in the 1960s, is about $43 million with about $21 million identified so far.
“Kilcawley Center is one of the original buildings that was built shortly after Youngstown State became part of the state university system in the late 1960s,” Schulick says. “At that time, it was a much-needed space and remains that today nearly 60 years later.”
Other than additions, the building is original. Having a more modern facility that can be used in the way that students and the community use spaces today is critical, he adds.
“It is an opportunity for the university to create new space out of old space that is more functional for today’s needs,” Schulick says. “And Youngstown State is the last university in the state of Ohio system that has not upgraded its student and university center.”
Johnson says the planned renovation will make the building more modern and appealing for students.
It will take about two years to complete, estimated for fall 2027.
“There are places over in Kilcawley that I’m surprised that the students would want to go there and have lunch, because it’s like being in the basement of a dungeon, almost, and that’s not a criticism, it’s just a statement of fact,” Johnson says. “The building is old, and so this renovation project is going to put a new look, both internally and externally, on the Kilcawley Center.”
EASTERN GATEWAY
Johnson’s first year also saw the closure of Eastern Gateway Community College after years of financial struggles related to its free college benefit program.
YSU added 60 new programs to serve students who formerly attended the community college. Former Eastern Gateway students contributed to the enrollment increase with 475 enrolling at YSU for the fall semester.
“We’re going to be the only major four-year university in our public university system in Ohio that has the full complement of education choices – from certificates and credentials, associate degrees, right on through bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees – all under one university umbrella system in an area that doesn’t have a community college any longer,” Johnson says. “In essence, we have built a community college structure within our four-year university…”
And tuition is competitive with other community colleges.
YSU also secured authorization from the Higher Learning Commission, an accreditation body, to open a second operating location.
“As soon as the facilities are made available to us, you’re going to see the big red Y go up down in Steubenville, and we’ll be teaching courses – the kinds of courses that the people of Steubenville want, need and expect – we’re going to be teaching them right there,” he says.
When that will happen is uncertain as Eastern Gateway is embroiled in a court case with the company with which it contracted to offer its free college program. The college’s buildings, one of which YSU hopes to use for its Steubenville campus, are tied up in the lawsuit.
“I know the courts have got their reasons why, [but] in my layman’s understanding of the law, I do not understand why the court can’t see that they are holding up our ability to provide that seamless path of educational choices to thousands of people that live in Jefferson County and the region surrounding it that Eastern Gateway used to service,” he adds. “It’s really frustrating.”
RELATIONSHIPS
Johnson believes his relationships both with people on campus and off are in a good place.
Business representatives approach him, wanting to provide internships and scholarships to YSU students as well as to hire them, the president says.
And he doesn’t have ongoing issues with faculty but admits there may be disagreements similar to those between faculty and presidents at other universities.
“But let me tell you why I think we’ve had success,” Johnson says. “We believe – I believe – that what we produce here is education. Our academic programs led by world renowned faculty are [such] that if we were a manufacturing company, that’s what our assembly line would be producing, the education that we provide to tens of thousands of students.”
Faculty union representatives didn’t respond to inquiries from The Business Journal.
Johnson says people are realizing the value of a YSU education.
“Our faculty and our staff, they do an amazing job of getting the students here and then teaching them the things that they need to learn, to handle their career choices and to be ready to meet the challenges of their generation,” Johnson says.
Pictured at top: Bill Johnson is completing his first year at the helm of Youngstown State University.