YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University Steubenville will address not only an educational need in that region but a workforce one as well, officials said.

YSU will begin offering classes this fall at the former Eastern Gateway Community College campus after that school closed. Before YSU moved in, Belmont College, about 30 miles away, was the closest community college for Steubenville residents.

“Anytime you lose a community college option where you can train your workers, where they can [provide training] for your young people, so that they can remain in the area – it’s a devastating blow to the local economy,” said Robert Naylor, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority.

He said YSU is filling that void.

“It’s very important for us, from a workforce development standpoint, for our local employers to have local employees that they can hire and retain to stay in the area,” the port authority executive director said.

Not every high school graduate wants to attend a four-year college. The reasons vary, but community college provided an alternative, Naylor said.

“I know the business community, as well as our local leaders, stakeholders and local elected officials, are  happy with the outreach that Youngstown State has had, and we’re looking forward to a collaborative and positive experience, not only for our young students and for local employers, but for YSU as well,” he added.

YSU’s slate of offerings this fall spans 11 associate degree programs, including machining, welding, nursing and teacher education, and four certificate programs. 

Jennifer Adams, YSU provost and vice president of academic affairs, said university officers talked to companies and workforce agencies about the region’s needs before deciding what programs to launch first.

“But we also spent a lot of time looking through the want ads and in that region what was really sought after,” she said. “We took a look at a lot of the Ohio job trends, specifically for Jefferson County. We also are thinking about our neighbors in West Virginia as well, because we’re pretty close to Weirton, to Follansbee.”

And Naylor said the region’s workforce needs are broad.

“I think it’s all sectors,” he said. “We have a steel manufacturer, JSW Steel in Mingo Junction. We have a titanium manufacturer in Toronto, Ohio. We also have intermodal facilities. We have the oil and gas industry. We also have a very vibrant health care industry, whether it’s radiology techs or nurses or dental hygienists. We have a wide variety of needs, for training and for employees at the local level.”

YSU President Bill Johnson said the university plans to offer more at its new campus.

“The next step is to begin ramping up,” he said. “Eventually, we want students there in Steubenville to have access to the same programs that a student that comes here to the main campus in Youngstown would have – everything from credentials and certificates and badges for early entry in the workforce, to associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and even doctorate degrees. But that’s going to take time to get there.”

Adams said the university has a plan for expanding the offerings, but they need to ensure what’s being offered continues to grow. When students from Eastern Gateway’s Youngstown campus transferred to YSU, they started in associate’s degree programs. And many continued toward their bachelor’s and some their master’s degrees at YSU, she said.

“So we do see these students appreciating the ability to continue on to a master’s level,” the provost said. “So we anticipate adding programs as we see the interest levels going up in those areas, and we’re embedding the associate degree programs within the bachelor degree programs so that it’s an easy transfer …”

Regarding staffing, former Eastern Gateway employees who are interested in working for YSU would be eligible for consideration. But YSU will hire staff only as needed, both Adams and Johnson said.

“We’re not going to hire staff and faculty in Steubenville that are just sitting around waiting for things to happen,” Johnson said. “We’re going to hire as we need them, and that largely depends on how quickly the student interest ramps up. Now we’re cautiously anticipating a fairly robust level of interest.”

That’s based on Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Rotary meetings, public gatherings, phone calls and media interviews in the region. 

“Every single week, there’s a swath of accolades,” the president said. “The people in that region are very, very excited that Youngstown State is moving into that facility.”

Steubenville and Youngstown are both former steel towns, Johnson said, calling the former a microversion of the latter. After the collapse of the steel mills in the 1970s, the cities experienced similar challenges.

“It’s a small, family knit-type community,” Johnson said of Steubenville. “Everybody knows everybody, and much like Youngstown, the people in Steubenville, they hang together with determination and grit. Many of the families that are there have weathered the storm, and I think that’s another reason why they look so fondly and favorably on what Youngstown State is doing …”

Naylor said the Jefferson County community knows that YSU offers fine academic programs, and he hopes that leads to additional long-term benefits.

“It could be such that our young students get the next level of training for those in-demand jobs, those STEM jobs, where they’re not going to a four-year degree and compiling a lot of student loan debt,” he said. “And that they will develop and become a part of a vibrant workforce here … become part of a vibrant community where they become the next generation of leaders, which is what we need to develop.”

Pictured at top: Robert Naylor, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority.