More than 4,000 YSU students were touched by some form of financial aid from the YSU Foundation last year through the generosity of hundreds of donors. Pictured below are some of the students who benefited from scholarships. And behind each face is a story of the student receiving the award and the donor who made it possible. Kristen Thompson" alt height="220" width="250"> Brandon Maffitt" alt height="220" width="250"> Walter Allen" alt height="220" width="250"> Dominick Commisso" alt height="220" width="250"> My Le" alt height="220" width="250"> Ola Collins" alt height="220" width="250">

Our people, our history It was a privilege earlier this fall to stand in the shadow of the fountain outside Kilcawley Center and present small tokens of appreciation to a big group of YSU employees marking significant years of service to the university, including five with 30 years. It got me to thinking about two things we talk a lot about on campus: our history and our people. Over the course of 111 years, from our founding at the YMCA in downtown Youngstown through the establishment of Youngstown State University in the late 1960s, we have been defined by our people – trustees leading us

Athlete + intern = a perfect pairing Christian Turner isn’t old enough to drink wine, but that didn’t stop him from using his business skills to market it. Turner, a 20-year-old Marketing Management major from Cincinnati, got an up-close view of winemaking operations this past summer at Luva Bella Winery in Lowellville through YSU’s Monus Entrepreneurship Fellows program. His project—promoting Pete’s Red and Pete’s White, two local wines named after none other than Pete the Penguin. With fewer than a dozen schools in the country having their own wine label, the Monus Fellows program offered

The Office of Alumni and Events strives to promote and strengthen relationships with our more than 104,000 proud Penguin alumni. Visit ysu.edu/alumni for more information and to get involved.  " alt height="333" width="500"> L to R, Robert W. Clark, 1993 and 2001; Shaena M. Taylor, 2008; Dwight A. Pierce, 1995 and 1999; Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences Outstanding Alumni awardees." alt height="375" width="500"> L to R – Rebecca Fink, 2015; Nicole Pavlansky, 2017 and 2018; and Myisha Jennings, 2015 and 2019, at the Young Alumni Mixer in Stambaugh Stadium in July. Graduates from the last

Our New Look You may recall reading in the last issue about the possibility of giving the YSU Magazine a new name. We polled alumni, faculty, staff and students and got dozens of interesting suggestions—from Penguin Parade, Penguin Pages and Penguin Press to The ‘Guin, The Igloo and The Crest (a tuft of feathers, fur, or skin on the head of a bird or other animal, in case you were wondering!). As we grappled with how to choose from so many possibilities, it dawned on us that perhaps our name was in front of us all along. So, thank you for sharing your ideas, and we hope you have enjoyed

HOMECOMING Emmy nominations include former YSU student Former Dana School of Music student Derek Dixie is no stranger to coming home to Youngstown. You may recall how the LA-based musician curated an ensemble of YSU faculty, students and alumni to provide the orchestration for the singing of America the Beautiful at the Super Bowl earlier this year. Dixie now celebrates another “homecoming” of sorts with the news that he has earned his first-ever Emmy nomination for his Outstanding Music Direction for the film HOMECOMING: A Film by Beyoncé. The movie tells the in-depth story of Beyoncé's

Pete the Penguin has been a busy world traveler… Lisa Farrall, 1976, took Pete to explore Dingle Bay in Ireland, before returning home to Melbourne Beach, Fla." alt height="600" width="380"> The alumni trio of Dan Fusselman, 1987, Sue Fusselman, 1978, and Matt Leson, 1983, took Pete on a Mediterranean cruise, which included a visit to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece." alt height="600" width="380"> Susan, 1975, and Anthony DeNoi, 1974, of North Canton, took Pete south to visit some penguin relatives in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador." alt height="600" width="380"> Pete’s trip

One of the first sights that greets visitors who enter Buechner (pronounced “Beat-ner”) Hall is a collection of spindles that extends to the ceiling, one of its many historical charms. The makeshift wall separates the foyer from a formal living room; yet chances are, most current and former YSU students have never seen the inside of the nearly 80-year-old, red brick, five-story building that sits in plain sight next to Sweeney Hall just off University Plaza on campus. The private female residence hall that is home to 72 women may be one of the best kept secrets on campus, so Y Magazine asked

A Center for Industry and Campus Collaborations Even before the Mahoning Valley took a manufacturing hit last year, YSU was working on ways to provide more research and educational opportunities for its students; spur workforce development in the community; foster cross-collaborative interdisciplinary projects between STEM, business, healthcare, the arts and other fields; and stimulate the regional economy. With its nine local partners in the Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Consortium, YSU soon will break ground on the Excellence Training Center, a hub of workforce innovation

“An anomaly...in a good way” Editor’s note: As 88.5 WYSU-FM celebrates its golden anniversary, we asked Gary Sexton, the radio station’s director for the past 19 years, to share his thoughts on one of WYSU’s bedrocks: classical musical. By Gary Sexton Speaking for the YSU Board of Trustees and President Albert Pugsley on the very first broadcast of 88.5 WYSU-FM, which occurred on Oct. 23, 1969, at 10 a.m., William Coffield, YSU vice president for Academic Affairs, promised that WYSU would bring to the community, “carefully selected educational programs, with specific attention to classical

After a year of searching for the right artist to illustrate a children’s book, a chance encounter in Bliss Hall led to the discovery of Justine Mitcham, a YSU senior from Poland majoring in Interdisciplinary Art. But Patrick O’Leary, associate professor of Human Ecology, didn’t meet Mitcham at first. It was her artwork, created from layered paper, that caught his eye as he walked past a display case in Bliss Hall, home to YSU’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts and Communication. He knew right away this was the style he had been seeking for his book, Goodbye, Spring! “It was not painted or

Provost to alumni: "We have a foundation for greatness" Brien Smith Title Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Previous positions 7 years, Indiana State University, Dean of the Scott College of Business 23 years, Ball State University, various capacities Academic background I ndustrial Psychology – BA, MA and PhD from Auburn University Initial impressions of Youngstown “It’s attractive; it’s welcoming; the people are as friendly or friendlier than any place I’ve lived; and the food of course is fantastic.” YSU’s new provost has a message for the university’s 104,000-plus alumni—we

YSU’s latest award-winning mathematician calls BS on viral equation After all of these years, the question is still often asked, “So, why did you want to be a writer?” My answer: “It’s not math.” Well, it’s not that simple. But still, it’s kind of ironic - me writing a story about, of all things, a math equation! Actually, more to the point, this is the story about award-winning YSU Mathematics Professor Anita O’Mellan, who has this to say about the aforementioned equation: "It’s BS." The little equation in question is this: 8 ÷ 2 (2+2) = ? For several days earlier this year, the tricky

The lasting legacy of a WWII Italian romance When Alyssa Falcone walked on the YSU campus, you have to think Helga Ives was smiling from the great beyond. An award-winning teacher and researcher of Italian language, literature and culture, Falcone came to YSU this summer as the inaugural Ives Visiting Professor in the Humanities, a first-of-its-kind faculty position for YSU, endowed by the late David and Helga Ives. “Helga would be thrilled by this appointment,” said Scott Schulick, a co-trustee of the Ives’ estate. A native of Italy’s Istrian Peninsula, Helga de Agostini was in medical school

Psych Prof Writes Love Letter to Her Alma Mater The walk from Morgan Kalson’s off-campus apartment to her job as a professor of Psychology at YSU is short and sweet, even if it means crossing over the windy Route 422 freeway overpass. The journey is comfortable and familiar, and her life at YSU is a welcome respite from her turbulent childhood spent in foster care. Then, just when she starts to believe she’s outrun her past, things begin to unravel. A weekend trip with her boyfriend ends in a car crash that claims his life – and places her under police suspicion. When she starts getting

Readership grows under nationally recognized newsroom leader Rogers reads the newspaper at the Lake Sumter Landing, a shopping and entertainment district in The Villages. The photo was taken by Bill Mitchell, a longtime The Villages Daily Sun photojournalist." alt height="466" width="700"> It’s not the kind of headline most Americans are used to reading given the challenges facing today’s newspaper industry. Yet at a time when local newspapers are reducing publication days or moving towards online only distribution, The Villages Daily Sun tells a different story under the leadership of alumnus

Collaboration is key It was clear from the time she graduated from YSU with a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science in 1989, at age 17, and an MS in Mathematics at age 18, that Eunice Santos was going places. Now a few months into her role as dean of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Santos looks back fondly at how her YSU roots formed the foundation for her future. Daughter of Eugene Santos, professor emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science, and Evelyn Santos, who taught both Electrical Engineering and Mathematics courses, Eunice lived