Youngstown State University Foundation
By Paul McFadden, president, YSU Foundation
Doesn't everybody like the idea of leaving a legacy, something positive for which we can be remembered? The desire often becomes stronger as we see our birthday candles increasing in number. At YSU, hundreds of alumni and friends have discovered an amazing way to create a forever legacy – they’ve established scholarship endowments that literally go on giving in perpetuity.
An endowed scholarship at the YSU Foundation can be used to memorialize the donor, or the donor’s friend or loved one. Because they continue indefinitely, endowed scholarships can provide many generations of YSU students with opportunities to receive a quality education while reducing their college debt.
Scholarships benefit the university, as well, by helping to attract more exceptional students, thus building on the university's excellence.
How It Works
At the YSU Foundation, an endowed scholarship can be established with an investment of $10,000 or more. Many donors fund their scholarships by making a pledge over a period of three to five years; others give appreciated assets, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. All gifts are tax-deductible, as provided by law.
Once an endowment is created, 4 percent of the total is awarded to one or more student scholarship recipients each year – meanwhile, the remainder continues to grow, becoming more substantial in perpetuity.
Donor Sets Criteria
Each donor determines the criteria for the unique scholarship he or she creates. They may decide to reward academic or athletic achievements, or to target applicants in a specific geographic area, ethnic background or academic course of study. The variety of criteria established by different donors allows students with diverse goals, backgrounds, needs and merits to be eligible for scholarships.
If you would like to know more about establishing an endowed scholarship or to discuss planned giving, please contact us at the YSU Foundation: 330-941-3211 or
pmcfadden@ysufoundation.org.
Fourteen endowed scholarships were already in place when the YSU Foundation was chartered with the State of Ohio on Oct. 13, 1966 – and those 14 continue to grow and to provide scholarship assistance to YSU students every year.
The endowments, known as “The Original 14, ” have increased to five times their original value.
In the 2016-17 academic year, The Original 14 are providing scholarship support for 26 YSU students. As endowments, they will continue to grow and will continue to carry on the legacy of the donors.
Here are the YSU Foundation’s Original 14 and the years they were established:
Haig Ramage Scholarship, 1955
Tom Pemberton Scholarship, 1956
Herman Ritter Scholarship, 1957
arah Rowland Scholarship, 1957
Clarence Strouss Scholarship, 1958
Katherine McDowell Wilson Scholarship, 1958
William Maag Scholarship, 1962
Colonel Boals Scholarship, 1963
Clara Hincy Scholarship, 1963
Joseph Potochny Scholarship, 1963
Hilda Hanna Scholarship, 1964
Helene & Harry Myer Scholarship, 1964
Lloyd Booth Scholarship, 1965
William Jenkins Scholarship, 1966
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Alumni and friends of YSU established close to 120 new scholarships at the YSU Foundation in 2016 – honoring friends, memorializing loved ones, and creating new opportunities for students with a range of skills, strengths and special interests. With assets topping $210 million, the Foundation holds more than 750 endowed scholarships, including 45 that are available only to qualifying minority students. Here’s a sampling of three scholarships created recently: Penny Laakso Pavelko Math Education Scholarship
“The scholarships assisted with my tuition, and I was honored to know someone trusted me with that award,” she said. “I made a personal commitment to establish a scholarship for students studying to become mathematics teachers.” Pavelko taught mathematics in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana county schools and spent seven years as an adjunct math instructor at YSU. She continues her involvement with YSU as an adjunct member of the YSU Alumni Society Board. The scholarship she created will be awarded to a student of sophomore status or higher, enrolled in the Beeghly College of Education. 1991 National Championship Scholarship
Ken Conatser, a YSU football coach for 15 years who served as assistant to former Head Coach Jim Tressel,created the endowment. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a member of the Penguin football team, and the recipient will wear jersey Number 91 in recognition of YSU's first championship. Nearly 50 members of the 1991 team were on campus for the anniversary celebration Oct. 15. Tragically, one team member died two weeks later. David Burch, who served as a defensive lineman for the Penguins from 1989 to 1993 – including two of the National Championship years – was 46 when he passed away Oct. 31. Joseph Edwards Memorial Scholarship
A YSU alumnus, Edwards earned a BM in Music Education in 1965 and an MM as a woodwind specialist from Michigan State University. He joined the YSU faculty in 1969, later served as director of the Dana School of Music, as interim dean of the Beeghly College of Education, as acting chair of Education, Foundations, Research, Technology and Leadership, and finally as dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts, now the College of Creative Arts and Communication. The scholarship created in Edwards’ memory will be awarded annually to a full-time student enrolled in the Dana School of Music. |
A 1970 YSU alumna who retired after a 30-year career as a mathematics teacher, Penny Laakso Pavelko was the proud recipient of scholarships when she was a college student.
Among the Foundation’s newest endowments is the 1991 National Championship Scholarship, established in 2016 in conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebration honoring the 1991 National Championship team, the first in school history to win a national championship.
Friends and family of Joseph Edwards, a beloved faculty member in the Dana School of Music, established this endowment in his memory. Edwards was 73 when he died last April.