Our Donors

“The most generous and supportive donors in the nation”

Donors to YSU continue to raise the bar, as the bar graph shows. YSU and the YSU Foundation received a record $24.1 million in gifts in the 2021-22 fiscal year, the largest one-year total in the university’s 114-year history. “Our donors are among the most generous and supportive anywhere in the nation,” YSU President Jim Tressel said. The record year is the latest in a string of fundraising successes. In fiscal year 2014, the year before Tressel was named president, YSU raised $6.1 million. The next year, the total more than doubled to $13.3 million, and then jumped to $22.3 million in fiscal year 2016. In all, since Tressel’s arrival, YSU has received $150.3 million in gifts. “The combined efforts of President and First Lady Tressel, our donors, the campus community, and our talented and hard-working Foundation staff have helped raise tens of millions of dollars to make sure we provide the best possible opportunities to our students and the entire Mahoning Valley community,” said Paul McFadden, YSU Foundation president. Read more.

Renovated greenhouse named for Sandy Simon

The glass enclosure along Lincoln Avenue attached to the south side of Ward Beecher Science Hall has a new name – the Sandy Simon Greenhouse. The renovated facility was named in recognition of a $450,000 gift from the estate of Sandy Simon, a native of Youngstown who grew up in Liberty Township and who eventually bought a house and a horse farm in Vienna, Ohio, named the Double S Ranch. She died in 2016. The greenhouse renovation included heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades and reopening the third bay of the greenhouse, which had been unusable for several years. Read more.

Museum balcony recognizes Handel’s president

The main gallery balcony of the McDonough Museum of Art was named the Leonard J. Fisher Family Balcony in recognition of a $100,000 gift from Leonard Fisher, president and chairman of the board of Handel’s Ice Cream. "We are so appreciative of this terrific gift to the McDonough, which has become the unofficial hub for the Cliffe College of Creative Arts,” Phyllis Paul, college dean. “The museum collaborates broadly with students and faculty from across campus as well as with numerous community groups, and this generous donation will benefit all of those constituencies." Read more.

Alum scholarship helps african american men in business, stem

Ketuan Baldwin, who earned associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from YSU, has established the Ketuan Baldwin Legacy Scholarship to help young African American men further their education in Business or STEM. “It means everything; giving back is an amazing opportunity,” Baldwin said in a story about the scholarship on WKBN-TV's website. “I’ve been extremely blessed throughout my life and career. So, having the opportunity to help someone else is such an amazing thing for me and my family.” Baldwin committed $25,000 to the scholarship, and his former employer, Google, is matching him, making it $50,000. Then, the YSU Foundation agreed to match that, making the total $100,000. More details on the scholarship here.
 

Donors endow nearly 20 faculty chairs, professors

Amy Weaver, an associate professor in the Centofanti School of Nursing, was designated the inaugural Patricia McGovern Sweeney Professor in Nursing. The professorship was established with a $500,000 gift from Douglas Sweeney and his daughters - Carolyn Sweeney Berry, Andrea Sweeney Wagner and Alexa Sweeney Blackann - in honor of his wife and their mother Patricia’s lifelong career in Nursing. The professorship is the latest of a long Sweeney family tradition of philanthropic support of YSU, amounting to more than $1 million. It is also among nearly 20 endowed faculty chair and professorship positions now in place at YSU.