$500,000 Gift to Support Centofanti Symposium at YSU

The James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation has pledged an additional $500,000 to continue its support of the successful Centofanti Symposium at Youngstown State University.

The symposium has brought an array of nationally and internationally recognized speakers to Youngstown over the last ten years. Speaker lectures have focused on a range of salient issues and concerns affecting society to include: poverty; preventive medicine and public health; social violence; mental health needs of combat veterans; and human rights. Lectures are free to the public and have had an average attendance exceeding 1200 persons from the Youngstown region and beyond.

"Because of the Centofanti Foundation’s continued generosity, Youngstown State University has built the Centofanti Symposium into one of the region’s premier forums for presenting serious ideas and conducting meaningful dialogue,” said YSU President Bill Johnson. “With their support, YSU has brought nationally recognized scholars and influential voices to our campus to engage our students and our community on the issues shaping our world.” 

“Our job at YSU is to teach our students how to think critically, to ask probing questions, to look at issues – whether scientific or social – from all sides, so that they emerge from our campus fully capable of addressing a wide range of potential solutions to the challenges of their generation,” he continued. “This extraordinary gift ensures that YSU will continue leading those conversations and expanding the educational and cultural vitality of the Mahoning Valley for years to come.”

With this gift, the James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation's total generosity to YSU and the YSU Foundation exceeds $3.2 million. Major gifts include $1 million to create the James and Coralie Centofanti Center for Health and Welfare;  $500,000 to establish the Centofanti Symposium; $200,000 in support of the Carl Nunziato Veterans Center; $100,000 to the Paula and Anthony Rich Center for Autism; $1 million to establish a support endowment and name the James and Coralie Centofanti School of Nursing at YSU; and the current gift of $500,000 which extends the Centofanti Symposium for an additional ten years. 

“The Centofanti Foundation is proud to continue supporting the Symposium at Youngstown State University,” said Mark Graham, Centofanti Foundation Trustee. “We are honored to be part of the University’s enduring commitment to educational excellence, community engagement and student opportunity. The Centofanti Symposium supports the University’s commitment by bringing speakers who are expert scholars in their disciplines to provide a thoughtful community lecture at no cost to the public. It has also provided Youngstown State University students with the opportunity for a dedicated meeting time with the speaker(s).”

James Centofanti of Canfield, a successful business owner, philanthropist and horseman, died in 2010. His wife, Coralie, died in 1999. Centofanti was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of Farmers National Bank in Canfield, a generous supporter of numerous educational and community-based activities in and around the Canfield area, and the recipient of numerous awards for his humanitarian efforts.