YSU Trustee Roberts named to AGB Council for Student Success

Ted RobertsJames “Ted” Roberts, a member of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees, has been appointed to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Council for Student Success. 

The council, established in 2021, will regularly convene to discuss strategic priorities across higher education and the obstacles and macro-level trends that university governing boards face.

“I am pleased to be a part of this distinguished group of my peers, and I appreciate the opportunity to make a difference as together we tackle the many challenges confronting higher education today,” Roberts said.

Roberts, senior counsel of the Youngstown law firm of Roth, Blair, Roberts, Strasfeld & Lodge, earned a bachelor’s degree from YSU in 1970 and a law degree in 1974 from the University of Akron. 

Roberts, whose nine-year term as a YSU trustee expires in 2022, has served as a limited service instructor at YSU, in several leadership positions with the Ohio State Bar Association, as trustee and former president of the Mahoning County Bar Association, and as chair of the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys. He has also served on the boards of the Stambaugh Auditorium Association, the Visiting Nurse Association, Rotary, March of Dimes, American Heart Association, Trinity United Methodist Church and the Youngstown Club. 

Roberts also recently earned the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award from the Federal Aviation Administration for 50 years of dedicated service in aviation safety. Roberts received his pilot license in 1969, during his last year as a student at YSU. He and his wife, Cynthia, also a YSU graduate, marked their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

The Council for Student Success is one of seven councils at AGB. The other six focus on: Board Chairs, Board Professionals, Finance Committee Chairs, Foundation Leaders, Presidents, and Senior Fellows.

Henry Stoever, AGB president and chief executive, said the Council for Student Success ensures that boards across the country are receiving leading and practical guidance on salient topics throughout the year. 

“These council members help to ensure that we are aware of not only what’s going on at that moment but also what they need to know from AGB to lead with confidence and knowledge in the boardroom,” he said. “It’s a crucial partnership, and I appreciate their hard work.”

AGB is the premier membership organization that strengthens higher education governing boards and the strategic roles they serve within their organizations. AGB has 40,000 members from more than 2,000 institutions and foundations.