Macte Virtute

James P. Tressel

OUR STORY

Progressive, Dynamic, Serious (yet also fun)

Welcome to the Spring-Summer edition of the award-winning YSU Magazine. In this issue, you will again find a variety of articles that tell the many stories of the far-reaching successes of our alumni, students, faculty and other supporters. For instance:

  • On the opposite page is a story about Parents Forum Youngstown, a project created by faculty member Patrick O’Leary to give moms and dads in Youngstown the opportunity to improve their parenting skills, ultimately leading to fewer discipline problems among children and more success in school and life. It’s one of dozens of examples of how YSU and our faculty are making an impact on the community in which we live.
  • Speaking of which, featured in this edition is Susan Laird, YSU alumna, faculty and one of the area’s leading experts on human trafficking. Under her leadership, YSU now has the state’s only student-led coalition against human trafficking and is one of just four universities in the state offering a full semester course on the topic. “The more people who know about and understand what human trafficking really is...then the better prepared we are as a community to deal with it,” she says.
  • Read about the $22 million SMART2 project that will absolutely transform the Fifth Avenue corridor through campus, complete with a driverless shuttle of which there are only a few of its kind in the world.
  • Also check out the article on Marsha Huber, award-winning Accounting professor and one of the nation’s emerging scholars on happiness; the story about the 2019 Alumni Art Exhibition, including a stunning “Me Too” sculpture by alumnus Larry Davis; and more than three dozen alumni updates in the “Class Notes” section, ranging from 1963 graduate Robert Veltri’s retirement from his position as associate professor of Urology and Oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to 2018 graduate Morgen Reamer, among a dozen YSU alumni named 2018-19 Mahoning Valley Young Professionals 25 Under 35 honorees.

These articles, combined with dozens of others in this edition, tell the story of a progressive, dynamic, serious (yet also fun) community of people whose impact is both extensive and impressive. We are certainly “Y and Proud” to share that story. Enjoy, and...

Go Penguins,

Tressel Signature

James P. Tressel, President