Below are a variety of items about upcoming events and other news notes on the campus of Youngstown State University.

• Sideshows, concert highlight YSU Welcome Week
• YSU president named Business Advocate of the Year
• University Theater season tickets now on sale
• Fund to benefit family of deceased YSU videographer

 
Calendar
Monday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Campus Carnival celebrates the opening of fall semester classes at YSU, featuring video games, caricature artists and magician performances. The carnival is part of Welcome Week. See News Brief below.

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 7 to 10 p.m. YSU students celebrate the start of fall semester with a Foam and Dance Party in Rec–5 across from Pete’s Place, behind Kilcawley Center. The party is part of Welcome Week. See News Brief below.

Thursday, Aug. 28, 7 p.m. Outdoor Welcome Week concert featuring Danity Kane on the grass area behind the student section of the east side stands of Stambaugh Stadium. The concert is part of Welcome Week. See News Brief below. 

Saturday, Aug. 30, noon. YSU Penguins kick off the 2008 football season against Ohio State at the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Sideshows, concert highlight YSU Welcome Week
A campus carnival, a welcome back picnic, a foam and dance party, a kickball tournament and a free concert by national recording artist Danity Kane are among the dozens of activities planned as Youngstown State University kicks off fall semester this week.

This year’s theme for Welcome Week is “Your Journey Begins Here,” and many of the activities highlight the positive aspects of student life on campus. A YSU identification card is required for most activities.

Among the events:

Monday, Aug. 25

• Campus Carnival, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the campus core and in Kilcawley Center. Play the latest video games, build a penguin to take home, have your caricature drawn and see performances by magician Jason Greenamyer and the Pickled Brothers Sideshow.
• Campus Resource Fair, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., upper and lower arcades, Kilcawley Center. Meet the staff from various campus offices.

Tuesday, Aug. 26

• Student Organizational Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Kilcawley Center. More than 40 student organizations will be available for questions and additional information.
• “It’s All Greek to Me,” Greek student organizational fair, noon to 1 p.m., Ohio Room, Kilcawley Center. Members of campus sororities and fraternities and their advisers will be on hand to answer questions and to offer a free lunch.
• Foam and Dance Party, 7 to 10 p.m., Rec–5 across from Pete’s Place, behind Kilcawley Center.

Wednesday, Aug. 27

• KC Block Party, sponsored by Kilcawley Center, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Chestnut Room, Kilcawley Center. ﾠEnjoy free food samples, register to win a widescreen flat–panel HDTV, a room refrigerator and other prizes.
• Kickball Tournament, sponsored by Student Diversity Office, 3 to 5 p.m., Rec–5 area.
• ROTC Gun Simulation, 3 to 6 p.m., Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Use lasers and projected targets during ROTC’s gun simulation game.
• Outdoor Movie Night, a free showing of “The Strangers,” 9 p.m., Beede Field, Stambaugh Stadium. Enter through the student section gate at the east side stands. No bags or backpacks permitted; snacks will be provided.

Thursday, Aug. 28

• Cornhole/ Kan–Jam, tailgating favorites, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the campus core.
• Campus–Wide Water Balloon Fight, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the campus core. Purchase water balloons from YSUnity.
• Welcome Week Picnic, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., University Courtyard Apartments. Free lunch, open to students, faculty and staff. Prizes awarded to new students that participate in the event.
• “Managing Your Funds,” 12 to 1 p.m., Gallery Room, Kilcawley Center. Join representatives from the campus branch of Home Savings and Loan for a discussion on fund management.
• 3–on–3 Basketball and Volleyball Tournament, sponsored by Student Diversity Office, 2 to 5 p.m., University Courtyard Apartments.
• Outdoor Welcome Week Concert featuring Danity Kane, 7 p.m. on the grass area behind the student section, east side stands of Stambaugh Stadium. See MTV’s “Making the Band” group perform their hit single, “Damaged.”

Friday, Aug. 29

• Guess for Gas, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lower Arcade, Kilcawley Center. Answer trivia questions to win gas card certificates.

Saturday, Aug. 30

• YSU vs. OSU Local Tailgating, 12:05 p.m. kickoff, Buffalo Wild Wings (Downtown Youngstown), Youngstown Sports Grille, Jillian’s and MVR.

YSU president named Business Advocate of the Year

Youngstown State University President David C. Sweet is one of three community leaders to be recognized for advancing economic development in the Mahoning Valley when the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber presents its annual Salute to Business breakfast, 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman.

Sweet, YSU president since July 2000, will be named Business Advocate of the Year.

Debra D’Alesio, president and owner of Valley Industrial Trucks in Boardman, will be honored as Business Professional of the Year at the event, which kicks off of the 162^nd Canfield Fair. Sister Patricia McNicholas, executive director of Beatitude House, will receive the Chamber’s Non–Profit Business Professional of the Year Award.

“All of the recipients have had a significant impact on this community and helping to move the Valley forward,” said Chamber president and chief executive Tom Humphries.

Specifically, he said Sweet deserves recognition for his focus on increased enrollment at YSU, expanded community partnerships and diversity, all of which have had a positive affect on the region at large.

“Dr. Sweet has greatly influenced our youth and shaped their future as part of our region''s workforce,” Humphries said. “He is also working to connect the campus to downtown Youngstown and position our Valley in the middle of the proposed Tech Belt between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He is leaving a legacy that will continue to benefit this region for decades to come.”

The numbers speak to the success of the Sweet administration’s efforts. YSU’s enrollment reached a 13–year high last fall, with 13,497 students, and the number of minority students has more then doubled since 1998. Numbers of full–time minority faculty and minority staff have also grown substantially.

Additionally, construction is set to begin in January on a new $34.3 million Williamson College of Business Administration building, with a far–south campus site that was chosen because of its proximity to downtown Youngstown. The building, nearly half of which is funded by private gifts, is designed to connect the campus to the city’s business community. 

D’Alesio, the Valley Industrial Trucks president, will be honored for her leadership at the full–service material handling company, said Humphries. McNicholas will be recognized for her work with Beatitude House, providing housing for 31 homeless Valley families and supervising a career–preparation program for low–income women.

The event, sponsored by KeyBank, will also feature presentation of a new Chamber award, the Salute to Labor Achievement, to the Warren Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. 

Mike Broderick, chief executive officer of Turning Technologies Inc. in Youngstown, will demonstrate the company’s popular audience–response keypad system, Valley businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries will be recognized, and YSU head football coach Jon Heacock will offer a preview of the upcoming football season.

University Theater season tickets now on sale
Season tickets are on sale now for the 2008–09 University Theater season at Youngstown State University. The season, which starts Sept. 4, will include four Ford Theater productions, two Blackbox productions in the Spotlight Arena Theater, an opera and a performance by the YSU Dance Ensemble. All performances will be in YSU’s Bliss Hall.

The 2008–09 season marks the 45th year of University Theater’s existence as a co–curricular theater producing agency on the YSU campus. Co–curricular implies that the productions are linked to the education of students in the various academic programs of the university.

Dr. Frank Castronovo, chairman of the Department of Theater and Dance, said the 2009 theater season stays true to its mission, presenting a wide variety of quality theatrical experiences that ranges from the contemporary issue of middle–east conflict, to works based upon literary classics, to broad improvisational comedy. “There is something for everyone in the University Theater season, making season tickets the biggest entertainment value in the tri–county area," Castronovo said.

For more information on the 2008–09 season, visit http://www.fpa.ysu.edu/theater/univtheater/season.html.

Season ticket subscription prices are $40 for adults with discounts available to Alumni Society members, senior citizens, YSU faculty and staff, Regional Chamber and Penguin Club members, and non–YSU students. YSU students are admitted free, with appropriate ID. To order season tickets, or for more information, call the University Theater box office, 330–941–3105.

Fund to benefit family of deceased YSU videographer

A fund has been created to benefit the family of the late Youngstown State University athletics videographer Shawn Coin, 31, who died suddenly on Aug. 18. 

Coin and his wife, Jennifer, were expecting their first child in April 2009. The Family of Shawn Coin fund has been established at Chemical Bank, and the family requests donations to the fund in lieu of flowers.

Donations can be made at any Chemical Bank or by mail to: Family of Shawn Coin Fund, c/o Chemical Bank, 3400 E. Isabella Road, Midland, MI 48640.

Condolence cards may be mailed to Coin’s wife at 1208 East Chippewa River Road, Midland, MI 48460. Funeral services were held in Michigan, Coin’s home state.

Trevor Parks, YSU sports information director, said Coin was beginning his third year as video coordinator for the YSU athletic department where he helped coordinate the department’s video production efforts. One of his primary duties was assisting the football program throughout the year in its video and scouting efforts.

Prior to joining YSU in August 2006, Coin spent two years at California University of Pennsylvania as video co–coordinator and offensive assistant, and before that he was a video assistant, assistant strength and conditioning coordinator and assistant defensive backs coach for a year at Northern Michigan University, his alma mater.

YSU Board of Trustees meets Sept. 2 and 4
The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees meets on the following schedule. All meetings are in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus:

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 8 a.m., Investment Subcommittee; 9 a.m., External Relations Committee; 10 a.m., Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

Thursday, Sept. 4, 8 a.m. Audit Subcommittee meeting; 9 a.m., Internal Affairs Committee; 10 a.m., Finance and Facilities Committee.