With the Home Savings and Loan tower in the background, workers continue construction of the new building for the YSU Williamson College of Business Administration. The building is expected to be open by this time next year. The YSU Board of Trustees recently approved resolutions to name classrooms and other areas of the building after individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the university’s Centennial Capital Campaign. See News Brief below.

Calendar
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 6 p.m. Special YSU Board of Trustees meeting regarding the presidential search in the Cochran Room of Kilcawley Center.

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 9 a.m. Patrick Valente, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, leads a seminar on business development opportunities in the fuel cell industry in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center. Sponsored by the YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative and the Youngstown Business Incubator. For reservations, call YBI at 330–259–7644.

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 5 p.m. The YSU Presidential Search Advisory Committee meets in the Presidential Suites of Kilcawley Center.

Wednesday to Monday, Sept. 2 to 7, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The YSU tent is open at the Canfield Fair.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 7:30 p.m. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown will talk about the healthcare crisis in the United States to kick off the 2009–10 Center for Working–Class Studies Lecture Series in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center. The lecture, titled “The Healthcare Crisis and Working–Class Communities,” is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the M–24 lot on Fifth Avenue, next to McDonalds. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 5, 1 p.m. The Penguins open the 2009 football slate against the Pittsburgh Panthers in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The home schedule opens the following Saturday, Sept. 12, at 4 p.m. against Austin Peay at Stambaugh Stadium.

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2 p.m. Women’s soccer team takes on Kent State University at Stambaugh Stadium.

YSU’s MathFest winning streak hits five
Youngstown State University’s winning streak at MathFest continued this summer in Portland, Ore., through the efforts of 12 mathematics majors.

Four students took home “outstanding oral presentation” awards, marking the fifth consecutive year that YSU students have won four or more honors. No other school has ever won more than three awards in a single year.

George Yates, YSU mathematics professor, said that MathFest — the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America and Pi Mu Epsilon — is about much more than just the competition.

“The real value of participating in this and other conferences is the exposure to the variety of mathematics that occurs throughout society and the contact with students and faculty from other universities,” he said.

Award–winning students this year were Matthew Alexander of Espyville, Lisa Curll of Columbiana, Patrick Walker of Struthers and Moriah Wright of Ashtabula. For Curll and Walker, this year was their first for attending MathFest. Wright had attended in the past along with Alexander, who won an MMA best speaker award last year.

Other students who gave presentations were Scott Eddy of Boardman, Alycia Kolat of Brookfield, Justin Laufman of Canfield, Joshua Mike of Youngstown, Kristi Mraz of Youngstown, Mario Sracic of Hermitage, Angela Urban of Hubbard, and Allison Wiland of Canfield.

YSU faculty Douglas Faires, Angela Spalsbury, Thomas Wakefield and Yates also attended MathFest. Other faculty who assisted and advised students included Neil Flowers, David Pollack, Jozsi Jalics, Eric Wingler and Jacek Fabrykowski.

American Chemical Society honors STEM College dean

  Martin Abraham, YSU STEM dean

Abraham is one of 162 ACS members chosen nationwide for the society’s first Fellows class. Selection was based on the nominees’ contributions to the chemical sciences, their service to the ACS and to the chemistry community in general. Abraham is one of five fellows representing universities in Ohio.

“These 162 members share a common set of accomplishments,” said Bruce E. Bursten, the society’s immediate past–president. “Namely, they share true excellence in their contributions to the chemical enterprise, coupled with distinctive service to ACS or to the broader world of chemistry."

“Being named a fellow is truly a distinguished honor, and I am humbled to be listed among some of the most elite chemists in the nation,” Abraham said. “I am fortunate to have the support of a university that provides the time for me to contribute, and the great opportunity to work with outstanding students and faculty colleagues.”

Abraham joined YSU in 2007 as founding dean of the College of STEM, coming from the University of Toledo, where he was dean of the College of Graduate Studies. He has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware and earned a bachelor’s degree, also in chemical engineering, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The dean is a member of the governing board of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition and editor of Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, a quarterly journal on industrial environmental concerns. He is a councilor for ACS and chairs its Committee on Environmental Improvement. His record of scholarly publications and research includes more than 60 refereed publications and nearly 150 technical presentations.

Members of the inaugural class of AGS Fellows were inducted Aug. 17 during the society’s national meeting in Washington D.C., and the roster was published in the August 3 issue of Chemical & Engineering News magazine.ﾠ Academic chemists make up 72 percent of the class, but the group also has representatives from all sectors of industry and academia and includes at least one Nobel laureate.

Business College classrooms named for donors
The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees has approved resolutions to name classrooms and other areas of the new Williamson College of Business Administration building after individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the university’s Centennial Capital Campaign.

The $43 million campaign, the largest fund–raising effort in the university’s history, has surpassed the $50 million mark. A major component of the campaign is the construction of a $34.3 million facility for the College of Business. Construction is underway, and the building is expected to open for the start of fall classes in 2010.

The board approved the following resolutions:

• Named a tiered classroom for Huntington Bank and E.M. Barr Trust, which made a $175,000 gift. Huntington and its predecessors, Sky Bank and Mahoning National Bank, have a history of philanthropic support that includes a scholarship fund at the YSU Foundation, the Campaign for YSU and the campaign for the YSU Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Huntington’s regional president is Frank Hierro, a 1977 graduate of YSU.
• Named a tiered classroom after the Schmutz family. The W.E. Bliss Foundation made $125,000 gift. In the late 1960s, Bliss Hall was named in honor of W.E. Bliss. The Bliss Foundation contributed to the recreation center campaign. C. Reid Schmutz, president of the YSU Foundation, is the grandson of W.E. Bliss.
• Named a classroom after John A. DePizzo Jr., who made a $100,000 gift. DePizzo, a YSU graduate, created the JAD Scholarship at the YSU Foundation. He also contributed $50,000 to the recreation center campaign.
• Named a classroom after Liberty Steel Products. The company and the Weller family made a $100,000 gift. The company also contributed $100,000 to the YSU Foundation scholarship fund. In the mid–1980s, the Weller family made a leadership gift to name Weller House. The company’s CEO is Andrew “Jack” Weller, a 1961 graduate of Youngstown University.
• Named a classroom after Anthony and Lenora Petrarca, who made a $100,000 gift. The Petrarcas are both graduates of YSU, and they made a $100,000 gift to the recreation center.
• Named a classroom after Samuel A. and Judy B. Roth, who made a $100,000 gift. The Roths have made donations to the YSU Annual Fund and the recreation center. Judy Roth is a YSU graduate.

YSU staffer exhibits art at Mill Creek Park gallery
Noreen Yazvac, an administrative assistant at Youngstown State University, is exhibiting her collection of floral paintings, titled “Floral Series,” now through Sept. 27 in the D.D. and Velma Davis Education and Visitor Center at Fellows Riverside Gardens, Mill Creek Park.

The exhibit in the Weller Gallery features a range of materials and mediums.

Yazvac earned a bachelor of arts degree in art history with a minor in studio art from YSU in 2006 and also studied painting under the private instruction of artists Celeste Moran, Cherie Mohn, Christopher Leeper and Tom Antonishak. Her work has been exhibited at several local art galleries and venues, including this year’s YWCA’s Women Artists: A Celebration!, the Canfield Fair and the 2008 Canfield Fall Market.

A Boardman resident, Yazvac joined the university in 1994 and works at the Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress.

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