President Sweet addresses college's future

Representatives from 21 colleges and universities attended the installation.
By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Despite dwindling state support, Youngstown State University will not be deterred from boosting the education level of Mahoning Valley residents, YSU President David Sweet said.
"I am confident that the traditions and strength of this dynamic center of learning will take YSU to new heights and that this university will be a cornerstone of the Valley's renaissance," Sweet said in his installation address Friday afternoon. "Indeed, the best part of our history is yet to be written."
Hundreds of YSU faculty and staff, as well as state and local education, government and community leaders, attended Sweet's formal installation as YSU's sixth president.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Lee Schulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, gave the keynote speech and joked about the installation occurring more than a year after Sweet took office in July 2000.
He compared it to a couple living together before getting married.
"You and the president have been trying each other out," he told the crowd, which included representatives from 21 colleges and universities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. "I guess it must be working."
In his speech at Beeghly Center, Sweet talked about YSU's 93-year history, its move from a private to a public university in 1967, and the accomplishments of its 75,000 graduates.
"YSU represents the most significant return of state tax dollars working proactively to improve the Valley," he said.
Yet those funds continue to drop.
Cutbacks: This week, Gov. Bob Taft announced a 6 percent cut in higher education budgets across Ohio, amounting to nearly $3 million for YSU.
"I hope the state realizes what its policies are doing to Ohio's future," Sweet said. "The state lags in one key productivity measure after another. It is time to fully grasp the impact that state policies are having on the future of our state."
Sweet said dwindling state funds mean YSU will have to find money elsewhere, including the private sector.
"As the old saying goes, money follows vision, and I believe our vision will attract private resources," he said.
Several Ohio university presidents, including Sweet, have said raising tuition midyear is one way to make up the state shortfall.
"To our students, I say you will have our help meeting higher tuition costs if that is what must happen," he said. "Enough assistance will be found so that no deserving student will be turned away."
cole@vindy.com