EDUCATION After 43 years, astronomy professor at YSU says it's time for part time

The physics professor says he'll be nostalgic this graduation day.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Warren Young has seen a lot of graduation days in his 43 years on the faculty of Youngstown State University.
But today's commencement, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Beeghly Center on campus, will be special for the professor of physics and astronomy. It will be his last as a full-time faculty member. Young, director of the Ward Beecher Planetarium, retires today from full-time teaching.
"I'll be somewhat nostalgic, and it will probably make me think about all the graduations I've been to in the last 43 years," said Young, 67, who was chairman of the physics and astronomy department for 25 years (1979-2004).
"I'll probably be thinking about all the speakers I've heard, too -- some good and some not so good."
Those 43 years span a time of transformation for YSU from a struggling private university into a public, research-oriented university with more than 13,000 students. Young said that as today's commencement approaches, he's been thinking about that, too.
"It's changed tremendously," said Young, a Massillon native who joined the YSU faculty while he was still working on his doctorate at Ohio State University.
"Not many of the faculty had Ph.D.'s at that time, and only a couple of faculty members were doing research," he said. "Now both faculty and students have an opportunity to pursue research to a much greater extent."
Back then
And they can do so under better conditions than when Young arrived in 1963. He recalled the struggle he had with the school's chief financial officer to get $100 to buy a slide projector for his classes.
"It was the only equipment purchase I made for the first couple of years," he said. "You could say we ran on a shoestring budget."
Like many classes at the time, his were held in an old house near what is now the main campus.
"Classes were even held in the basement of the president's home," he said. "Mine were on an enclosed porch in this house and it was either really hot or really cold."
But the university opened the Ward Beecher Planetarium in the fall of 1966, with the help of a a gift from the Beecher family. Young played a major role in the start-up and has directed the facility since then.
"I went from teaching with a crummy slide projector to being in one of the best teaching facilities in the country, if not in the world," he said.
Young won't be out of the classroom long, as he will teach a summer school course starting Monday, and he plans to teach part time for the next several years.
That will allow him some time for some favorite outdoor pursuits -- "skiing in the winter and kayaking in the spring."
He said he and his wife, Sandra, also plan to travel to Italy and Australia.
But first, there's another commencement to attend. And even that may not be his last one.
"I may go to some in the future, especially if there are students I've worked with that I want to see graduate," he said. "It means something to me, too."