Sweet: YSU must capitalize on its ‘Tech Belt’ location

By Harold Gwin

Developing a response to the state Strategic Plan for Higher Education is the top priority, the president said.

YOUNGSTOWN — The president of Youngstown State University said the institution needs to think of itself as the center of an emerging “Tech Belt” corridor between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, not just a part of Northeast Ohio.

YSU “must reposition itself geographically,” Dr. David C. Sweet said in his ninth annual State of the University address to campus faculty and staff Monday.

State higher education policymakers and state and regional leaders see the university as part of the edge of Northeast Ohio, he said.

“Too often, we are an afterthought when decisions are made and resources allocated,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and his Western Pennsylvania colleague, Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th, have coined the phrase “Tech Belt” for the corridor running from Cleveland to Pittsburgh that they believe can be the location of developing technology industries, and YSU is at its very center, Sweet said.

“Our challenge and our future is to play a central role in the development of this Tech Belt,” he said.

The university took a tangible step in that direction last year by equalizing graduate tuition rates for in-state and out-of-state graduate students, which meant a drop in cost for out-of-state students coming here, he said. YSU is looking at doing the same for undergraduate students, he added.

That could happen as early as 2009, he predicted, depending upon how changes in the state’s funding formula for higher education will affect YSU.

Sweet said the university successfully met a number of challenges in the 2008 school year, and perhaps the most important is the earning of a full 10-year accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities.

Negotiations of new contracts with faculty and classified staff bargaining units was a significant step in improving campus labor relations, he said.

Although he wasn’t ready to offer specifics, Sweet said the university surpassed the $43 million Centennial Capital Campaign goal this summer, and the fund drive has another year to run.

The top priority for this school year is to develop YSU’s response to the proposed state Strategic Plan for Higher Education developed by Eric Fingerhut, Ohio’s chancellor of higher education, he said.

The university must strive to make its core strengths even better by targeting and investing in selected areas of excellence, developing academic programs on a strategic basis including new doctoral degrees, supporting the growth of innovative efforts such as the Rich Center for Autism and Youngstown Early College High School, and creating partnerships with various organizations working to make a difference.

YSU must also be creative in seeking the revenue to fund its mission, Sweet said, noting the proposed new higher education funding model being considered by the state would shift the basis of financial support away from strict enrollment to outcomes, such as course completion and graduation rates.

Enrollment growth must remain a priority, he said, noting that the university had 13,497 students last fall, a 13-year high.

A goal of 14,000 had been set for this fall, and Sweet said he is encouraged by preliminary numbers that have been reported to him. Unofficial figures show enrollment should reach or exceed 13,700.

The state strategic plan calls for the development of a community college in the Mahoning Valley, and YSU must make sure the initiative succeeds so that it is designed to benefit the Valley and the university, Sweet said. In the long run, a community college will benefit the university as people seek to pursue four-year degrees, he said.

Youngstown State University will remain true to its historic mission of being an open access university because the region is populated by many for whom YSU offers the only opportunity to obtain a university degree, he said.

gwin@vindy.com