Year-end date set for community college plan

YOUNGSTOWN — Details of how and where a community college would operate in the Mahoning Valley will be in place by the end of the year, and the first classes will be offered in fall 2009.

That’s the timetable outlined by Eric Fingerhut, Ohio’s Chancellor of Higher Education.

The Mahoning Valley is the only metropolitan area of Ohio not served by a community college, and the creation of a two-year school here is a major part of the chancellor’s proposed 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education.

A 40-member “implementation committee” made up of local educators, business and professional people and others has been formed and is mapping out the details, Fingerhut said at a press conference today at The Chevrolet Centre.

“This is the best news in the Mahoning Valley in decades,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, who participated in the conference.

The government can provide the tools to increase the level of education in the region, but, “The rest is up to us,” Ryan said, explaining that the community needs to develop “an attitude and level of expectation” for every local citizen who can attend the community college.

Opening a community college here is a significant step in terms of aiding economic development, by providing a trained workforce that will have the skills to step into jobs and “plug into the tech belt” effort being launched at Youngstown State University, Ryan said.

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.