Youngstown State erects statue of its first president

The first president of what is now YSU has been immortalized in bronze.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University’s yearlong centennial celebration continues today with the unveiling of a sculpture of one of the university’s first leaders.

A life-size bronze sculpture of Howard W. Jones, the first president of Youngstown College, will be unveiled at 4 p.m. The sculpture is located in an area between the north side of Ward Beecher Hall and the south side of Tod Hall on the campus core.

The sculpture, created by Bruce Wolfe, an accomplished artist whose works have been exhibited from New York to Paris, shows Jones walking down a flight of three steps.

Jones served as the first president of Youngstown College and Youngstown University from 1931 to 1966. The sculpture was commissioned by Tony and Mary Lariccia of Boardman, and their daughters Natalie and Dana. Lariccia, a 1966 graduate of YSU, provided $100,000 for the project.

As part of the dedication of the sculpture, a small amount of the original ivy from YSU’s Jones Hall, the first building erected for the campus, will be transplanted nearby.

In 1932, a piece of ivy from Oxford University in England was planted in front of the towers at what is today Jones Hall on the corner of Wick and Lincoln avenues. Three decades after it was planted, the ivy was growing so aggressively up the outside walls of the building that it had to be removed. A small amount of the original ivy has been found, however, and will be planted near the sculpture.

The university also has buried a time capsule under the statue’s foundation as part of the centennial celebration.