YSU considers operating museum

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YSU Provost Ikram Khawaja

By Harold Gwin

The Ohio Historical Society would retain ownership of the steel museum.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University is looking at a proposal that would have its history department take over operations at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor at 151 Wood St.

The Ohio Historical Society, which owns the facility commonly referred to as the steel museum, approached the history department as a possible partner to run the day-to-day operations, said Ikram Khawaja, YSU provost.

Ownership would remain in the hands of the historical society, he said.

“It looks like a good academic move,” Khawaja said, explaining that the university is currently examining the historical society’s proposal to determine what costs, if any, the university might incur. A response to the proposal should be made within the next 10 days, he said.

“I’m very hopeful that we’re going to reach an agreement to manage the facility,” said Shearle Furnish, dean of YSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, which includes the history department.

The museum would be a good fit with the university, Furnish said.

YSU has an applied history program that includes archival history and historic preservation that could easily be tied into museum operations, he said.

The historical society’s annual budget for the museum is between $180,000 and $190,000 a year, he said.

This would be a partnership, he said, explaining that the arrangement, if finalized, would leave ownership and responsibility for capital improvements with the historical society. The university would take over operations and maintenance and develop programming, he said.

“We feel it is underutilized,” Furnish said, explaining that one goal would be to increase public usage of the museum.

The museum was built for about $4 million in 1989, but financial difficulties delayed its opening for about a year.

YSU has two graduate students working at the museum now under intern assistantships, Furnish said. They will be replaced by two more in the fall, he said.

“We’re excited about the academic opportunities,” Khawaja said, adding that the only reservation at this point is making sure the university won’t be taking on an expense that would be difficult to handle in the current economic climate.

Mark Holbrook, the historical society’s marketing manager, said the society has been actively seeking local partnerships for many of its 58 historical sites and museums for the past year.

The facility in Columbus and various unattended sites aren’t included, he said.

At this point, 29 are being run under local partnership agreements, he said, adding that a few of those have always been run locally.

“Local groups can do an incredible job,” Holbrook said, pointing out that they know their communities and can design or adapt programs as needed.

gwin@vindy.com