Sunday, January 24, 2010
By Harold Gwin
YOUNGSTOWN — Some say that Cynthia Anderson’s heart and soul are at Youngstown State University.
Her 30-year affiliation with YSU started as a student, and she held a number of positions as an employee before being named vice president for student affairs in 1995.
Now, she is vying to become the seventh president of the institution.
Anderson, 59, is one of four finalists for the post being vacated by David C. Sweet who retires June 30. She will speak at an open public forum at 4 p.m. Tuesday on the first floor of Tod Hall.
“I think she would make an absolutely outstanding president,” said Robert Hogue, secretary of YSU’s Academic Senate and associate professor of computer science and information systems.
“She is so dedicated,” he said, explaining that her enthusiasm spreads to those who work with her. She has the ability to bring out the best in people, even in difficult circumstances, he said.
“She definitely has YSU at the center of everything,” said Kathylynn Feld, vice-chairman of the Academic Senate and professor and director of medical assisting technology and medical coding specialist programs.
“She always was interested in the students’ welfare,” Feld said, noting that interest was there before Anderson was named vice president for student affairs.
She’s a “people person” and listens to other opinions, Feld said.
“I am a collaborative leader,” Anderson said. “I do not make decisions in a vacuum.”
And, those decisions aren’t made until the people who will be responsible for implementing them are consulted as well, she said, explaining that she won’t ask someone to do something she isn’t willing to do herself.
Students always come first, Anderson said.
She grew up in Fowler and has been a YSU student, a student government vice president, a student employee, a secretary and an instructor and faculty member as well as an administrator.
“I’ve seen the challenges that are inherent in each of those roles,” she said, adding that she was here during the days that the YSU community was like a family, a scenario she believes many would like to see again.
“I’ve never been interested in leaving YSU,” she said.
There’s little doubt that she has widespread campus support in her bid for the presidency.
More than 200 people on campus signed a petition endorsing her candidacy before she even decided to apply for the job.
Michael Caldwell, a software analyst in YSU’s telephone network division, started that petition drive.
She cares about everyone she comes across, especially the students, he said, adding that he sees her as the person who can take the campus in a direction many people want to go, helping to move the region from a manufacturing to a high-tech level.
“She is Youngstown State University — through and through,” said Brian Brennan, president of the Association of Classified Employees union and a librarian 2-technical services employee.
“She’s definitely student-oriented. She goes to the mat for them,” he said.
He confirmed that she sees YSU as a family, noting that, during the faculty and ACE strikes in 2005, she was upset because she saw it as a fracture in the family rather than a labor dispute.
“She was fantastic,” said Bob McGovern, who served as Student Government Association president in 2005-06.
Anderson was very receptive to ideas and was easy to get along with, he said.
Zack Brown, current SGA president, is a member of the presidential search advisory committee, and said he’s not endorsing Anderson over the other three finalists, but pointed out that she “goes above and beyond what her actual job requirement is.”
She cares about education, extracurricular activities, Greek life, campus recreation and everything else students are involved in, he said.
“I’ve been as involved in university activities as much as I can, and I’m very involved in the community,” Anderson said.
Her experience in labor relations has been limited, but successful.
She was chosen to spearhead the administration negotiating team on the 2008 faculty contract, which was resolved in record time, a fact she attributes to a lot of hard work by a lot of different people. The teams followed a collaborative, problem-solving approach, she said.
YSU is an open-admissions university, and only 35 percent of those who enroll as freshmen earn a degree within six years.
That’s about par for open-admissions institutions, and it is a major challenge, but the numbers may not accurately reflect student interests, Anderson said.
Many students come to campus only for specific course work they need, perhaps to advance in their current job or to find a new job. Those students frequently don’t stay long enough to earn a degree, she said.
To help retain students, Anderson spearheaded the creation of the Center for Student Progress to provide support for new students, and the freshman-to-sophomore retention rose to about 78 percent, she said.
The implementation of a formal student orientation program and efforts to boost student involvement in campus programs, sometimes difficult in a commuter school such as YSU where most students don’t spend a lot of time on campus, have also helped, she said.
There is a challenge to get more Mahoning Valley students interested in pursuing higher education as a way to a better life, she said, suggesting that’s a growth area where YSU can thrive.
Expanding partnerships with business and community organizations will strengthen the university’s link to the community, enabling it to provide leadership and educated individuals to foster economic development, she said, calling it, “a partnership of action.”
Among her major accomplishments, she lists the Center for Student Progress, the faculty contract negotiations of 2008, the record-setting 2009 United Way campus campaign, the creation of student life programs, the Athena Award presented by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce and The Vindicator and the University Leadership Merit Award presented by the YSU Board of Trustees.
But Anderson is quick to point out that many people are responsible for those successes.
“They’ve all been collaborative efforts. I don’t believe anyone accomplishes anything on their own — never have,” she said.
gwin@vindy.com