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YSU celebrates job done well
By SEAN BARRON
YOUNGSTOWN
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Offi cials and community members celebrate the completion of East Campus Gateway. The project, along University Plaza on the east side of campus, includes a glassed entryway to the Tod Hall administration building, major renovations to Coffelt Hall, a visitors parking lot, a new marquee sign outside Bliss Hall and new lighting, landscaping, banners and a traffic circle.
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Dr. David Sweet, president of Youngstown State University, talks Monday to offi cials and community members about the changes to the East Gateway of campus. The East Campus Gateway project was designed to enhance the appearance of one of the main entrances to campus.
Prospective students, visitors and others will be greeted at Youngstown State University by a more aesthetically pleasing look.
That’s because of the completion of numerous improvements along University Plaza, off Wick Avenue, on the east side of the university.
YSU officials and community members were among those who attended a press conference and tour Monday to celebrate the opening of East Campus Gateway, a multi-pronged project designed to enhance the appearance of a main entrance to the university.
Primary pieces of the project are a new glass-enclosed atrium and entryway in Tod Hall, renovations to Coffelt Hall, a visitors parking lot and a new marquee outside Bliss Hall. Also included werenew lighting, landscaping, colorful banners and a stone-walled traffic circle.
“This is the culmination of a decade of activity,” noted YSU President David C. Sweet, referring to when nearby Sweeney Hall became home to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions in fall 2000.
The marquee will announce concerts and other events in Bliss and throughout campus, Sweet said.
Also giving remarks was George McCloud, vice president of university advancement. Several members of the Tod family were on hand, including Sallie Tod Dutton, a guidance counselor at East High School, who also spoke.
The formerly enclosed atrium and stairwell in Tod Hall were rebuilt and surrounded by a glass fa ßade similar to that at the Butler Institute of American Art, next door, noted Ron Cole, YSU spokesman.
“It’s all about curb appeal,” Cole said of the overall gateway work.
Also part of the $572,000 Tod Hall project were improvements to the sidewalk leading from the visitors lot to the building, as well as landscaping surrounding the walkway.
The two-story Coffelt Hall, formerly an American Legion Hall and home to the YSU Writing Center, received about $750,000 in renovations. That includes a conference room in the basement that should have Internet service beginning next month, noted Dr. Peter J. Kasvinsky, associate provost for research.
Recently, the facility, built in 1933, became the new site of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Consequently, the graduate, undergraduate and student alumni offices all line the University Plaza main entrance, complemented with visitors parking, Kasvinsky explained.
The East Campus Gateway project, part of YSU’s Centennial Master Plan, got under way about three years ago with upgrades to the plaza area that included better lighting and the traffic circle.
Sweet, who will retire June 30, said he’s proud of improvements to the campus and relationships YSU has formed with numerous businesses, neighborhood revitalization groups and others during his 10 years as president.
Sweet added that he hopes several ongoing key projects, such as developing Smoky Hollow, as well as property west of Fifth Avenue, will continue.
He also pointed to the new $34 million Williamson College of Business on Rayen Avenue that’s on target to open in August.
“It’s another illustration of campus improvements,” he said.