Judge to speak at YSU commencement

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus, a graduate of Youngstown State University, will receive an honorary degree and speak at YSU’s spring commencement May 21.

Undergraduate and graduate commencements begin at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Both ceremonies are in Beeghly Center.

Economus was appointed U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio in 1995. He also served on the Court of Common Pleas of Mahoning County from 1982 to 1995. He assumed senior status July 3, 2009, and is a visiting District Judge in the Southern District of Ohio.

Economus, a Youngstown native, graduated from YSU in 1967 and from the University of Akron Law School in 1970. After law school, he became a staff attorney with the Mahoning County Legal Assistance Association and later joined the family law firm of Economus, Economus and Economus.

Economus is a recipient of the University of Akron Law Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award, the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association’s Golden Gavel Award, the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center’s Great Communicator Award for community service and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Economus and his wife, Marie, have three daughters and three granddaughters.