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STEM college at YSU will include Natural Gas and Water Institute
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
A committee of Youngstown State University trustees approved establishment of a Natural Gas and Water Institute within the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
“This provides us the opportunity in our strategic plan to work toward economic development and to serve our students well by being on the cutting edge of new technology,” said YSU President Cynthia E. Anderson. “Hopefully, this will lead ultimately to a certificate program or a minor.”
The institute seeks to educate students interested in working in the oil and gas industries and for the development of new technologies associated with clean production and use of gas resources, specifically in the Utica Shale industry.
“Our intent is not to train students for minimum-wage jobs,” Anderson said during an Academic Quality and Student Success Committee meeting Tuesday. “Our intent is to educate students to work in natural-gas and water resources.”
The institute won’t be major-specific. Students from any major will be able to take the courses, she said.
Martin Abraham, dean of the STEM college, said two new courses are under development and expected to be ready for the fall.
He estimated that the industry will need between 8,000 and 10,000 workers who possess four-year degrees during the next four years.
That’s a small number compared with the 200,000 jobs expected to be filled in the industry.
The largest percentage of those are skilled-trades positions.
Abraham said the business community is supportive of new education and training programs to provide workers to fill jobs that are available now or will be in the future.
Trustees also discussed a transportation fee during a Finance and Facilities Committee meeting Tuesday.
The fee is expected to be presented as part of the administration’s full tuition proposal at a June trustees meeting.
It calls for a $100 per semester fee included in the tuition of all students taking at least six credit hours. It would replace the $78-per-semester parking-permit fee.
But Gene Grilli, vice president for finance and administration, said it would cover shuttle services on campus as well, not just parking.
Precisely how the money generated will be used hasn’t been determined but a percentage of it will go to replace the Lincoln Avenue parking deck.