YSU alums concerned about proposed changes to Scholars Program

YOUNGSTOWN

A group of Youngstown State University Cochran Scholars Program alumni worry changes considered for the scholarship awards will cause more harm than good.

The Leslie Cochran Scholars Program provides full tuition and room and board to 40 incoming freshmen annually based on their academic stature. It attracts students from the Mahoning Valley and across the country.

Alumni say that university trustees and the YSU Foundation are considering changes to the program.

“The proposals aim to effectively end the ‘full ride’ scholarship program [covers tuition, room and board and books], and replace it with ‘full tuition’ scholarship of lower value given to more students,” according to information prepared by the alumni group.

Joe Smith, a member of the Scholars Class of 1995, the third class of Scholars, said alumni learned about proposed changes through the grapevine and have three main concerns. Smith’s was the first Scholars Class to move into Cafaro House.

The first concern is with the analysis, which, he said, doesn’t seem to be very well thought out.

The idea behind it, the alumni say, is that more scholarships will equal more students. But Smith, a Hubbard native who lives in New York City and works in the advertising industry, said that the students replacing those who would have been University Scholars may be students from the area who would choose to attend YSU regardless.

Alumni just want to make sure that if changes are needed, whatever changes are implemented make sense, he said.

Read more about the proposed changes in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.