Jim Tressel’s formal installation as YSU president is today

By Denise Dick | August 19, 2014 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

He’s been at the helm for more than six weeks, but Jim Tressel will be installed formally as Youngstown State University’s ninth president today.

Gov. John Kasich will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony that begins at 2 p.m. at Beeghly Center on campus. The public is invited, and a reception will follow the ceremony. Parking will be free. The event will be streamed live on wfmj.com, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Classes begin Wednesday. Tressel’s installation comes on the heels late last week of a tentative agreement between the YSU-Ohio Education Association, which represents faculty. That contract expired Sunday.

The pact between the university and the Association of Classified Employees, which includes clerical, maintenance and other employees, has been extended through Sept. 30. It had been set to expire Friday.

Tressel, who served two years as executive vice president for student success at the University of Akron, was selected as YSU president last May after Randy Dunn, the eighth president, resigned after only eight months to become president of Southern Illinois University.

Tressel formerly served as head football coach at by YSU and Ohio State University, leading both teams to national championships in their respective divisions.

While university trustees selected Tressel after a search, there was a groundswell of support for the former coach, known for his fundraising skills, shortly after Dunn announced his resignation.

Thirty-one business and community leaders wrote a letter to trustees, advocating Tressel’s appointment.