YSU trustees approve Abraham as provost, VP

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University trustees unanimously approved Martin Abraham as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs and Gregg Sturrus as interim dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The action came at a trustees’ meeting Tuesday.

Abraham is founding dean of the STEM College, and Sturrus is chairman of YSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.

President Jim Tressel tapped Abraham as the interim provost after a national search and even though Abraham didn’t apply for the position. Tressel said he believed Abraham is the right person for the job.

“I appreciate the confidence you’ve put in me and we’re going to do the best we can,” Abraham told trustees.

In other business, trustees passed a resolution naming the pedestrian bridge over Wick Avenue, linking the M-1 parking deck and Meshel Hall to main campus, the Stavich Family Bridge.

“For some years we’ve been looking for a naming opportunity” for the Stavich family, Tressel said.

Heather Chunn, senior development officer at the YSU Foundation, suggested the idea for the bridge, and the family was ecstatic at the suggestion, he said.

Read more about the family's contribution to YSU in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.