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YSU alumna donates $1 million to her alma mater
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
A $1 million gift from a Youngstown State University alumna will allow the university to expand scholarships and enhance student success.
Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata of Cleveland, who graduated from Chaney High School and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from YSU, said she believes where someone comes from plays a significant role in the person they become.
“I credit my parents, Leo and Francine Kollay, and YSU for leading me to where I am today,” said Linsalata, who grew up on the city’s West Side.
Linsalata, the vice chairwoman of the YSU Foundation, established a scholarship endowment at the YSU Foundation in 2003. That was for Chaney graduates and first-generation college students attending YSU.
The latest donation expands that to offer scholarships to all city school graduates. The money also will be used to enhance services provided by YSU’s Center for Student Progress.
The center helps students to succeed in school, offering guidance and support when needed.
Linsalata said Monday that the center sees students through college, to graduation and onto their first day at their first job.
“She’s one of us,” said YSU President Jim Tressel. “She grew up here.”
He called Linsalata’s passion for YSU and Youngstown extraordinary. She’s the type of person who raises others up through her efforts, he added.
Paul McFadden, YSU Foundation president, said Linsalata has never forgotten where she came from.
Linsalata, who was a first-generation college student, grew up understanding the importance of education. When she planned to attend college, she didn’t consider anywhere other than YSU.
She noted that YSU, through recent initiatives, is establishing a national presence.
Linsalata serves as secretary of the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Foundation at University Hospital in Cleveland and in 2012, she co-led the philanthropy and advised on the design for the hospital’s new $40 million emergency department. She’s an adviser for the Inamori Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University.
At YSU, Linsalata is a member of the Williamson College of Business Administration Visiting Committee and the president’s council.
In 2014, she received the Outstanding Alumni Service Award from the business college.
The YSU Foundation’s assets exceed $225 million and the largest institutionally-related foundation in Northeast Ohio.
“The foundation provides $7.8 million for scholarships, student initiatives and university programming,” Tressel said.