Monetary gift to YSU will benefit city high schoolers

It is no secret that the Youngstown City School District’s college-going rate is among the lowest in the tri-county area. There are many reasons for this, from the socio- economic backgrounds of many Youngstown students to the district’s dismal academic performance.

But lack of money is also a major factor, which is why Monday’s announcement of a $1 million gift to Youngstown State University is significant. The dollars will be used for scholarships for city high school graduates and to enhance services provided by YSU’s Center for Student Progress.

The gift is from Jocelyne Kollay Linsalata, a Youngstown native who now lives in Cleveland. Linsalata grew up on Youngstown’s West Side and graduated from Chaney High School. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from YSU. She is vice chairman of the YSU Foundation, the designated philanthropic arm of the institution.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to support the YSU Foundation and YSU with this gift,” Linsalata said in a statement released by the university. “The initiatives that YSU President [James] Tressel and YSU Foundation President Paul McFadden have launched will take this university to the next level of excellence in scholarship, professional training for its students and community impact.”

During the announcement Monday of the gift, Linsalata credited her parents, Leo and Francine Kollay, and YSU “for leading me to where I am today.”

This isn’t the first time that the former Youngstowner has shown her support monetarily for her alma mater. In 2003, she established a scholarship endowment at the YSU Foundation to provide scholarships for Chaney High graduates and first-generation college students attending YSU.

‘She’s one of us’

YSU President Tressel is understandably enthusiastic about the windfall, saying of Linsalata, “She’s one of us. She grew up here.”

“We thank Jocelyne for this generous gift that will help YSU students achieve in their academic endeavors, graduate on time and advance to success in their careers,” Tressel said. “Jocelyne’s commitment to and support for YSU is unmatched; we are fortunate to have her as a leader of the Penguin community.”

It’s no accident that the president used the words “graduate on time” to explain why the $1 million is so important. Youngstown State and all the other public universities and colleges in Ohio are under intense pressure from Gov. John R. Kasich and the Republican controlled General Assembly to reduce the average time it takes for an undergraduate college student to get a degree. The governor wants the six-year average to be reduced to four. That’s not an unreasonable goal, given that the longer students remain on campus the more they will owe in loans upon graduation.

Tressel and the other presidents are working to make the four-year graduation rate the rule rather than the exception.

To accomplish that, YSU has changed its emphasis from “open admission” to “open access.” In so doing, the urban institution has established admission standards and also has adopted a policy that encourages high school graduates in need of remediation in the basics to attend Eastern Gateway Community College.

Eastern Gateway, with a branch campus in downtown Youngstown, offers an associate’s degree. The two-year institution has established a close relationship with YSU.

The $1 million from Linsalata, along with the scholarship endowment at the YSU Foundation, will go a long way toward encouraging Youngstown’s students not only to graduate from high school but to set their sights on higher education.

The YSU Foundation with assets of $215 million is the largest institutionally related foundation in Northeast Ohio and provides $7.8 million for scholarships, student initiatives and university programming annually.

Linsalata has been a foundation trustee since 2007 and is a member of the YSU Williamson College of Business Administration Visiting Committee and the YSU President’s Council. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Alumni Service Award from the Williamson College of Business Administration.