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Samuel W. Grooms is the second out-of-towner appointed YSU trustee
Gov. Kasich appoints alumnus Samuel Grooms to 9-year term
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Samuel W. Grooms reported to Youngstown State University football camp the day Elvis Presley died.
Nearly 39 years later, he returns to campus as a YSU trustee.
Gov. John Kasich last week appointed Grooms, of Westerville, near Columbus, to a nine-year term. He’s the second YSU alumnus and Franklin County resident to be appointed to the board in less than a year,
Last fall, Kasich appointed Dr. Charles Bush, a retired heart surgeon, who lives in Columbus and Florida, to the panel.
Grooms, chief executive officer of Hy-Tek Material Handling, Columbus, got a call about a month ago, asking him to come to Kasich’s office.
“I had no idea why I was being summoned to the governor’s office,” he said.
He was initially supposed to have that meeting on a Wednesday morning, but a governor’s office representative notified him that the meeting had been moved to Thursday.
A call from a football friend tipped Grooms off.
Paul McFadden, president of the Youngstown Foundation, called him that Wednesday. McFadden, who was a freshman on the YSU team when Grooms was a senior, joked that one of his football buddies was returning to YSU in a powerful position.
“I said, ‘Paul, you might have just given this away,’” Grooms said.
When he went to Kasich’s office he was told he was being vetted for the appointment.
A native of Washington Courthouse, a community between Columbus and Cincinnati, the newest YSU trustee said he’s kept abreast of goings-on at his alma mater and attends two or three football games each year.
Although he doesn’t live in the Mahoning Valley, he sees no impediment to fulfilling the responsibilities of the role.
“The time commitment won’t be a problem,” Grooms said.
Under the university’s travel policy, out-of-town trustees’ expenses are eligible for reimbursement.
Grooms said his understanding is that the governor’s office wanted someone from outside of the Mahoning Valley to fill the trustee post.
The selection of non-Mahoning Valley residents has drawn some criticism from some of those around campus who argue that someone from outside the area won’t be able to devote the required time to the position.
Kasich will have to fill another trustee’s seat soon. James Greene of Canfield died last March, leaving his unexpired term to fill.
Joe Andrews, a Kasich spokesman, said the governor looks to appoint “someone who has the most to offer YSU.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean someone from central Ohio. Andrews said there’s no timetable for filling the unexpired trustee slot.
Grooms believes his business background and experience also played a role in his selection, he said.
“They were trying to look for someone with that kind of background to bring that kind of, maybe, discipline,” Grooms said.
He said he’s a supporter of education, believing it’s a mechanism for the U.S. to compete in a global economy.
“Jim Tressel is a good friend,” Grooms said.
Tom Shipka, a retired YSU philosophy professor, introduced the two men back when Tressel was YSU’s head football coach. Tressel is now YSU president.
Tressel said the governor’s office talks to a number of sources for suggestions of people to fill trustees’ seats. Tressel said he suggested Grooms as well as some other people.
He said he suggested Grooms because he believes he can do a lot for the university.
“He’s the CEO of a business that made a big turnaround during challenging times,” Tressel said.
Grooms also cares about YSU, the president said.
“I know he loves the place, and I think he’ll do a great job,” Tressel said.