Deceased YSU professor leaves $2.2 million gift in estate to establish endowed position at university

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Charles Darling, who died in July 2018 and was a retired history professor at Youngstown State University and longtime host of the “Folk Festival” radio program on WYSU-FM, left a gift of $2.2 million in his estate to establish an endowed faculty position at YSU.

The Charles Darling Distinguished Faculty Chair in American Social History at YSU will be a full professor position in the department of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

“Professor Darling left an indelible imprint on YSU and the entire Mahoning Valley,” YSU President Jim Tressel said in a news release Wednesday. “We thank him for remembering his alma mater in his estate. His legacy will live forever through this faculty position.”

The gift is part of YSU’s $100 million “We See Tomorrow” fundraising campaign.

Darling died at age 86. A native of Massachusetts, he graduated from Youngstown College in 1953, served in the Army as a medical technician and then went on to earn a master’s degree in history from Ohio University.

He returned to Youngstown in 1958 to join the history faculty at Youngstown College, teaching classes in American economic, social and cultural history, American folk music and the Vietnam War, retiring from YSU in 1995.

His folk program on WYSU celebrated its 48th season in 2018.

The Darling Chair is YSU’s 11th endowed faculty position.