Noon rally to protest proposed selection of YSU president

A noon rally is planned today at Tod Hall on the campus of Youngstown State University to protest the proposed selection of U.S. Rep. William Johnson for YSU President. Organizers expect the protest to attract students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community.

The rally is organized by Community Concerned for the Future of YSU to voice opposition to “the possibility of divisive extremist election denier Bill Johnson becoming the next university president.”

On Nov. 16, YSU’s Board of Trustees voted 8-1 to offer Johnson the position.

On Saturday, two days after the Trustees’ announcement, five YSU alumni authored and distributed a letter to the Board of Trustees opposing the choice. The authors planned to deliver the letter and signatures to the Board of Trustees today. As of Monday morning, the document listed 19 pages of signatures.

“We received over 2000 responses from alumni/community members/faculty representing every graduating class between 1962 and 2023,” said Ashley Orr, a 2016 YSU graduate and one of the letter’s authors. “We have connected with the faculty union and diverse/disproportionately impacted student groups. Over 300 folks shared extended responses of their stories of fear and concern,” Orr said.

To view the letter and signatures, click here. The letter also appears below.

The Board of Trustees will conduct a special meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Board Meeting Room, located on the first floor of Tod Hall. According to the YSU News Center, the meeting “will consider and/or take action upon the presidential search and such other matters as may properly come before the Board of Trustees.” To see the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting, click here.

The union representing YSU’s full-time faculty has condemned the presidential selection process. “Faculty, staff, students, and community members were not part of the selection and interview process. We are disappointed that the YSU Board of Trustees would offer the presidency to anyone without first vetting the candidate through meetings with stakeholders,” said YSU-OEA President Dr. Mark Vopat in a prepared statement.

“We encourage the Board to reconsider their unilateral decision to extend an offer without community input, resume the search, and fully vet the candidates by introducing them to community members before making a hiring decision,” Vopat said.

To read YSU-OEA’s complete statement, see here.

The Board of Trustees announced a national search for YSU’s 10th president last May. In June, the board passed a resolution identifying Witt Kieffer as the search firm to assist in candidate recruitment.

For more information on YSU’s presidential search, see here. To download YSU’s Presidential Prospectus Booklet, visit here.