YSU establishes Centofanti School of Nursing, receives $1M donation
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University announced Monday that the nursing department received a $1 million donation and was named James and Coralie Centofanti School of Nursing.
The Centofanti Charitable Foundation pledged $1 million to support the nursing school and to establish a scholarship for minority nursing students.
Jeffery Allen, dean of the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services at YSU, said the university is excited about the opportunity the university will have for scholarships for minority students.
"[We are] equally happy that the increase in minority graduates will create a more culturally congruent workforce in our area and in the region beyond," Allen said.
YSU President Jim Tressel said 2020 is the year of the nurse with all the work nurses have been doing on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The naming is particularly noteworthy at this moment as we have all come to realize and better appreciate the vital importance and the tremendous dedication of frontline healthcare workers," Tressel said.
The YSU School of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, a School Nurse Licensure Certificate Program and a Master of Science in Nursing degree.
Currently, the nursing school has about 430 undergraduate and graduate students. There are about 4,300 alumni of the school with 70 percent of the graduates still providing care in Youngstown. BSN Students provide about 95,000 clinical service hours to the community each academic year.
"We can't say thank you enough to the Centofanti Charitable Foundation committee for believing in this program, for recognizing the importance of this program and for wanting this program to continue to turn up extraordinary practitioners," Tressel said.
James Centofanti, of Canfield, was a business owner, philanthropist and horseman. He was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of Farmers National Bank in Canfield, a generous supporter of numerous educational and community-based activities in and around the Canfield area, and the recipient of numerous awards for his humanitarian efforts. He died in 2010. His wife, Coralie, died in 1999.
This is the second $1 million gift to YSU from the Centofanti Charitable Foundation. In 2012, the foundation pledged $1 million to establish the James and Coralie Centofanti Center of Health and Welfare for Vulnerable Populations in YSU's Bitonte College of Health and Human Services.
In 2017, the Foundation pledged $500,000 to help support the successful Centofanti Symposium, which has brought an array of nationally- and internationally recognized speakers to YSU over the past eight years.
YSU Foundation President Paul McFadden said this is the third school in YSU's 112-year history to be named. The other two schools are the Rayen School of Engineering and Beeghly College of Education.
Nancy Wagner, chair of the nursing school, said the Centofantis were widely known for their generosity and concern for the disadvantaged. Wagner said the nursing school will pledge to have students leave YSU with awareness and compassion for the health, social and emotional needs of the less fortunate in society.
"In this 2020 Year of the Nurse, this generous gift will allow us to continue to prepare nurse leaders and maintain and increase our excellence, especially at this critical time," Wagner said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 2:58 PM with the headline "YSU establishes Centofanti School of Nursing, receives $1M donation."