DAVID SWEET: Former YSU president urges Bill Johnson to decline presidency
(EDITOR’S NOTE: President Emeritus David C. Sweet served as president of Youngstown State University from 2000-2010. Sweet has written an open letter to friends of YSU voicing opposition to the Board of Trustees’ hiring of former Congressman Bill Johnson as university president.)
To the friends of YSU:
From our home in Charlotte, my wife and I have followed the indefensible action of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees in appointing Congressman Johnson as president elect. Notwithstanding his position as a politician, his professed views do not lend themselves to serving and leading a higher education institution.
As an election denier, opponent of the LGBTQ community, doubter of climate change and scientific facts, and with no higher education experience, he is not in a position to be president of YSU.
He has been unable to articulate his vision for the University and community in which it serves. A President and First Lady serve as Ambassadors to the community. This action by the Board has negative implications for the University and its faculty, staff and students, as well as the alumni of YSU, and also, importantly, the university’s partnerships with the civic, government, foundation, nonprofit and business communities.
YSU operates as a prized urban university that connects the university to the city and environs and the greater Mahoning Valley. It is a community trust. It is an economic engine in the Valley and pursues excellence in building a thriving university and environment to live, work, and play. This is what a urban university does and what attracted me to accept the position of YSU president in 2000.
Having served as President of YSU from 2000-2010, my appointment was the result of an open search conducted by the YSU Board with a consultant with visits to campus by the finalists and meetings with faculty and staff, students, and community representatives. Without this normal vetting of a candidate, Congressman Johnson would begin his appointment with a great disadvantage. Unlike a business organization with a top down management model, a successful university operates through a shared governance model. Tenured faculty play an important role in the university’s management. The recently conducted search by the Board, while they did hire a consultant, offered no vetting of candidates on campus or in the community.
The Congressman would begin his appointment having had no meaningful interaction with campus or community and literally no buy-in to his occupancy of the Office of President. As a result of the strong opposition to his appointment by all University constituencies, I urge Congressman Johnson to decline the Presidency of YSU. And the Board of Trustees to fulfill its obligation to select a president that reflects the best traditions of academia.
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This story was originally published January 8, 2024 at 1:51 PM.