$1M Gift Establishes Centofanti Center at YSU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The James and Coralie Centofanti Center of Health and Welfare for Vulnerable Populations will be created at Youngstown State University through gift of $1 million gift to be announced today at a campus news conference.
The center, funded with a gift from the James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Foundation, will help expand and improve the ability of the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services to better meet the health and welfare challenges throughout the region.
In a copy of her prepared remarks provided reporters, the president of YSU, Cynthia Anderson said, “I want to thank the Centofanti Foundation for this generous gift. But even more important, I want to thank and commend the foundation for its support in improving the health and welfare of our community.”
James Centofanti of Canfield, a business owner, philanthropist and horseman, died in 2010. His wife, Coralie, died in 1999.
Centofanti was a long-time member of the board of directors of Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a generous supporter of many educational and community-based activities in and around Canfield, and the recipient of several awards for his humanitarian efforts.
“Jim always had a soft spot for the underdog and the underprivileged, and it was reflected during his life through his generosity and his hands-on involvement in working to improve the lives of people, especially those with special needs,” said Mark Graham, executive vice president of Farmers National Bank and chairman of the distribution committee of the Centofanti Foundation. “He would be very proud to have his family’s name associated with a center that focuses on improving the health and welfare of people throughout the Mahoning Valley.”
The James and Coralie Centofanti Center of Health and Welfare for Vulnerable Populations will provide scholarships for students, internship stipends, graduate assistantships, faculty research grants and workforce development initiatives designed to evaluate and respond to the needs of the region’s health and human service organizations and agencies, said Joe Mosca, dean of the Bitonte College.
“The center will enhance the level of engagement between our students, our faculty and professionals employed in health and human service organizations throughout our region,” Mosca said.
Among the functions of the center:
- The Centofanti Symposium, featuring nationally recognized speakers that address meeting the needs of vulnerable populations.
- Undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students in the Bitonte College who pursue careers that will affect at-risk populations in the region and beyond.
- Undergraduate stipends and graduate assistantships for students engaged in service or research that addresses health and human services concerns regional organizations and/or their service recipients experience.
- Support for faculty, including research grants and to attend educational seminars.
- Educational training and workforce development to engage YSU faculty and students in local social service and nonprofit agencies that conduct research and want to become more effective in working with at-risk/vulnerable populations.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.