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YSU Breaks Ground for Veterans Resource Center
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- When Major Carl Nunziato returned home, having been severely wounded in action during his second tour with the Army in Vietnam, he was not welcomed, he recalled Wednesday. Many treated him as an outcast.
Nunziato, today an attorney, recalled those painful memories during the ceremonies to break ground for the Veterans Resource Center at Youngstown State University, something he and his campaign co-chairmen have been working for since the last year of David Sweet’s presidency. Nunziato’s wounds continue to hamper his mobility.
He and his co-chairmen, Bernie Kosar Sr., a former captain in the Army Reserves, and Harry Meshel, who served in the Navy Seabees during World War II, “never encountered any opposition,” Nunziato related.
The new coordinator of veterans affairs at YSU, Rick Williams, had braced himself for some degree of opposition, he said, but has enjoyed nothing but cooperation since assuming his post three months ago.
So it was hardly surprising that the ceremonies for the two-story building with 6,000 square feet to house the Veterans Resource Center here well attended by veterans of all branches, or that Scott Evans, vice president for university advancement, could report that the fundraising campaign is halfway to its goal of $1.25 million.
So many people wanted to get into the picture that the coordinator of the event had scheduled YSU photographer Bruce Palmer to have YSU officials, officeholders, major donors, veterans and well-wishers pose for seven different photographs to record their participation.
The center will be paid for entirely with private donations, the largest to date a $200,000 gift from the James & Coralie Centofanti Foundation. Sons David and Joe presented Dunn with a check for $200,000 drawn on Farmers Trust Co.
The Canfield Republican Women’s Club, represented by Bonnie Emerick, Monica Robb and Pat Woomer, then presented Dunn with a $1,500 check for the veterans center campaign.
In all, the 15 or so donors who have contributed at least $7,500 to the campaign were recognized.
When complete, the Veterans Resource Center will make space available for the Veterans Administration, conference rooms and dedicated computer rooms for students who are veterans, Williams said. Upon separating from the service, veterans can schedule their classes in the center and begin the paperwork to take advantage of the G.I. Bill that will allow them to pay their tuition, books and living expenses.
Nunziato expressed his hope that the center will serve veterans who, for whatever reason have not or do not become students as well, suggesting it might help homeless veterans. “Part of the building will be dedicated to veterans who live in Youngstown,” he said.
YSU, one of the most military-friendly schools in the United States according to a survey by G.I. Jobs magazine, based its assessment on both university efforts to help the 380 veterans enrolled make the transition back to civilian life and its relationship with the Army ROTC unit on campus.
General contractor is the Adolph Johnson & Sons Co., Mineral Ridge, whose president and CEO, Paul Johnson, has a target date of May 31, 2014, to open the building. The structure has the distinction of being the first on the YSU campus to be “design-build,” says the director of the facilities maintenance and support services, John Hyden.
This allows YSU to save on the cost of the building -- Hyden declined to say how much -- as MS Consultants, Youngstown, was the criteria architect, while Architectural Design Solutions, Columbiana, is the architect of record and works directly for Adolph Johnson.
The ceremonies began with the ROTC unit presenting the colors followed by soloist Michele Joy singing the national anthem.
President Randy Dunn proclaimed it a “great day,” and welcomed the center as a neighbor since it will be built immediately north of Pollock House, the residence of the YSU president.
He credited his predecessor, Cynthia Anderson, “for her efforts to bring this about” and promised, “We’ll come back to cut the ribbon to open this building.”
The chairman of the YSU board of trustees, Dr. Sudershan Garg, remarked, “This university has been, and will continue to be a military-friendly university,” and promised, “When the Veterans Resource Center is complete, it will be the envy of other universities.”
Turning to Dunn, Garg joked, “President Dunn has enjoyed his first success less than two months after taking office.”
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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