Steubenville Herald Star / Ross Gallabrese Bill Johnson, president of Youngstown State University, speaks during Saturday’s open house at the university’s new Steubenville campus.

STEUBENVILLE — Officials with Youngstown State University said Saturday’s event at its Steubenville campus was more than an open house.

“What you are seeing today, in spite of the enthusiasm, is a starting point,” said YSU President Bill Johnson while speaking in Founders Hall. “What you see today is the tip of an iceberg. We’re going to grow this campus and fill it out, based on the needs of the region, what the employers, the partners, the elected officials and the citizens of Jefferson County and the surrounding areas tell us they need in terms of education.”

Community members had the chance to tour the renovated campus, learn more about programs to be offered when classes begin Aug. 24, meet with faculty and staff and apply for admission during the four-hour event.

YSU-Steubenville will fill space that for years had been occupied by Eastern Gateway Community College, which was forced to close about two years ago because of financial issues. It will ensure that education continues to be the focus inside the 180,000-square-foot building that sits along Sunset Boulevard.

Initial course offerings were determined after discussions with a wide range of local officials, Johnson said.

“Residents of the area are going to have access to something they have never had before,” he said. “We’re not a community college, we are a four-year university, and everything that falls under our umbrella will be available to the people of Jefferson County. We’re going to be starting out this fall with 19 programs based on feedback we have received from the community. Each semester that goes by, we will be growing that.”

YSU Provost Jennifer Adams said community engagement is important.

“We looked at the different strong pillars that usually are the foundation of any community,” she said. “Those are health care, business, education and workforce. We have programs in all of those areas. STEM is a big area so we make sure we have the next round of engineers, the next round of machinists and welders. We want to make sure we have the next round of nurses, and respiratory therapy is on the horizon. We’re waiting on accreditation in radiology technologies, so we really are looking to see what the community’s needs are.”

She added the school has had a lot of positive feedback and that they are starting to see student applications.

“People wanted education,” Jefferson County Commissioner Tony Morelli said while touring the facility. “It was not easy, but we found a partner. Thanks to Bill Johnson and his team, we have somebody to take care of the bricks and mortar. We have been very aggressive in doing whatever we could to make it easier for YSU to come to town.”

The commissioners and a team that included Jefferson County Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Blake were able to secure a deal that gave YSU use of the building and the upper parking lot, with the county keeping control of the lower parking lot and property that stretches along John Scott Highway from Sunset Boulevard to Lowe’s Home Improvement Center.

On Thursday, the commissioners leased the oil and gas rights on those 75 county-owned acres to Ascent Resources, a deal that included a $525,000 signing bonus and carries the potential for another $1 million in royalties. They will now be looking for additional development.

“Evidently, we have one of the hottest prices of property in a three- or four-state area, because I get the calls from developers,” Morelli added.

Saturday’s activities included the presentation of $28,000 from the Eastern Ohio Community College Foundation. That money, according to foundation Chairman Scott Campbell, will allow each of the high schools in Jefferson County to receive four $1,000 scholarships for people who will be attending YSU-Steubenville. The foundation was originally formed to help support the efforts of the community college.

“Our foundation isn’t as big as it is at some colleges, but it is $1.7 million,” Campbell said. “We had a lot of people asking questions during the transition about where the money from the foundation was. We were good stewards of the money, and now we have the money to go forward, and in the future, there will be money for people who are residents of Jefferson County to come to this building.”

Johnson said donations like that are important.

“Everything that you see here today, everything that we’re doing to fill this void, is all about the students,” he said. “It’s all about providing a continuous path of education choices for the people of this region — that’s what we’re here for.

“We would not exist if it were not for the scholarships and foundations and the scholarships they provide,” he added. “A lot of people in our region — and we all know it — are first-time college students, and many of them can’t afford the kind of tuition that it takes to go to college, so these scholarships are really important.”

Area residents who attended the open house said the school represented good things for the region.

“This is fabulous for the community and for the students who need the education in order to achieve good careers and a good livelihood for their families,” said Ann Koon, the retired longtime public relations director of the former EGCC.

Steubenville Mayor Ralph Petrella added the addition of YSU-Steubenville to a town that includes the Franciscan University of Steubenville and the College of St. Joseph the Worker is another example of how the community is changing.

“This is a wonderful thing for the city,” he said. “This shows that our identity is shifting from a steel mill town to a university town. We have three institutes of higher learning in Steubenville, so our identity has to shift. We have to create new services for them. We want to see YSU expand.

“This is just the beginning,” he added. “It’s great for the county — it’s a needed thing, and it’s going to serve West Virginia, Pennsylvania and all of our counties, so it’s a real blessing,” Petrella added.

Councilman at Large Joel Walker said having another choice in education will serve as a way to keep young people in the area.

“A lot of our young people, they start out here, and if they go to a bigger college or university, they don’t come back here,” Walker said. “So, for a lot of them, if they come here and get their education here, hopefully, they will stay here. That’s one of the good things about having this here.”

Johnson assured area residents that Youngstown State is making a long-term commitment to Steubenville.

“This building is owned by the citizens of this county,” he said. “We own the deed to it right now, and as long as we provide education, we are entitled to that position. I can tell you right now, we are going to be around here for a very long time. There’s no ending in sight, and we are just now getting started.”