Kilcawley project gets $1 million boost
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The Marjorie Hartman Family Foundation has made a $1 million gift to Youngstown State University's Kilcawley: Centered on the Future campaign -- something that has added a major boost to the student center, as well as efforts Tina Costarella began a decade ago.
"In 2017, I began the Pre-Veterinary Society with about 10 students at the time. We did the veterinarian clinic at Wick Park with a small number of students. Now, we see nearly 300 pets (per year)," Costarella, a semi-retired veterinarian, said.
Costarella was among those who expressed gratitude for the gift during a news conference Friday afternoon at the YSU Foundation's board room in Melnick Hall.
In recognition of the endowment, "The Rock" area near Kilcawley Center, which remains under construction with a targeted opening in fall 2027, will be known as "Marjorie Hartman Plaza."
"The Rock" is a glacial boulder excavated during the center's construction in the mid-1960s. Student government members then requested it be kept on campus.
"Kilcawley Center has been the heart of the YSU experience for generations, and gifts like this ensure it will remain the heart of our campus for generations to come," YSU President Bill Johnson said in a statement. "The Marjorie Hartman Family Foundation has been an extraordinary partner to YSU, and this latest investment not only helps transform this iconic space, but also permanently connects Marjorie Hartman's legacy with one of YSU's most cherished facilities and traditions."
Hartman, who is perhaps best known as an avid animal lover, worked for the former Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren as an electrocardiogram technician after her husband, Ensign W. Hartman, died in 1963. After that, she became a self-employed dog groomer.
Thanks in part to the clinic having grown considerably over the years, an estimated 70% of its students get accepted into veterinary schools largely because of their leadership skills and efforts to give back to the community via volunteering at low-income spay-and-neuter clinics, for example, Costarella noted.
"If you loved animals, and if you had a passion for making sure animals were treated correctly, she would love you," Barry K. Haughin, a foundation trust adviser, said in his remarks Friday.
The gift was part of keeping alive the legacy of Hartman, who "had a heart of gold that beat for animals. God bless you, Marge. I hope you're happy today," Haughin added.
Attorney Thomas J. Lodge, another foundation trust adviser, noted that Hartman wanted her estate to go toward a variety of projects with certain criteria, one of which was that they would be regional. It was decided that some funding would go to the university and its Pre-Veterinary Clinic because of their educational value and impact, he said
"The gifts being made to YSU for the biology department, the Pre-Vet Society and the scholarship fund will provide a lasting legacy to Marjorie's love of animals," Lodge said, adding, "The naming of 'Rock Plaza' will keep Marjorie's legacy alive on the YSU campus and in the minds of all who support the mission of education and the care of animals."
Echoing that belief was fellow foundation trust advisor Linda Cappelli-Sladick, who said that the gift "will allow students a more forward education and love of animals."
The scholarship fund is awarded to students in the pre-veterinary program who major in chemistry or biology. In addition, the Pre-Veterinary Society endowment includes the Marjorie Hartman Family Foundation Pet Clinic, an annual on-campus event that offers area pet owners low-cost vaccines for their animals.
With Friday's gift included, the foundation has given more than $3 million to the university and the YSU Foundation.
Some of the other major contributors to the $58 million Kilcawley Center modernization campaign have included the YSU Foundation, $5 million; the Cafaro Foundation, $3 million; and the Payiavlas family & AVI Foodsystems, $1 million.
More than $13 million in state funding for the renovations has been provided for the project through Ohio's capital budget allocations.