By Henry Shorr
Helen K. Lafferty, the new interim president at Youngstown State University, addressed members of local media Oct. 17 in a Webex conference available to the press.
Lafferty, who was named interim president Oct. 10, said she is excited to be back in her hometown and to carry the momentum President Jim Tressel brings to the job through her residence at YSU.
“I’m not a placeholder. I will be the interim president. I have a capacity for action. That action will be determined by the conversations that I have with the Youngstown State University community,” Lafferty said. “President Tressel has a legacy of leadership that we will appreciate and build on for many, many years to come. But I’m not here just to keep the lights on. I’m here to do whatever is in my capacity to do to advance Youngstown State University and all of her people.”
Lafferty has taught at Villanova University for the past 40 years. She grew up in Youngstown and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at YSU and will begin her tenure as president Feb. 1, 2023, when Tressel leaves office. She said she already has plans to use her role actively.
“I really expect to use the first two months of my interim presidency, listening and learning,” Lafferty said. “Certainly, I’ve learned enough of some about what’s going on from my membership [on the board of trustees], but that’s from a different place. I am now on the ground with the people that it actually affects. So I will be relying on the insights and judgments I’ve received from them.”
She said this does not only include business-as-usual topics, but also more specific issues like the current cuts to programs.
“I know that that’s been a very, very difficult place for everybody, the faculty, the administration; and I know that those will be some of the challenges I will be forced to look at and involve myself in,” Lafferty said. “My conversations for the first few months I’m here — that will be what I will rely on to really, really see the extent of these challenges.”
She explained that the issues the university faces are not dissimilar to those of many other universities, and is ready to dig into these problems as they pertain to YSU.
Lafferty is aiming to tackle a variety of issues at the university, ranging from student enrollment, financial problem students face, as well as issues that similar institutions are facing.
Lafferty said she is grateful to have the opportunity to be back at YSU after years away.
“There’s always a place in your heart for your hometown. And no matter where I am, no matter what job I have, Youngstown, Ohio, has been where my roots began, and it will always be my favorite place,” Lafferty said. “The university itself is such a beacon in Youngstown, and I just really want to do my very, very best to keep it shining as brightly as it is.”
Tressel’s last day in office is Jan. 31, 2023. Lafferty will be in office until the board appoints a new president.