By Dylan Bigelow / Jambar Contributor
Bill Johnson officially became the 10th president of Youngstown State University during a ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 19 in Kilcawley Center.
The presidential installation was held in a packed Chestnut Room. Featured guests included various state officials, retired generals and YSU alumnus Bernie Kosar Sr., father of former Cleveland Browns quarterback, Bernie Kosar Jr.
Michael Peterson, chair of the board of trustees, and Charles George, vice chair, administered the oath of office and presented the presidential medallion to Johnson.
With the oath completed, a visibly emotional Johnson addressed the audience.
“I am humbled, extremely humbled, that you’ve put your trust and confidence in me,” Johnson said.
Throughout the ceremony, leadership became the recurring theme.
The keynote speaker was Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general. He is also the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a position first held by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Breedlove spoke heavily on the subject of leadership during his 24-minute speech. He said the university is lucky to get a leader like Johnson.
“You’re getting a leader who understands the historical context of leadership in a way that very few do. But I would also tell you that he has the qualities that we’ve been talking about,” Breedlove said.
Some of the qualities mentioned included managing risks, making tough decisions, putting others first and being a team player. He cited a range of leadership examples, from Eisenhower to 22-year-old WNBA star Caitlin Clark.
“If you ever listen to [Clark] give a press conference, she talks about the team’s successes and her failures,” Breedlove said. “We have a lot to learn from people like that.”
While giving his speech, Johnson spoke about his leadership origins “on a small two-wheel wagon rut mule farm on the cotton and tobacco fields of North Carolina.”
He said that when he told his story years ago to an audience in Washington, D.C., someone asked why his family didn’t farm with a tractor. Johnson replied, “You don’t understand. Where I came from, we had to borrow the stinking mule.”
Johnson spoke of the lessons he learned while working on the farm with his grandfather.
“It’s where I learned my first lessons about hard work, service and sacrifice,” Johnson said.
Johnson said his grandfather was a man of few words, but the example he set taught him a lot about leadership.
“My grandfather was teaching me that true leaders have a servant’s heart,” Johnson said. “They understand that the most important thing they can do in their lives is invest in the lives of others.”
Like Breedlove, Johnson referenced historical figures throughout his speech. He discussed the leadership roles Ohioans played in Abraham Lincoln’s administration and quoted leaders such as civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, as well as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
“Youngstown State did not just happen. We were divinely inspired,” Johnson said.
Johnson also spoke about the strength YSU has provided to the greater community following the collapse of the steel industry. He quoted a mural painted at Southern Park Mall in Boardman.
“‘You can’t break a city built from steel,’” Johnson said. “My friends, in Youngstown, we bend, but we don’t break. We’re adaptable. We’re resilient. We’re persistent. And we deliver.”
Johnson also mentioned areas where YSU has progressed since he began his presidency in January.
“Fortunately, for Youngstown State, I’m proud to tell you that we are on sound footing,” Johnson said. “Both financially and from an enrollment perspective.”
YSU recently reported an enrollment increase of 10.7% from last academic year to this year.
After all the initial controversy surrounding Johnson’s hire, both he and Breedlove ended their speeches with a sentiment everyone knows, “Go Penguins.”
