By Nicarlyle Hanchard / The Jambar
The office of Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson is introducing “Presidential Conversations” on April 1. The platform will serve as a vessel for transparent and meaningful dialogue across campus and the greater Youngstown community.
The platform is separated into two categories. A weekly show hosted by Johnson will be broadcasted on WYSU 88.5 FM. The other category involves a series of speakers being invited to share their experiences.
Johnson said a platform like this is needed to foster communication, regardless of the context.
“If there is not open and transparent conversation, then a lot goes unsaid that should be said,” Johnson said.
In the first two episodes of “Presidential Conversations,” Johnson discussed servant leadership and his experience with it.
He said the episode he recently recorded was inspired by his attendance at the first-annual Mahoning Valley Educators of the Year Honors Dinner.
“It was the first time our communities, at large, in the Mahoning Valley, had come together to simply say thank you to the many teachers that spend so much of their lives investing into the minds of our young people,” Johnson said.
Though the topics of Johnson’s show and guest speaker sessions may not always be tailored toward students, Johnson said they are often in students’ interests.
“The topics that we’ll talk about are certainly questions students [have asked] me, conversations we’ve had,” Johnson said. “So it might not be about students, but it’s things students would be interested in.”
Johnson also said some topics will be based on his job experiences and other knowledge he believes students should have.
“In some cases, quite honestly, it’s things I think students need to hear before they branch out and start their lives after graduation,” Johnson said. “It’s things that they’re going to need to know, I believe, in addressing the challenges of their day.”
Johnson will host his show on WYSU at 6:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m Thursdays. He said the shows are self-explanatory, but if listeners have questions, they should reach out.
“The more open and free-flowing the conversation, the better the communication is,” Johnson said.
The first speaker planned for the speaker series is George Mumford, sports psychologist and coach, who worked with the likes of Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.
Mumford’s session will be held at 10 a.m. April 1 in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center.