By Alex Sorrells / Jambar Contributor
Progress towards a Youngstown State University satellite campus in Steubenville at the former Eastern Gateway Community College location is continuing after several legal disputes.
A legal battle between Student Resource Center, a private education service company, and EGCC took place in federal court regarding money owed by the college. SRC was granted a lien on the building, preventing any use until the case was dismissed in June.
A reverter clause was signed in 1967 that required the building ownership to be transferred back to Jefferson County if it were to be used for noneducational purposes. This clause forced Jefferson County to file a lawsuit against EGCC for control of ownership. The county has since released the suit as the college agreed to the transfer.
Tony Morelli, Jefferson County commissioner, said if YSU were to gain control of the campus, a new reverter clause would be signed, allowing the university to have access to the building for the foreseeable future.
“Youngstown State’s given basically until Dec. 1 to do their due diligence, see if it makes sense for them to make the move — classrooms, equipment, etc.,” Morelli said.
Morelli said the most important part is funding, and if the state can contribute to the new campus, it would make the process even smoother.
“It seems like everything is going well. Youngstown has had people in here checking out classrooms, computers, [information technology] people, equipment,” Morelli said. “The county is excited to get them here — we’d love to have them here, and we’re going to assist them in any way we can.”
The county had a levy for several years that helped EGCC fund operations, but Morelli said the community is now looking forward to a potential YSU campus in the area.
“There [are] lots of questions about curriculum, ‘Will they do the back-to-work type programs that the community college offered,’” Morelli said. “I’ve been told multiple times from Youngstown that they’ve been working on it for a year and a half and have spent some money to change the curriculum, lower some prices [and] do the things that will make it a natural fit.”
Jefferson County also houses Franciscan University of Steubenville, a private four-year university with a student population of 3,750 as of 2023.
“I looked at this in and out, anyway you can, and it is a very huge thing for our county if we can close this deal and get another four-year university here,” Morelli said.
At the time of publication, the Office of the President could not provide additional information.
The Jambar will continue to follow the story and provide updates on the progress of YSU’s potential satellite campus.