Zoldan restores $5M YSU pledge withheld earlier over 'secretive' university selection process

Bruce Zoldan

Saying the community takes precedence, Valley entrepreneur Bruce Zoldan has had a change of heart about withholding philanthropic support for Youngstown State University.

The Zoldan Family on Wednesday announced it is directing the balance of an earlier $5 million pledge towards the Dana School of Music. This decision comes after a public dispute with the university's administration earlier this year.

Zoldan told 21 News' Chris Cerenelli about conversations with alumni and families with ties to Dana asking for his support being the reason he reconsidered.

"And we thought about it, and my family talked and we said 'why not redirect the five million?' And now seemed like a good time," said Zoldan.

Zoldan, who owns Phantom Fireworks, announced in March that he was withdrawing the $5 million pledge to build a new student center that would have been named after him.

The withdrawal of the donation was announced after YSU Trustees chose former Republican Congressman Bill Johnson as university president through what many saw as a secretive selection process.

"I, as well as many others, felt that it was not done in the right manner," Zoldan said Wednesday.

Zoldan also told 21 News at the time that he would suspend all contributions to the university until 60 days after Johnson was no longer president. But now, Zoldan says the past is the past; his commitment is on the future of both YSU and The Valley.

"I am going to be actively involved in influencing others who may have stopped contributing to YSU for the same reason I did to consider supporting the Dana School of Music," said Zoldan. "YSU will be an important part of our Valley and an important institution far beyond me being on this side of the grass."

Although Johnson remains as university president, Zoldan has now announced that the remaining $4.35 million, along with an additional $625,000, will now be dedicated to the Dana School of Music. This brings the total gift from the Zoldan Family to $5,625,000.

Plans were announced in January to “reorganize” the Dana School of Music, which included an end to four majors that university officials said had consistently low enrollments.

“My family was dismayed to learn of the significant program cuts imposed on the Dana School, and despite our differences with the Board and Administration of YSU, we felt the importance of the Dana School to the community and surrounding areas took precedence. We hope this will make a meaningful difference to the Dana School, the University and the community,” said Zoldan.

The Dana School of Music, founded in 1869, is launching a $15 million fundraising campaign to build endowment funds.

"The impact of the Dana School of Music has had and will continue to have on our region and beyond is significant, and we are committed to preserving that for current and future generations," stated YSU President Bill Johnson. “This campaign is specifically designed to provide funding for our various programs within the Dana School of Music. We are grateful to the Zoldan Family for their continued generosity, and we are really excited about kicking this campaign off"