Shannon Tirone wears a lot of hats in her job at Youngstown State University.

Her official title is associate vice president for university relations, which includes work with the school’s marketing and communications departments, alumni relations and even its public radio station.

For the past several weeks, though, her assignment that has had the most importance to residents of our area is serving as project manager of the transformation of the former Eastern Gateway Community College building along Sunset Boulevard in Steubenville’s West End into Youngstown State University Steubenville.

It’s work that is creating a lot of changes. The sign at the main entrance has been painted Youngstown State red and black and now features the school’s logo. Lettering near the main entrance now reads Youngstown State University.

That name is the latest to appear on a building that has seen a lot of changes since it first opened for classes on Sept. 23, 1968, as the Jefferson County Technical Institute. It would become Jefferson Technical College, Jefferson Community College and Eastern Gateway Community College before it officially closed its doors in 2024.

One of those former names — Jefferson Community College — is painted onto the West End water tower near the parking lot of the complex. It’s actually a city-owned tower that stands on a portion of county-owned property that was not included in December’s transfer from the Jefferson County commissioners.

It’s an important part of the building’s legacy and the city’s history, and Tirone said she’s had to answer questions about how the tower might be painted in the future.

“No, that’s not ours,” she told members of the Steubenville Rotary Club and their guests during Wednesday’s meeting at the JeffCo Event Center. “It’s interesting, and it depends with whom I’m talking with.”

She explained that Youngstown State itself has carried several different identifies, and she said she understood those feelings completely.

“I get it that it’s the name of a different institution on that water tower, but there’s something to be said about the history of it, too,” Tirone continued.

Maintaining that connection with the past and what it means to the community is important as work continues to ensure Youngstown State University Steubenville is ready for students when the fall semester begins.

She added that among the items left behind when EGCC closed down were four Dave Barnhouse prints depicting life in our region, and she said those would be displayed prominently at the new school.

“They’re just beautiful renderings of the area,” Tirone said. “You’re going to see a special place when you come into the building, and those prints are going to be there.

“So, as much as we want to be branded as Youngstown State University, there’s something to be said about being a part of the community,” she continued. “It’s the same thing in Youngstown — we’ll never get rid of us being a steel town and the steel mills and everything. So, the water tower actually doesn’t bother us. It’s not something we have asked to be changed — I think it’s a part of history, and it’s part of what was there.”

Tirone’s been working to build strong connections with the community since she was first assigned her task by YSU President Bill Johnson. She added Johnson already had a connection with the Steubenville area, having represented it in Congress for several years.

“He really wanted to make sure, and it was told to us point blank, that not only did we want to come and offer educational opportunities to the area, but we also wanted to become a part of the community,” she said.

She and her staff have faced some challenges in getting the building ready for students. One of the biggest is having to work on a compressed timetable, a situation brought on because the commissioners were not able to turn the property over to YSU until late last year.

Another hurdle was that even though the Steubenville site is part of Youngstown State, the school was still required to obtain accreditation for the local classes because they were being held at a new location. Area residents learned Monday afternoon what those initial offerings would be.

The goal is to have between 200 and 250 students enrolled for the fall, she added, pointing to another challenge: Deadlines for preparing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and applications for Pell Grants for the fall have passed, and the majority of high school seniors who are planning to go to college already have made their plans for the fall. That makes current juniors among the prime recruiting targets.

Those issues aside, building relationships continues to be a focus.

“We had a really great conversation last week with the former Eastern Gateway Community College Foundation,” Tirone said. “They are really interested in being able to keep their money in Jefferson County, and their goal is to be able to offer four $1,000 scholarships to all of the five local high schools for students who will be going to Youngstown State Steubenville. That really excites us, too.”

The building, she added, will continue to be available for local groups to meet and hold events — a longstanding area tradition. Plans already have been made for the return of the popular Steubenville Art Association show and a car show.

Members of the public, she added, will be able to see the changes being made at the building and learn more about the planned educational offerings during an April 25 open house, Tirone added.

While the name on the building and the color scheme might have changed several times since the late 1960s, the mission for what happens at that site really has not: Officials with YSU are committed to continuing to provide quality educational opportunities to area residents, while making sure they stay connected with the community.

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. He is a member of the Steubenville Rotary Club.)