Youngstown State University
Established	1908
Academic staff	2,105 (Fall, 2005, all campuses)
Undergraduates	11,803 (Fall 2010)
Postgraduates	3,391 (Fall 2010)
Location	Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Campus	140 acres (0.57 km2)
Colors	Red and White
Athletics	NCAA Division I
Mascot	Pete the Penguin
Website	www.ysu.edu

Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194^[1] students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. The fall 2010 enrollment figure is the highest since 1990, when the number of students on campus was 15,454. Records show that 11,803 of the students are undergraduates. Beyond its current student body, YSU claims more than 84,000 alumni.

History[link]

The university's origins trace back to 1908, when the local branch of the YMCA established a school of law within the Youngstown Association School.^[2] In 1921, the school became known as the Youngstown Institute of Technology and offered its first evening courses.^[2] In 1928, a year after establishing the College of Arts and Sciences, the institute once again changed its name to Youngstown College. In 1955, Youngstown College was renamed as Youngstown University, an indication of the school's broadening curriculum.(note: A private for profit Youngstown College was formed in 1987 and had no affiliation with YSU. The college closed its doors in mid 2000 due to financial issues.^[2])

On September 1, 1967, after becoming a public institution, Youngstown University became officially known as Youngstown State University.^[2] The following spring, YSU opened a Graduate School and College of Applied Science and Technology. In 1974, the College of Fine and Performing Arts was established.

Presidents[link]

• Dr. Howard W. Jones (1931–1966)
• Dr. Albert L. Pugsley (1966–1973)
• Dr. John J. Coffelt (1973–1984)
• Dr. Neil D. Humphrey (1984–1992)
• Dr. Leslie H. Cochran (1992–2000)
• Dr. David C. Sweet (2000—2010)
• Dr. Cynthia Anderson (2010— )

Statistics[link]

As of fall 2010, the student body totaled 15,194. YSU has approximately 2,100 full and part-time employees, and 426 full-time faculty with 543 part-time faculty. 165 faculty members boast full-professor rank, with 79% of the instructors holding doctorates or terminal degrees. The university boasts a student to faculty ratio of 19:1.

Tuition for undergraduate students living in Ohio is $7,199, $7,399 for undergraduate students coming from western Pennsylvania (Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, PA), $9,891 for undergraduate students from the regional service area (Chautauqua, NY; Armstrong, Clarion, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland, PA; Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, and Ohio, WV), and $12,871 for all other out-of-state undergraduate students, including international students. Graduate tuition is $7,337/academic year for Ohio residents, while all other graduate students (including international students) pay just $150 per academic year ($8.34 per credit hour) in addition to the in-state tuition. Room and board cost an additional $7,600. YSU will often note that these tuitions are the lowest of any public university in Ohio.

Area between Jones Hall and Maag Library (on right)

YSU is primarily a commuter school, with most students living at home or in residence off campus, but approximately 1,000 students live in residence halls on campus. Another 400 live in the University Courtyard apartment complexes just off campus. About 1.5% of the student body are international students from approximately 45 countries.

YSU is currently trying to get more students to live on campus, with initiatives such as mandatory on-campus housing for students in the Leslie H. Cochran University Scholars program, which is Youngstown State's full ride academic scholarship program. One of the goals for the university's centennial in 2008 is to have 20 percent of the student body living on campus.

There are over 500,000 volumes at the campus' William F. Maag Library, and participation in the OhioLINK program gives access to the collections of 84 other Ohio institutions. The Wilcox Curriculum Resource Center in Beeghly Hall complements the resources available at Maag.

YSU is participating in the Youngstown Early College program, through which students from the Youngstown City School District can take courses for college credit while in high school. The program is in its fifth year, and has approximately 290 students in the ninth through twelfth grades. Youngstown Early college has also had their first graduating class in Spring 2008. YSU is currently phasing out its affiliation with Youngstown Early College, with Eastern Gateway Community College taking over full operations away from YSU by 2013.^[3]

Campus[link]

YSU lies on a 140-acre (0.57 km²) campus just north of downtown Youngstown. Although it is not located near any outstanding geographical features, that has not stopped Youngstown State's campus from being noted for its landscaping, which is dissimilar from that of many other urban universities. YSU's geographical center has a park-like atmosphere, featuring a rather-hilly terrain and a variety of trees and plant life, as well as tables and chairs that surround a campus fountain.

Most buildings on campus have been built within the last half-century, making them newer than most buildings in downtown Youngstown, where most buildings were constructed before the Great Depression.

Buildings[link]

Jones Hall

Jones Hall, often the building that welcomes people coming onto the YSU campus, is also one of the campus's oldest buildings, having been built in 1931, when YSU was known as Youngstown College. Its history as the "main building" of the campus continues today, as it is perhaps the best-known and most photographed building of the whole campus. The building was renamed Jones Hall in honor of the institutions first president, Dr. Howard Jones. Today, the building is used as mainly administrative office space.

The Rayen School of Engineering and Engineering Technology is housed in Moser Hall, completed in 1967. The university's geological and environmental sciences department shares the space, and also sponsor the Clarence R. Smith Mineral Museum. Science programs are housed in Ward-Beecher Science Hall.

Andrews Wellness and Recreation Center

The newer addition to YSU is the Andrews Wellness and Recreation Center. Completed in time for the fall 2005 semester, the Andrews Center gave YSU a complete gym facility, as well as a climbing wall and racquetball courts.

Bliss Hall, completed in 1977 and featuring two auditoriums, is the home of the College of Fine and Performing Arts, including the Departments of Art, Communication (including communication studies and telecommunication studies), Theater & Dance, and the Dana School of Music. Next door to Bliss Hall is the McDonough Museum of Art, YSU's University Art Museum and the Mahoning Valley's center for contemporary art. The Museum has regular changing exhibitions by regional, national and international artists and provides public access to the work of students, faculty and alumni from the Department of Art.^[4]

Beeghly Hall was completed in 1998 at a cost of $14 million. The Beeghly College of Education resides there, and it also hosts several programs open to the community, such as the Community Counseling Center. Beeghly, which is located away from the campus proper, is planned to be linked to the rest of the campus through a main pedestrian pathway, a plan that ran into trouble.^[5]

Arby's location inside Kilcawley Center. Arby's originated in nearby Boardman in 1964 and maintains a major presence in the Mahoning Valley.

Kilcawley Center is primarily a resource and community center on campus. It features reading and study rooms, computer labs, a copying center, YSU's bookstore, a variety of restaurants (including a full-service Arby's and a KFC Express), and many student-affairs offices. There are also many meeting and seminar rooms, which can be rented out for events by the community.

Williamson College of Business Administration is the newest building on campus. It was completed for Fall semester 2010. It houses all of the business classrooms and offices. It was previously housed in the Lincoln Building. The building itself has LEED standard, making it a green build. It was one of the most expensive additions to campus, with a large portion of the funding coming from donations. The building is off of Rayen Ave and was built to purposely connect downtown businesses to the college and to the campus core. Recently access to the building improved when the Hazel Street Extension opened creating access for vehicle and pedestrian traffic and better connecting the central business district to the university.

YSU has six housing facilities. Lyden House, completed in 1990, and Cafaro House residential honors facility, completed in 1995, can accommodate a combined 574 students. Christman Dining Commons, YSU's main residential dining hall, is located in the Anne K. Christman Campus Green between these buildings. Kilcawley House is attached to Kilcawley Center in the middle of campus. Wick House and Weller House, off Wick Avenue, also houses a small number of students in an apartment setting. The University Courtyard Apartments, on the east side of the campus (behind Bliss Hall), were built in 2004. These are commonly known as the Courtyards. They are actual apartments and are not affiliated with housing services at YSU, instead they are managed by an outside company, Ambling Leasing. Buechner Hall is an independently owned and operated women's residence hall located on Bryson Street and operated by the Beuchner Foundation. The Flats at Wick, also a privately owned and operated apartments were built and opened in Fall of 2010 on the corner of Madison Ave and Elm Street.

Other buildings on campus include:

• Meshel Hall (Department of Computer Science and Information Systems)
• Fedor Hall (housing student newspaper The Jambar, student magazine The Yo, student literary magazine The Penguin Review, the Rich Center for Autism, and the Youngstown Early College)
• Cushwa Hall (College of Health and Human Services, WYSU-FM)
• Lincoln Hall (Mathematics, part of STEM)
• Phelps Building (Geography, Urban and Regional Studies)
• Maag Library
• Tod Hall (administrative offices)
• DeBartolo Hall (College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, a.k.a. CLASS)
• Sweeney Hall (Undergraduate Admissions)
• the E.J. Salata Complex (maintenance services)
• Clingan-Waddell Hall (YSU Police Department)
• Alumni House (Alumni and Events Management and The YSU Foundation); the oldest building on campus
• Lincoln Building (Department of Mathematics & Statistics)

Current building projects include the Wick Pollock Inn located on Wick Avenue next to Bliss Hall.^[6]

Ward Beecher Planetarium[link]

The university's planetarium, located in Ward Beecher Hall, opened in 1967 and was recently renovated. The $750,000 upgrade included new seats (145), a SciDome fulldome video projector from Spitz, Inc., as well as a Chronos star projector from GOTO. The star projector, which replicates the night sky onto the planetarium's 40-foot (12 m) diameter dome, cost $489,000.

The planetarium is the location of the introductory astronomy courses at YSU, which registers almost 1,000 students every year. It has housed over 500,000 students, as well as 750,000 visitors as of 2007. Organized shows are available for groups during the week, and scheduled shows available Friday and Saturday evenings (with a show geared toward a younger crowd Saturday afternoons). All shows are free of charge. For a schedule, go to their website.

Academics[link]

The University comprises the following colleges as of the Summer 2007 academic reorganization:

• The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (a.k.a. CLASS)
• The Beeghly College of Education
• The College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (a.k.a. STEM)
• The College of Fine and Performing Arts
• The Bitonte College of Health and Human Services
• The Williamson College of Business Administration
• The School of Graduate Studies

YSU offers doctoral degrees in educational leadership and physical therapy, as well as a doctorate in mathematics in cooperation with Rhodes University. Together with the University of Akron and Kent State University, YSU sponsors the Northeastern Ohio Universities College Of Medicine (NEOUCOM), a BS-MD program. YSU engineering students may pursue doctoral studies in cooperation with the University of Akron and Cleveland State University. In addition, YSU has 35 masters programs and over 100 undergraduate majors.

The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University was deemed an "All-Steinway" school in 2004. The Dana School of Music is one of the oldest non-conservatory schools of music in the United States.^{[citation needed]} It is housed in Bliss Hall. Additionally, the Youngstown State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed in March 2005 at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The ensemble's performance was highly praised, and they received a standing ovation.

Youngstown State University is also home to the Center for Working Class Studies and offers a Regional and American Studies program, which was the first of its kind in the United States. The school assisted the University of Chicago in developing a similar program. The center is operated by John Russo and Sherry Lee Linkon.

YSU is also known as one of the few universities to have college professors, rather than graduate assistants, directly teach undergraduate students, as it is more common at large universities to use graduate assistants.^{[citation needed]} This is because YSU has few doctoral programs and a relatively high standard teaching load (four courses per semester).^[7] In most colleges, graduate assistants teach courses to undergraduate students.^{[citation needed]} while full-time professors focus on graduate courses, limiting their direct involvement in undergraduate education to lecturing in large sections of introductory courses and supervising graduate assistants, and by grading exams (especially final exams) and term papers if those classes necessitate it.

About one-third of the classes, including all of the senior capstone courses for each major, utilize e-learning through Blackboard. Before using Blackboard, YSU utilized WebCT, which Blackboard acquired in 2006 but didn't convert to its own software until 2010, with YSU running both programs during the Spring 2010 semester.^[8] Both WebCT and Blackboard have been criticized by YSU students and professors.^[9]

Centers and Institutes[link]

YSU operates several Centers of Excellence and designated research and economic development programs, including the Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering, the Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Engineering, the Center of Excellence in International Business, the Center for Applied Chemical Biology, the Institute for Applied Topology, and effective in 2012, the Natural Gas and Water Resources Institute.

Athletics[link]

Greek life[link]

Youngstown State University is home to 10 fraternities and 7 sororities. They are:

Interfraternity Council

• Alpha Phi Delta
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• Phi Kappa Tau
• Sigma Tau Gamma
• Sigma Chi
• Tau Kappa Epsilon

Panhellenic Conference

• Alpha Omicron Pi
• Zeta Tau Alpha
• Delta Zeta
• Alpha Xi Delta

Pan-Hellenic Council

Fraternities:

• Iota Phi Theta
• Kappa Alpha Psi (suspended)^[10]
• Omega Psi Phi

Sororities:

• Alpha Kappa Alpha
• Delta Sigma Theta
• Zeta Phi Beta

Labor relations[link]

Labor Unions are very active at YSU and include most non-administrative faculty and staff on campus. In August 2005, just before the start of the 2005–06 academic year, two of four campus unions were on strike. Following the conclusion of the strike, relations have remained strained, with some faculty and staff calling for resignation of YSU President David Sweet in May 2007.^[11] Others on campus thought some individuals on both sides were engaged in less than professional behaviors. Due to the animosity between the parties, a special committee was set up to examine labor relations. This committee recommended that the negotiations teams for all sides be replaced before the next round of contract negotiations. Subsequent to these recommendations the Vice President for Administration was replaced as well as the Executive Director of Human Resources.

Relations have improved since that time and are now typical of what one would expect of a unionized campus in a region that has always been at the center of US union activism.

Famous alumni[link]

• Tony Aiello, former National Football League player, Brooklyn Tigers and Detroit Lions
• Cynthia Anderson, first female president of Youngstown State University
• Thomas Bopp, astronomer; co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp
• Al Campana, former National Football League running back, Chicago Bears
• Billy Clapper, college basketball head coach, Penn State Altoona
• Craig Cotton, former National Football League tight end, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions
• Mark Dailey, Canadian newscaster for City TV
• Bob Davie, former Notre Dame football coach, current ESPN commentator
• Lorenzo Davis, former National Football League wide reviver, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Pat DiCesare, entrepreneur and rock and roll promoter
• Dave Dravecky, former Major League Baseball pitcher, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants
• Sloko Gill, former National Football League center, Detroit Lions
• Ralph Goldston, former National Football League running back, Philadelphia Eagles
• John Goode, former National Football League tight end, Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Cardinals
• Linda Gooden, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin (Ranked 33rd Most Powerful Businesswomen of 2010)
• Brad Hennessey, former Major League Baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros
• Philip Larmon, Arena Football Player 2005-2006, Co-Producer of "Magic Valley" an Official 2011 Tribeca Film Festival selection and "Ass Backwards".
• Nanette Lepore, noted fashion designer
• Evelyn G. Lowery, American Civil Rights Movement activist and leader; marched in the historic Selma to Montgomery March
• Quentin Lowry, Former National Football League linebacker, Washington Redskins
• Ron Jaworski, former National Football League quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles, color commentator for ESPN Monday Night Football
• Tim Johnson, former National Football League linebacker, Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders
• Bobby Jones, former National Football League wide receiver, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns
• Donald Jones, National Football League wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills
• Nathaniel R. Jones, former judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Sean Jones, jazz recording artist, lead trumpeter for Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
• Rich Kasunic, Pennsylvania State Senator
• JJ Kincaid, afternoon DJ on Z100 WHTZ
• Don Leshnock, Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers
• Mark Mangino, college football head coach, formerly at the University of Kansas
• Riyad Mansour, Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Palestine
• Vince Marrow, former National Football League tight end, Buffalo Bills
• Marcus Mason, professional football player, National Football League running back, Washington Redskins
• Ed McGlasson, former National Football League center, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants
• Christopher Moriarty, Emmy winning television production engineer
• Martin Moore, scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory known for his pioneering work on novel polymers
• Ed O'Neill, actor, most famous as Al Bundy on Married With Children and Jay Pritchett on Modern Family.
• Ron Parise, NASA astronaut, STS-35 and STS-37
• Amit Patel, cardiothoracic surgeon and world pioneer of stem cell therapy for heart failure.
• Frank Pokorny, former National Football League wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Carmen Policy, National Football League executive, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns
• Milan Puskar, founder of Fortune 500 company Mylan Laboratories
• Matt Quinn, former ABC News reporter
• Ed Rosenthal, author and noted criminal defendant (did not graduate)
• Brandian Ross, professional football player, National Football League cornerback, Green Bay Packers
• Chris Sainato, Pennsylvania state representative
• Cliff Stoudt, former National Football League quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins
• Russell Stuvaints, former National Football League defensive back, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Justin Thomas, Major League Baseball relief pitcher
• James Traficant, former US Congressman
• Sonny Vaccaro, founder of ABCD Basketball Camp. Marketing executive for Nike, Reebok and Adidas
• Jeff Wilkins, professional football player, record-setting NFL kicker of the St. Louis Rams
• Jay Williams, currently appointed presidential cabinet position in the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, by President Barack Obama, former mayor, city of Youngstown

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Youngstown State University

• Official website
  • YSU Sports
  • YSU Rec Center
  • Maag Library
• YSU Bookstore
• YSU Bands website
• YSU Greek Life Website
• Youngstown Source- Youngstown's alternative news resource. Covers campus life

Coordinates: 41°06′24″N 80°38′48″W / 41.106759°N 80.646674°W / 41.106759; -80.646674

A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. Each state supports at least one such system.

Federal funded colleges and universities are limited to military personnel and government employees. Members of foreign militaries and governments also attend some schools. These schools include the United States military academies, Naval Postgraduate School, and military staff colleges.

A state university system normally means a single legal entity and administration, but may consist of several institutions, each with its own identity as a university. Some states—such as California and Texas—support more than one such system.

State universities get subsidies from their states. The amount of the subsidy varies from university to university and state to state, but the effect is to lower tuition costs below that of private universities. As more and more Americans attend college, and private tuition rates increase well beyond the rate of inflation, admission to state universities is becoming more and more competitive.

History[link]

This section requires expansion.

Consideration of public higher education was included in the earliest westward expansion of the US, with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established the Northwest Territory. It stated: "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." Ohio University (1804) was the first state school so established in the territory, with the other developing states following suit. On a national basis, the state university system was also assisted by the establishment of the Land-grant universities, under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862 and 1890.

The tradition of publicly funded state colleges began primarily in the southern states, where other private educational institutions were less developed. The University of Georgia is the country's first chartered public university, established on January 27, 1785 by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia. However, the University of Georgia did not hold classes until 16 years later in the fall of 1801. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while chartered four years after Georgia in 1789, was the first state university to hold classes. Classes began at UNC in 1795, and UNC is the only state university to have graduated students in the 18th century. The University of South Carolina was chartered in 1801 and held classes for the first time in 1805. The University of Tennessee was originally chartered as Blount College in 1794, but had a very difficult beginning—graduating only one student—and did not begin receiving the promised state funds until 1807 when it was renamed East Tennessee University. The first state university that matches most modern definitions of the term—including a strict secular course of study, offering professional and graduate coursework, and allowing students to select their coursework—was the University of Virginia. Established due to the work of Thomas Jefferson and grounded in his philosophy of a strong secular state, UVA was chartered in 1819 and first held classes in 1825.

Determining which state university was the "first" is further complicated by the case of New Jersey's state university system. Facing the embarrassment of being the only state left that had not established a state university, the New Jersey Legislature decided to commission an already existing private university as its state university, rather than build one from the ground up, as other states had done. Rutgers University, which had previously been a private school affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church, was designated as a state university by acts of the legislature in 1945 and 1956. It became a 'System' with the absorptions of Newark University in 1946 and The College of South Jersey in 1950, becoming Rutgers' Newark and Camden Campuses, respectively. Rutgers was chartered in 1766, nineteen years before The University of Georgia, but did not become the state university for another 179 years.

Castleton State College in Vermont is the oldest state university in New England, chartered in 1787. This was soon followed by the charter of The University of Vermont in 1791. However, neither institution was a "state university" in the modern sense of the term until many decades later. Castleton State began as the Rutland County Grammar School. It did not become a postsecondary institution until the campus became home to the State Normal School in 1867, which was privately owned despite its name, and did not become a state-owned institution until 1912. UVM was chartered as a private institution and did not become a public university until 1865.

The largest state university system is State University of New York with over 400,000 students.^[1] However, the combined enrollment of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges systems exceeds 2,300,000 students.^[2]

Many state universities were founded in the middle 19th century, in particular supported by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Acts of 1862 and 1890.

Many state universities—such as UCLA and Chico State—were founded as normal schools.

Following the Second World War, many state universities were merged with smaller institutions to achieve economies of scale in administration and also to raise the prestige of the degrees granted by some smaller institutions. A prominent example of this is the State University of New York, which is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the world,.^[3]

During the 1970s, further mergers took place and the concept of a state system was widely adopted.

Some states have more than one state university system. For example, California has the University of California (considered top-tier) and the California State University (considered lower tier) as four-year university systems, and the California Community Colleges as its community college system.

State college system[link]

Some states maintain a separate system for state colleges (often specified as community colleges, technical colleges, or junior colleges), that is distinct from their university system. Examples include the California Community Colleges System, the Florida College System, and the Technical College System of Georgia. In these states, colleges focus primarily on awarding two-year associate's degrees and professional certificates, while universities focus on four-year bachelor's degrees and more advanced degrees. The California Community Colleges System is the largest in the world. In 2009 the Florida College System changed its name from the Florida Community College System, reflecting the fact that some of its colleges now offer four-year degrees. Some of its colleges were designated "state colleges", distinguishing them from community colleges in that they offer more four year degrees than community colleges.^[4]

Historic names[link]

University of Houston

During the growth and restructuring of the state systems, names such as University of California have changed their meanings over time.

• In some cases, the unqualified name has become the official name of the university system that includes the institution which is the original bearer of the name. Examples include:
  • University of California
  • University of North Carolina
  • University of Illinois

• In other cases, the unqualified name remains the official name of an individual institution which is now part of a larger university system. Examples include:
  • University of Alabama (at Tuscaloosa)
  • University of Houston (formerly the University of Houston–University Park)

• In some cases, the unqualified name now has no official status, but is used informally for either an individual university (particularly in sporting and similar contexts) or for the university system of which it is now part (particularly in administrative and academic contexts). Examples include:
  • University of Texas (at Austin)
  • University of Wisconsin (at Madison)

Some universities with names of the form "University of <state>" are not state universities at all, but are actually private universities. Examples include:

• University of Pennsylvania

See also[link]

• Public Universities
• National Universities
• List of American state universities
• University Revolution

References[link]

External links[link]

• History of the University of Texas.
• The Future of Flagship Universities, lecture given at Texas A&M University by Robert M. Berdahl, historian and Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley, discusses some of the history of the systems.

Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill in 2010
Born	Edward Phillip O'Neill, Jr. (1946-04-12) April 12, 1946 (age 66) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–present
Spouse	Catherine Rusoff (1986–present)

Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox TV Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes.^[1] He can currently be seen on the award-winning ABC sitcom Modern Family in the role of Jay Pritchett, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and won 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Early life[link]

O'Neill was born into an Irish Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio.^[2][3] His mother, Ruth Ann (née Quinlan), was a homemaker and social worker, and his father, Edward Phillip O'Neill, Sr., was a steel mill worker and truck driver.^[4] O'Neill attended Ursuline High School and won a football scholarship to Ohio University, where he majored in history.^[5] O'Neill left Ohio after his sophomore year: he spent more time playing sports and partying than studying^[5] and also feuded with his coach. He transferred to Youngstown State University, where he was a defensive lineman.^[4] O'Neill was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, but was cut in training camp.^[3][4] Later, on Married... with Children, O'Neill played a former high-school football star who had failed to make it big and constantly reminisced about his "glory days" at Polk High ("I once scored four touchdowns in a single game"). As part of this theme, former Pittsburgh Steelers great and hall of fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw also made two guest appearances on the show. O'Neill was also a social studies teacher at Ursuline High School, before becoming an actor.^[4]

Career[link]

O'Neill reenrolled at YSU after being cut by the Steelers and was one of the first students at the school's then new theatre program. He played Lenny in a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1985, O'Neill appeared in a Red Lobster commercial eating fish and made a brief guest appearance in The Equalizer. In 1986, he was cast as the character of NYPD Police Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle for the planned television series Popeye Doyle. The Popeye Doyle character originally appeared in the motion picture The French Connection (played by Gene Hackman). The two-hour made-for-television movie/pilot was filmed and shown on network television. O'Neill received good reviews for his performance, and the pilot received good ratings, but the series was not picked up for production.

O'Neill is primarily known for playing the lead role of Al Bundy in Married... with Children, a long-running American sitcom about a dysfunctional family living in Chicago.^[4] It was the first primetime television series to air on the Fox Network as a midseason replacement, debuting on April 5, 1987 and concluding June 9, 1997.

During and following the success of Married... with Children, O'Neill appeared in several movies, including The Bone Collector, Little Giants, and Dutch. He also had small parts in Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, and appeared as Relish the Troll King in The 10th Kingdom. O'Neill made a brief appearance on the comedy variety show In Living Color, playing the "Dirty Dozens" champion who defeats the challenger, played by Jamie Foxx. He also made a cameo on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules where he was the ex-boyfriend of Cate S. Hennessy (played by Katey Sagal, who portrayed O'Neill's TV wife Peg Bundy on Married with Children). He also appeared in the movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane with Andrew Dice Clay and in Cruising with Al Pacino. During the mid 1990s, he had a long string of appearances in commercials for 1-800-COLLECT.

Law & Order franchise creator Dick Wolf cast O'Neill as Sgt. Joe Friday in his 2003 remake of Jack Webb's classic TV crime series Dragnet. The series was canceled by ABC in its second season. O'Neill went on to appear as Governor Eric Baker (D-PA), a recurring character on NBC's The West Wing. Baker, a strong candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, assumed the office of the Vice President under Matt Santos at the end of the series.

O'Neill also played Bill on HBO's television series John From Cincinnati.

In 2008, O'Neill appeared in an advertisement for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama as "Al the Shoesalesman".^[6]

In January 2009, O'Neill reunited with David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for two episodes of Faustino's show Star-ving.^[7] O'Neill also appeared with the entire cast of Married with Children again when they were honored at the 7th Annual TV Land Award show in 2009, presented by Dr. Phil.

Since 2009, O'Neill has played the role of Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role that earned him an Emmy award nomination in 2011.^[8][9][10]

Personal life[link]

O'Neill has been married since 1986 to actress Catherine Rusoff, who appeared in two episodes of Married... with Children. In 1989, the couple separated but reconciled in 1993. They have two daughters, Claire in 1996 and Sophia in 1999.

After being introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his friend writer/director John Milius, O'Neill has trained in the martial art for 17 years under the mentoring of Rorion Gracie. In December 2007, O'Neill received his black belt.^[11][12]

Awards[link]

O'Neill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 30th 2011.^[13][14]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

See also[link]

• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ed O'Neill at the Internet Movie Database