YOUNGSTOWN — Businessman Bruce Zoldan said his family rescinded the $5 million they committed to a new student center at Youngstown State University and won’t give any more money to the school because of the decision to hire Bill Johnson, a former conservative congressman, as president.

Zoldan, president and CEO of Phantom Fireworks, said his family would resume donations 60 days after Johnson is removed as president and “there is a transparent search” for his replacement. But Zoldan acknowledges that isn’t going to happen — at least any time soon.

“Our commitments are temporarily suspended,” Zoldan said. “The money will be put into a charitable trust.”

Zoldan’s family committed $5 million in January 2023 for the student center that was to be named after them. It matched the largest financial gift ever given to YSU.

Now the center won’t be named after Zoldan at his request and YSU will receive no money from his family until Johnson is no longer president.

The Zoldan family’s charitable foundation had already given about $800,000 of the $5 million to YSU for the center.

Zoldan said the money, which was earning interest in an account while the rest was being raised, was returned to him.

Becky Rose, a YSU spokeswoman, didn’t respond Thursday to requests to comment on Zoldan’s decision.

Zoldan said in November that he would give the $5 million for student scholarships instead of the center if the university didn’t rescind Johnson’s contract.

He said Thursday that he still plans to use the money for scholarships, but not for students wanting to attend YSU.

“I am not going to harm students,” he said. “I’m going to give scholarship money to other schools except YSU.”

The Zoldan family donated $1 million in 2020 for student scholarships and what is left of that money will remain at YSU, he said.

“That money should last for a long time,” Zoldan said. “When we resume, we will make additional contributions. We hope it will continue to grow.”

But that won’t happen with Johnson as YSU president, Zoldan said.

“We’re deeply disappointed — myself and our family — that a political person was named — right or left, it happened to be extreme right — as president,” he said. “If it was AOC (U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a left-wing House member) we’d feel the same way.”

Zoldan added: “YSU doesn’t need in these politically divisive times to have a political appointee on the far left or the far right as its president.”

Zoldan supported Johnson when he was a congressman, giving him $2,900 in his 2022 reelection campaign and $5,200 before that. But Zoldan said he strongly objects to the selection of Johnson as YSU president and the confidential search by the board of trustees.

Johnson has said that he will keep his personal politics out of decision-making at YSU and continue to make the university a place of inclusion.

But the Nov. 21 decision by the YSU board of trustees to hire Johnson, that was effective Jan. 22, has drawn vocal objections from alumni, faculty, students, former YSU trustees, two former YSU presidents, donors and retired staff.

Also, the YSU Academic Senate issued “no confidence” votes Dec. 16 against the trustees for the hiring and against Johnson.

The opposition has been primarily to Johnson’s politics, including his votes objecting to the 2020 presidential election — in which Republican Donald Trump, who Johnson supports, falsely claims was stolen — as well as his positions opposing gay marriage and abortions, and what he says is “indoctrination” at some universities.

Zoldan said there are other business leaders who have told him they won’t give any more money to YSU. He declined to name them saying they should speak for themselves.

“I love YSU,” Zoldan said. “I went to YSU, and it helped give me the foundation to grow my business. I hope that someday we’ll be able to resume our giving to YSU.”

Zoldan said he committed the $5 million for the student center at the request of Jim Tressel, when he was YSU president.

Zoldan said he was told by Tressel that a search for his successor would be transparent and that wasn’t the case. Zoldan said Tressel “doesn’t respond much to me anymore.”

The replacement of Kilcawley Center, YSU’s student center, will cost about $40 million to $45 million with about $20 million to be collected through fundraisers and donors and the rest either borrowed or bonded.

Without Zoldan’s $5 million commitment, about $3 million has been raised by donors.

Johnson and his wife, LeeAnn, announced Wednesday that they were pledging $100,000 for the new student center.