October 28, 2020
Dear Colleagues:
One of Ball State’s seven enduring values is social responsibility—a commitment to act for the benefit of society at large. This unprecedented year has demonstrated the importance of our commitment to this value. And you have risen to the challenge.
Collectively, we are working to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and safeguard on-campus instruction this Fall. We are accomplishing this objective, in part, through increased testing, mobilizing more than 100 employees to conduct contact tracing, and securing more space for isolation and quarantine.
But the real key to our success is our students. They have stepped up—wearing masks, physical distancing, and avoiding large crowds. Their cooperation continues to be critical as we move forward, and it represents their shared sense of purpose as Cardinals.
As we head into the holidays, public health professionals have warned us that we could experience an increase in the spread of coronavirus. Whether you are part of our current campus community or not, I encourage you to continue to follow the guidelines and protocols that we know help keep us safe.
We are all in this together. To all of you who have done your part to protect yourself and those around you, thank you. And please keep it up.
Below are a few more stories that I hope you will enjoy and then share with others. Please let your friends and colleagues know how “We Fly” at Ball State.
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Sincerely,
Geoffrey S. Mearns
President
Ball State University
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Recruiting, Retaining More Indiana Students
Higher education opportunities are critical to quality of life and the economy. As a result, the Indiana Commission of Higher Education has established a goal that by 2025, at least 60 percent of Hoosiers have a quality degree or credential beyond high school.
Ball State is making strides through strategic planning and hard work. Current statistics on our campus are:
- 86 percent of on-campus students are Indiana residents.
- 90 percent of the Fall 2020 freshman class are Indiana residents.
- Ball State has students from all 92 Indiana counties.
- Our retention rate has increased by 6 percentage points.
Several initiatives are helping us achieve these goals. Making standardized test scores optional for undergraduate admissions removed an unnecessary barrier for many of the state’s bright, ambitious students. Additionally, we have streamlined admissions for transfer students and improved outreach efforts to students at-risk of dropping out.
At Ball State, we welcome all students from Indiana and beyond to visit our beautiful campus in small groups in-person or through a virtual visit online.
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Letterman, Manning Visit Campus
Ball State University hosted alumnus and television legend David Letterman and two-time Super Bowl champion and longtime Indianapolis Colt, Peyton Manning, on Tuesday, October 20.
Letterman and Manning visited to film an episode of "Peyton’s Places," a football-themed documentary series hosted by Manning that is produced and broadcast by ESPN. The show was filmed at Ball State upon the suggestion of Letterman. It is expected to air in January.
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Media Professor Wins MAC Award
Professor Jennifer Palilonis of the College of Communication, Information, and Media has earned the 2019-2020 Mid-American Conference Outstanding Faculty Award for Student Success.
Palilonis is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Multimedia Journalism and founding director of the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development.
The first-of-its-kind award recognized one full-time faculty nominee from each MAC institution who has demonstrated a dedication to student success.
“Jenn Palilonis is well-deserving of this award in recognition of her exemplary contributions to the success of her students,” President Mearns said. “She passionately contributes her time and talent to helping our University expand its reach and impact by serving learners throughout their lifetime educational journey.”
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Sports Are on the Way
The Ball State football team will open the delayed 2020 season on Wednesday, November 4, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Fans can listen to games on the radio (104.1 WLBC, locally), watch on television, or stream them online. Each of Ball State’s six games will air on CBS Sports Network or one of ESPN’s cable or streaming platforms.
Football is not the only sport coming soon.
Seasons for men’s and women’s basketball are expected to begin close to Thanksgiving. The Mid-American Conference recently announced a plan that will allow our women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, and women’s field hockey—traditionally Fall sports—to compete this Spring. Men’s volleyball, which is part of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, hopes to compete during its normal winter season. And, finally, cross country begins Friday and men’s and women’s swimming and diving will begin over the next few weeks.
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Progress on Schools Partnership
In July 2018, Ball State University and Muncie Community Schools embarked on a historic partnership to transform the K-12 district into a national model for innovative, holistic education.
In its third academic year, the partnership is yielding positive results for MCS, including:
- Stemming the decline in enrollment.
- Recruiting outstanding leaders such as Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, director of public education and CEO for MCS.
- Attracting more than $6.6 million in private support from foundations, individuals, and grants.
- Engaging the community in strategic planning and education innovation.
- Balancing the budget two years in a row.
- Providing raises to faculty and staff for two years in a row.
Equally important, the school board, administration, faculty, staff, and the entire school community have restored a sense of hope and optimism that the future is bright for Muncie families and their children.
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Miller College of Business Develops Banking Minor
The Miller College of Business has partnered with the Indiana Bankers Association (IBA) to provide students with additional curricular and career opportunities in the banking industry.
A new banking minor will combine existing courses and at least one new course into a unified curriculum. The IBA will also facilitate more internship opportunities for students.
In recognition of the organization’s support of the initiative, the university is renaming a refreshed classroom in the Whitinger Building in honor of the IBA.
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Teachers College Helps 4,000 Educators Adapt
More than 4,000 teachers nationwide are better prepared to teach remotely during the pandemic thanks to the efforts of two Teachers College professors and a Burris Laboratory School educator.
The series, which closed on October 15, was made possible with support from the Ball Brothers Foundation.
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Ball State Places in Top 3 in Energy Challenge
A team of construction management students took third place in the Green Energy Challenge competition this fall, the first time Ball State has placed in the top three.
The competition, sponsored by the ELECTRI International Foundation and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), challenged students to develop a project proposal for an organization or entity within their community.
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Two Faculty Members Earn Campus Compact fellowships
Two Ball State faculty members have been awarded senior faculty fellowships from Indiana Campus Compact (ICC), a partnership of higher education institutions that prepares college students to advance the public good.
Kiesha Warren-Gordon, associate professor of criminal justice and criminology and program coordinator for Ball State’s minor in African American Studies, received a fellowship to advance her project, Examining Critical Community Engagement in Various Forms.
Adam Kuban, associate professor of journalism and an inaugural Ball Brothers Foundation Honors College Faculty Fellow, will create Match Point II: Using Documentary-Storytelling Techniques to Chronicle the Creation & Impact of Men's Volleyball Programs at HBCUs in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
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Thanksgiving Reminder, Spring Changes
As a reminder, the University will transition to online instruction from Thanksgiving Break, which begins November 25, through the end of the Fall semester, which concludes Friday, December 18.
During this time, the University will operate as it typically would during any traditional break and will remain open. Employees currently reporting to work at on-campus offices should continue to do so. Buildings are open during business hours during this period, except holidays.
Furthermore, the Board of Trustees approved two modifications to the Spring 2021 academic calendar to reduce risks related to the global pandemic.
The start of the Spring semester was moved from January 11 to January 19, 2021. Further, Spring Break, originally scheduled from March 8 through March 12, 2021, has been canceled.
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