Together WE FLYNews for Ball State Faculty and Staff
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Stories of Gratitude
March 17, 2020
This month, I am grateful for an exciting, new initiative: the Campus Community Career Collaborative. This initiative provides resources for dual career couples and strengthens Ball State University’s partnerships with employers in the Muncie community.
Many of our prospective employees must consider how accepting a job offer from our institution will affect the career of a spouse or partner. It is often is a key factor in their decision. Dr. Kristen McCauliff, associate provost for faculty affairs and professional development, and her colleagues in the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs are overseeing this initiative to help the spouses and partners of prospective employees find meaningful employment in Muncie.
The Vice Provost’s website has a directory of local businesses that have partnered with us to share information about their organizations and about their current job opportunities. This directory can also serve as a resource for spouses and partners of current faculty and staff who live in Muncie and would like to work in the community. We also hope it will encourage dual career couples to choose Muncie as their home.
Please join me in expressing our gratitude to Dr. McCauliff and her colleagues for providing a valuable resource for our University, our faculty and staff, and our community. This initiative will help prospective employees gain a greater understanding of why our University is an excellent place to work and why Muncie is a great place to live.
Sincerely,
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Ball State’s COVID-19 Website
Ball State University is closely monitoring developments with COVID-19, the disease cause by novel coronavirus. We are committed to keeping the campus community safe and have taken several measures to do so. For information and updates, please visit bsu.edu/coronavirus. You will find the latest announcements, several resources, and answers to frequently asked questions for faculty and staff.
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Strategic Plan Update
The President’s Strategic Imperative Fund is a $5 million investment in support of initiatives that expedite the implementation of our strategic plan, Destination 2040: Our Flight Path. We appreciate the faculty and staff who put forth effort, time, and creativity during the first round of submissions, which produced more than 70 pre-proposals requesting a total of $18.5 million. In February, we invited 28 of our colleagues to submit full proposals for their projects and ideas. The full proposals are due Wednesday, April 1. President Mearns will announce the final funding decisions no later than Thursday, April 30.
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For Your Benefit
Employee Relations
March is Disability Awareness Month. Ball State is dedicated to creating and maintaining a fair and equitable campus environment that respects and embraces equity, inclusion, and diversity in people, ideas, and opinions.
As a federal contractor and equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, one of the initiatives Ball State must engage in is specific, targeted outreach to qualified people with disabilities about the University’s employment opportunities. The federal government challenges us to excel by setting goals to ensure we utilize people with disabilities at all levels of our workforce.
Help us measure how well we are doing by completing the confidential, voluntary self-identification form in Self-Service Banner. To complete the self-identification form:
- Log in to myBSU.
- Select “Self-Service Banner.”
- Click on the “Personal Information” box in the upper left corner.
- Select the “Disability Status” box.
- Select a response and click “Submit.”
If you have questions, contact Melissa Rubrecht, director of employee relations and affirmative action, at 765-285-1823 or mrubrech@bsu.edu.
For more information about the importance of self-identification, please view this short video. To learn more about the services, facilities, and accommodations for people with disabilities, visit bsu.edu/accessibility.
Working Well
Getting a grip on finances is important to our overall health and wellness. By employing active and “cents-able” financial management strategies, you can realize a greater sense of empowerment, enthusiasm, and satisfaction with life. You can also avoid some of the physical and emotional tolls taken by chronic stress. Visit bsu.edu/workingwell to check out some of the activities Working Well is promoting to help you focus on your financial wellbeing.
Employee QuickClinic
Did you know that Ball State has an Employee QuickClinic right here on our campus? It’s a great resource for treatment of common illnesses and minor injuries (but not a replacement for your primary care physician). Housed in the Amelia T. Wood Health Center, the QuickClinic is available for Ball State employees, their spouses, their dependents age 2 and older, and retirees under age 65 who are enrolled in Ball State's health insurance plan as their primary coverage. Services will be paid at 100% for members enrolled in the High Deductible Wellness Plan. Services for those covered under the HSA Qualified Plan will be paid at 100% only after they have satisfied their deductible. A picture ID and your insurance card are required when you visit the QuickClinic. Visits to the QuickClinic are by appointment only by calling 765-285-1106. For more information, visit the QuickClinic website.
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R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning Dr. Sanglim Yoo has launched an immersive learning course, Sustainable Muncie Project. In their search for ways to improve sustainability efforts in economically vulnerable areas in Muncie, students use urban planning strategies and tools such as socioeconomic and demographic data, the geographic information system (GIS) mapping tool, and other design software. Read more about Dr. Yoo in Ball State Magazine.
College of Communication, Information, and Media
Cardinal Compass: Campus and Community Conversations will debut on Indiana Public Radio and WIPB-TV at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 20. Each month, the 30-minute program featuring President Mearns and his guests will explore the connections between Muncie and Ball State. CCIM students will produce, host, and edit the show as part of an immersive learning project.
CCIM Students and Alumni
Today, CCIM will hold a virtual watch party at 6:45 p.m. as journalism student Christian Dixie represents Ball State on Wheel of Fortune. Join the event livestream on CCIM's Facebook account.
A film produced by TCOM alumna Alicia Herder, La Leyenda Negra, was an official selection at the Sundance Festival. Read her story.
CCIM students and recent graduates won 11 awards at the 2020 BEA Festival of Media Arts, including the top honor—Best of Festival—in the Sports Competition category. Read more about the awards.
The Indiana News Photographers Association named photojournalism student Rebecca Slezak Indiana College Photographer of the Year. Recent graduate Madeline Grosh won runner-up. See the list of winners.
The Ball State Speech team had a historic win at the annual state tournament on February 15.
The Ball State Debate Team won the state championship on February 16.
College of Fine Arts
David Owsley Museum of Art
Come to the David Owsley Museum of Art for Final Friday: BRIDGES, 6-9 p.m. March 27. Enjoy the free, public after-hours viewing of the collection and the special exhibition Mexican Modernity: 20th-Century Paintings from the Zapanta Collection, PechaKucha talks, an artist demonstration, and more.
School of Art
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis Exhibition runs Tuesday, March 24, through Friday, April 3, in the Griner Art Gallery in the Art and Journalism Building, with the closing reception 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 1.
College of Health
Recognitions for COH Faculty
Sam Brownback, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, has invited Dr. Lindsey Blom, professor of sport and exercise psychology and coordinator of the sport and exercise psychology graduate program, to attend the Meeting on Education, Resilience, Respect, and Inclusion (MERRI) at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., on March 18-19.
Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, associate chair of the Department of Nutrition and Health Science, received the SOPHE 2020 Karen Denard Goldman Mentor Award.
The National Athletic Trainers’ Association named Dr. Stacy Walker, professor of athletic training, a Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer.
College of Sciences and Humanities
A team of graphic arts management and underrepresented chemistry and biology students caught the attention of professionals around the country with their research-articulating comic book. The student-produced scientific journal-turned-comic-book received the Special Recognition Award for Design from the Technical Association of the Graphic Arts. Read about their comic book style journal in Ball State Magazine.
Teachers College
Dr. W. Holmes Finch, George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, is among 12 prominent scholars selected by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as a 2020 AERA Fellow. AERA Fellows are chosen on the basis of their notable and sustained research achievements.
Honors College
Ball Brothers Foundation Honors College Faculty Fellow
Dr. Robin Blom, associate professor of journalism, is the 2020-2022 Ball Brothers Foundation Honors College Faculty Fellow. Dr. Blom will develop and teach several Honors College courses during the next two academic years. His Inquiries in Contemporary American Society classes will explore eyewitness misidentification and its impact in the news industry. A Spring 2021 Honors College colloquium will explore how rumors spread and develop in today’s world. During the second year, Dr. Blom will mentor a student team as they develop undergraduate theses that examine the synergy of news, science, and law.
The fellowships were established with a generous gift from the Ball Brothers Foundation. Honors College Dean John Emert welcomes inquiries. Applications for the Fall 2021-Spring 2023 Fellowship are due January 11, 2021.
Foundation
One Ball State Day Tuesday, April 7, All Day
Cardinals across the country—students, parents, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends—will wear Ball State gear, champion our University, and provide financial support to a favorite Ball State cause. Those philanthropic investments support academic programs, student organizations, and numerous funds that make possible the transformative impact our University has on the lives of thousands of women and men. Visit the One Ball State Day website.
Athletics
2020 Football Schedule
It’s time to pull out the calendars and plan your tailgates. The 2020 Ball State football schedule has been released. Family Weekend will take place during the Wyoming game (September 26), while Homecoming is slated for the Northern Illinois contest (October 17). Read the news release for the full schedule and to find out how to purchase specially-priced faculty/staff season tickets, or call 888-BSU-TICKET or 5-1474 from a campus phone.
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Achieving Academic Excellence
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Jennifer Blackmer, a professor of theatre in the College of Fine Arts, is an award-winning playwright, with works that have been produced off-Broadway and across the country. As executive director for immersive learning and the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, she is committed to interdisciplinary education.
“Storytelling is at the root of everything. It is a crucial skill for everyone. It teaches empathy and delivers information,” she said. “I share my process for storytelling with my students. I want them to understand their stories are valuable and important.
“We all tell stories. Whatever you’re fascinated in or compelled by, that’s what your story is about. It might be politics. It might be science. It might be women and equality. They aren’t siloed. At Ball State, we have an atmosphere of experimentation and risk-taking in the best way.”
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