Dear Colleagues:     

     On September 21, Ball State University completed its second annual Student Success Summit—an opportunity for our faculty and staff to gather and discuss strategies for fostering student success and well-being. There were 575 members of our campus community in attendance this year.

     The summit is among our University’s latest strategic initiatives for student success. We are using EAB Navigate to generate data that allow us to develop and implement our student success initiatives. And we are serving students in Cardinal Central—Ball State’s new, convenient, one-stop location for business processes, resources, and information.

     Tools like EAB Navigate and spaces like Cardinal Central can positively impact our student retention rate. I am encouraged that we are already seeing evidence of this. The Fall-to-Fall student retention rate for our freshman class that enrolled in Fall 2022 is three-percentage points higher than our Fall 2020 freshman cohort. With the personal commitment of our faculty and staff, combined with new strategies, Ball State will build on that increase in retention—and continue to foster impressive outcomes for our students.

     Below are a few other stories I hope you enjoy and then share. Let your friends and colleagues know how “We Fly” at Ball State.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey S. Mearns
President
Ball State University

Ball State University’s Department of Special Education and Department of Educational Psychology, both in the University’s Teachers College, were jointly awarded a $1,999,999 grant from the United States Department of Education as part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the Special Education Research Grants Program. The grant will allow researchers at Ball State to evaluate and develop new educational practices to improve postsecondary outcomes for students with autism. Read more in this Ball State press release.

Ball State University recently announced the launch of its Off-Campus Quality Housing Initiative. This program aims to prioritize student welfare by highlighting property management companies and landlords who commit to an established set of practices related to the off-campus accommodations available to Ball State students.

The Off-Campus Quality Housing Initiative is a self-certification program allowing landlords or property management companies to be listed on the Off-Campus Living website managed by Ball State. By participating in this program, landlords and property management companies agree to certain criteria regarding the maintenance and upkeep of their properties rented to Ball State students. Read more in this Ball State press release.

Ball State University held a grand opening on Sept. 19 for the Brown Family Amphitheater—a new outdoor performance and gathering space on campus that the entire community can enjoy. Located between the University’s Park and Pruis halls and between Noyer and Woodworth complexes, this grand lawn venue is an impressive performance facility for artists and audiences. A free jazz concert featuring the Ball State Jazz Ensemble with vocalist and Ball State graduate Tatum Langley, ’21, followed the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Also, a preview community concert by singer/songwriter/guitarist Don McLean was held at the amphitheater on Sept. 2. The Brown Family Amphitheater is named in honor of Charles W. Brown, a 1971 Ball State graduate and longtime University supporter. Read more in this Ball State press release.

Ball State University was the site for the inaugural Civic Learning Symposium held Aug. 25-26 at the University’s L.A. Pittenger Student Center. This free, interactive symposium—slated to become an annual event—convened teachers and scholars for exploration of innovative and exceptional approaches to improve the quality of American civics instruction. As an interactive symposium, teachers, faculty, administrators, and others presented their approaches to civics in the classroom. This event also recapped the achievements of local schools during the previous year.

Symposium attendees heard from several speakers, including remarks from Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner, and the keynote address from Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson—a fierce advocate for economic and cultural equity for all children.

The symposium was hosted by the Center for Economic and Civic Learning at Ball State and supported by the U.S. Department of Education in alignment with the CREATE (Civic Renewal through Education for Agency, Tolerance, and Engagement) project. Ball State’s Teachers College developed CREATE—in cooperation with Muncie Community Schools—as an innovative approach to instruction, student learning, and professional development in civics that will integrate American history, geography, government, and media literacy.

In August, several divisions at Ball State University participated in and gave financial support to the Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity’s Awareness Build—another example of the University’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the social vitality of its community. The Awareness Build is a five-day micro-build—by community partners and local news, media, and strategic communications professionals—that jumpstarts the Summer and Fall home builds for Habitat. In addition to raising funds, the mission of those participating in the build is to raise renewed awareness throughout the community of the ongoing demand for housing and the growing need for funding as building costs continue to rise.

Nearly 20 University employees volunteered over the five days of building—and a combined $5,000 in financial support was provided by the University, the College of Communication, Information, and Media (including the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication and the Department of Media), the Chief Strategy Office, and the Division of Marketing and Communications. Ball State Public Media and McKinley Avenue Agency—both entities at the University—are also supporting the build. Read more in this Ball State press release.

Follow us on social media to stay up to date with current campaigns, news and events