News for Ball State Faculty and Staff
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Stories of Gratitude
January 27, 2021
The start of a new semester inspires renewed optimism as students, faculty, and staff reflect on fresh opportunities in the weeks ahead.
But Spring 2021 was a bit different.
All of you played a role in the extraordinary amount of work involved to bring our students back to campus safely and ensure a successful start on January 19. I am grateful for your service.
I want to recognize our colleagues who developed, communicated, and implemented our pre-arrival testing protocols. Our protocols reduced the risk of students bringing the coronavirus back to campus from Winter break. I hope all of you will join me in thanking our colleagues:
- The Information Technology team that built the testing systems, processes, and data management tools.
- The contact tracers and Housing and Residence Life staff who reviewed thousands of test submissions in a matter of days.
- The HelpDesk staff who served as the contact for students and parents with questions.
- The Marketing and Communications team for keeping students, families, and our faculty and staff informed.
- The Business and Auxiliary Services staff who administered 13 on-campus pre-arrival testing clinics over Winter break with our community partners: Open Door Health Services, the Delaware County Health Department, and Passport Health.
- The Dean of Students and the Student Affairs staff for responding to hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails and processing test result notices.
- The Task Force on Recovery and the University’s Strategic Transition (TRUST) committee, which continues to ensure that best practices inform our University’s plans.
Many of you worked over the holidays. Your commitment and sacrifice demonstrate how our work is guided by our enduring values. Because of all of you, I remain confident in our bright future together in Spring 2021 and beyond.
Sincerely,
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Ball State Response to COVID-19
COVID-19 Dashboard Update
The data on the Ball State COVID-19 Dashboard was reset on January 4. The University now updates it with data that pertains to Spring semester, which began January 19.
Test results from August 17, 2020, through January 3, 2021, remain on the Ball State website.
Take the Cardinals Care Pledge for Spring
Reaffirm your commitment to a safe campus this Spring semester by taking the Cardinals Care Pledge.
The pledge asks for you to take care of yourself and to help take care of other Cardinals and our campus and community. Following it shows that you respect the University’s pandemic protocols and will engage in best practices to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
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Strategic Plan Update
Institutional Data as a Strategic Asset
One imperative from the University’s strategic plan directs campus administrators to use management information and data analytics to guide decision making.
In 2018, the University formed a collaborative initiative called MIDAS (Management Information and Data Analytics Strategy) to implement this imperative. The Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support and the Division of Information Technology are co-leading this initiative.
The collaborators in MIDAS are breaking down long-standing data silos and have begun to create a “single source of truth” for well-defined, clean institutional data. Data visualization tools and management dashboards have been acquired for the colleges, academic departments, and other managers across campus to support enrollment analysis, student retention and success, and the incentive-based budget model.
In the Fall 2020 semester, the University engaged an external consultant to assess our progress to date, make recommendations, and help us accelerate the trajectory of this work over the next two years.
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For Your Benefit
Did You Use Emergency Paid Sick Time?
If you used time off under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) or the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) in 2020, expect changes on your W-2 Form.
The W-2 Form’s Box 14 will now include information, if applicable, about amounts paid to you as qualified sick leave wages or qualified family leave wages under those two programs, as required by the Internal Revenue Service.
Do You Have Self-Employment Income?
If you have self-employment income in addition to wages paid by Ball State University, and you intend to claim any qualified sick leave or qualified family leave equivalent credits, you must report the qualified sick leave or qualified family leave wages on Form 7202, Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave for Certain Self-Employed Individuals, included with your income tax return and reduce (but not below zero) any qualified sick leave or qualified family leave equivalent credits by the amount of these qualified leave wages. If you have self-employment income, you should refer to the instructions for your individual income tax return for more information.
Kudos to Working Well
Ball State’s employee wellness program, Working Well, has earned Bronze Level recognition from the American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index. The designation recognizes Ball State for taking significant steps to build a culture of health in the workplace.
Check Your Risk for Heart Disease and Stroke
Working Well encourages you to start your year off by assessing your risk of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association offers My Life Check®, which is an online tool to help people protect against heart disease.
Visit MyLifeCheck.org to get started and enter HGE001 when it asks for your organization’s code.
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Stay Up to Date on Latest Statehouse News
The Office of Governmental Relations invites you to subscribe to its weekly Statehouse Update newsletter.
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Listen to the Unity Week Speaker
On February 2, Civil Rights Activist Cheryl Brown Henderson will speak about the legacy of the landmark desegregation Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education via Zoom in honor of Ball State’s Unity Week.
Brown Henderson is one of the three children of the late Rev. Oliver L. Brown, of Brown v. Board of Education. Her lecture, Brown v. The Board of Education: The Legacy Continues, begins at 7 p.m. on February 2 via Zoom. To watch the speech, register on the Unity Week events webpage.
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R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning
CAP Guest Lecture Series
The College of Architecture and Planning has an exciting lineup of virtual lectures for the Spring. Look for Zoom links and more information in upcoming Communications Center posts and on Twitter. All lectures begin at 4 p.m. and are open to the public. They are:
- February 1 – Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
- February 15 – Meticulous Architecture: A panel discussion with Damon Hewlin, Nate Robert-Eze, Kionna Walker, and Brian Robinson from Meticulous Architecture, with Ball State associate professor of architecture Olon Dotson moderating the event. In addition to talking about projects and philosophy, they’ll address challenges for minorities in the field, give advice, and answer questions.
- March 8 – Landon Bone Baker is home to four CAP alumni on its team. Each will present and discuss projects they have worked on at the firm.
- March 22 – Juli Kaufmann of Fix Development will discuss a new inclusive real estate development model along with strategies to reactivate commercial development in struggling neighborhoods.
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Miller College of Business
Watch the Entrepreneurial Experience Lecture Series
The Entrepreneurship Center is offering a Spring lecture series in which entrepreneurs share their experiences. The center is hosting provocative entrepreneurs who are changing the world economically and socially.
New Community-Focused Educational Experience
Ball State’s Indiana Communities Institute (ICI) has launched 2021 training opportunities focused on community economic development.
ICI will offer several free webinars early in the coming year on topics such as the institute’s groundbreaking Comprehensive Community Wealth Approach. ICI will offer extensive online courses addressing housing, individual development, and other community development needs throughout the year. Learn more about the webinars and other training opportunities.
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College of Communication, Information, and Media
Netflix Collaboration
Faculty from the Department of Telecommunications, the Music Media Production program in the School of Music, and the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology in the College of Health are working on a specialized research project for Netflix.
Alumni Spotlight
- Telecommunications graduate Scott Adkins earned a spot in Nashville Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” Scott is president, founder, and CEO of Adkins Publicity. Read more.
- Journalism alumna and Navy sailor Chelsea Mandello has created a nonprofit to bring joy to active duty service members. Learn more.
What to Watch
- Ball State’s Cinema Entertainment Immersion: More than 50 Ball State students from the departments of Telecommunications, English, and Theatre & Dance collaborated to write, produce, and star in six short films. Watch the creations.
- La Leyenda Negra, a film co-produced by telecommunications grad Alicia Herder, premiered on HBO Latino on December 4 and is now available to stream on HBO Max.
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College of Fine Arts
Pride of Mid-America Represented in Virtual Performance
Ben Przybylski and AnnaMarie Kelly, two students in Ball State’s Pride of Mid-America Marching Band, will perform in the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Intercollegiate Marching Band. They will join nearly 1,500 performers from 200 bands in 45 states and Puerto Rico, all working together to produce a virtual college marching band show. Read more.
Check Out Upcoming Arts Events
Our online calendar of events continues to be updated and lists upcoming in-person and livestreamed events.
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College of Health
Helping Build Character in Kids
Professor of sport and exercise physiology Lindsey Blom and assistant professor of social work Matt Moore have worked with the Zionsville Youth Soccer Association for 2.5 years to develop a character-building initiative for young athletes. Watch a video about it.
A Call for Peace Proposals
The fourth annual Benjamin V Cohen Peace Conference: Building a Beloved Community will be held on April 9–10, 2021, as a virtual conference.
A call for proposals is open through February 1. Learn more.
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College of Sciences and Humanities
Promoting STEM Education at Ball State
Faculty from the departments of Biology, Physics, and Mathematics, and the Field Sites and Environmental Education Center will be participating in virtual booths at a joint conference with the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers Inc. and the Indiana Council of Teachers of Mathematics on February 6-9 to promote STEM education at Ball State.
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Teachers College
Ed Psych Prof Earns African Diaspora Fellowship
Professor of educational psychology Wilfridah Mucherah earned a fellowship through the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to travel to Kenya to work with Daystar University on capacity building in culturally relevant research and graduate student mentoring. The project goal is to strengthen capacity in culturally responsive research skills through active joint research opportunities.
A New Graduate-Level Scholarship
A new scholarship at Ball State University’s Teacher’s College will help offset the cost of a graduate-level degree in special education for students from marginalized populations.
The Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Special Education Scholarship was made possible through the generosity of the Avis Foundation, Inc., a strong supporter of Teachers College that is committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read more.
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Honors College
Student Elected to National Collegiate Honors Council Board
Conor Dailey, an Honors College second-year student, has been elected to a two-year term on the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of fifteen faculty and five students, representing an international community of 900 honors colleges and programs. He joins Emma Cieslik, a fourth-year Honors College student who is beginning her second year as a member of the NCHC Board.
Yale Researcher Gives Keynote Address, February 23
Dena Simmons joins us on Tuesday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m. as this year’s Emens Professor to present an online keynote address, From Surviving to Thriving: Creating Equitable Environments Through Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Relevant Practices.
As Director of Education at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Associate Research Scientist at the Yale University School of Medicine, Simmons supports schools in creating a more compassionate and just society. This event is supported by the Emens Professorship Fund and the Bruce F. and Ildiko B. Meyer Honors Memorial Lecture Fund.
Athletics
Football Team Ends Season Ranked No. 23
The Ball State football team was ranked No. 23 in both the final AP Top 25 and Amway Coaches polls, both were released after the conclusion to the 2020 college football season.
It is the first time the Cardinals have finished a season in the national rankings at the FBS level and the first time they have been ranked since December 2008.
Order your Cutout for Worthen Arena
Even though you can’t physically attend Winter athletic events at Worthen Arena, you can still get in on the action with an official cardboard cutout of your likeness for the stands.
Purchase one for you, a friend, or family member, or even a four-legged Cardinal fan. Order your cutout.
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| Achieving Academic Excellence
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Stacey Allred
Stacey Allred ‘95 MA ‘01, wants students to learn without realizing they are learning.
Allred is both an associate lecturer of elementary education at Ball State University’s Teachers College and program director of Summer Learning Fun at Camp Adventure, a partnership between the university, Muncie Community Schools, University Schools, and the Office of Charter Schools.
“I believe that every child should have the opportunity of a high-quality enriching Summer experience,” she said. “We’ve worked to create a place in our community where under-resourced children can be on a level playing field with everyone else."
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