Dear Colleagues:         

    I am proud to share that Ball State University has received a rare and prestigious dual recognition from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Our University is one of just 27 institutions nationwide—and the only one in Indiana—to earn both a Research 2 (R2) designation and to be named an Opportunity College and University (OCU) in the 2025 Carnegie Classifications.

    This uncommon combination affirms our national leadership in two vital areas: advancing knowledge through research and expanding access to student opportunity. These priorities reflect the enduring values that guide our work—student-centered teaching and mentorship, academic excellence across disciplines, workforce relevance, and civic and regional engagement.

    I am grateful to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education for recognizing the work of our faculty and staff, whose dedication to our students and to our state continues to strengthen Ball State’s impact. This recognition affirms our mission: to prepare our graduates for fulfilling careers and to inspire them to lead meaningful lives.

    You can read more about our dual recognition in this Ball State press release.

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

Sincerely,

Geoffrey S. Mearns
President
Ball State University

On May 3, Ball State University honored the Class of 2025 during its traditional Spring Commencement ceremony in Worthen Arena. The celebration continued with individual college ceremonies held in Emens Auditorium and Worthen Arena.

The University conferred nearly 2,800 doctoral, specialist, master’s, and baccalaureate degrees for its Spring 2025 graduates. Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns encouraged the graduates to seek fulfillment and to pursue a life of meaning as they joined the ranks of more than 210,000 graduates who came before them.

The Spring 2025 graduates also heard words of wisdom from Kayla Davion, a 2017 Ball State graduate best known for her work on the Broadway stage. Read more about the Spring 2025 Commencement in this Ball State press release.

At its meeting on May 2, the Ball State University Board of Trustees reappointed Dave Heeter, ’83, to the Muncie Community Schools (MCS) Board of Trustees.

Mr. Heeter has served on the MCS Board of Trustees since the start of Ball State’s partnership with the district, which began in 2018 when the Indiana General Assembly authorized the University to assume responsibility for MCS. Since then, the district has made significant improvements in enrollment, financial stability, and teacher compensation and retention.

Mr. Heeter is a retired executive vice president of Northwest Bank and previously served as president and CEO of MutualFirst Financial, Inc., and MutualBank. A longtime advocate for the Muncie community, Mr. Heeter is a graduate of Ball State’s Miller College of Business and has served on the Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors since 2014. He currently serves as chair-elect of the Foundation Board.

Also at its May 2 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the budget and scope for an $8.8 million project to construct new clubhouses for Ball State’s baseball and softball teams. Each clubhouse will be approximately 6,000 gross square feet and located adjacent to their respective home dugouts at Shebek Stadium and the Ball State Softball Stadium.

Funded through a combination of philanthropic support and University reserves, the new facilities will feature locker rooms for student-athletes, team meeting areas, restrooms, showers, athlete lounges and nutrition spaces, equipment rooms, coaches’ locker rooms, satellite training and physical therapy rooms, and other support spaces.

The architectural design work is being led by MSA Design, and construction is anticipated to begin in Fall 2025, with completion targeted for Summer 2026.

Read more in this Ball State press release.

Ball State University hosted a public beam signing on May 6 for a new Center for Innovation and Collaboration, which will be built at the southeast intersection of Ashland Avenue and Martin Street in Muncie. The Center is part of the University’s Village revitalization project, which will feature new entertainment venues, as well as spaces for living, working, and dining.

When the Center for Innovation and Collaboration opens in Fall 2026, the 31,400-square-foot building will serve as a hub for some of Ball State’s most innovative programs. Faculty, staff, and students will use the space alongside community and corporate partners as they work to solve real-world problems and to explore new collaborative opportunities.

The building’s three floors will feature a large prototyping studio; physical computing and immersive technology labs; and meeting spaces of varying size to accommodate workshops, training, project work, and co-working spaces. The building also provides a direct physical link to Ball State’s East Mall, improving accessibility and promoting connectivity between the academic and business communities. Read more in this Ball State press release.

Ball State University President Geoffrey S. Mearns invites members of the campus and greater Muncie community to attend a public update on the University’s revitalization efforts in The Village—the commercial district located next to campus and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, in the Legacy Room on the third floor of Cornerstone Center for the Arts, located at 520 E. Main Street in Muncie. Parking is available in the Cornerstone lots off Washington Street.

At the June 4 update, President Mearns will provide a progress report on key projects currently under construction and preview upcoming phases of development. The presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A session.

After years of planning, the University has begun to implement its comprehensive Village Revitalization Plan—an ambitious, long-term initiative to transform the district through a collaborative public-private partnership involving city leaders and development partners, including Schahet Hotels and Trademark Construction.

The vision: to create a best-in-class, multigenerational district driven by arts and culture, entertainment, and innovation. The revitalized Village will feature new venues for living, working, dining, and gathering, including a new Performing Arts Center, a distinctive new hotel, a Center for Innovation and Collaboration, and a new residential neighborhood.

Read more in this Ball State press release.

Since Ball State established its innovative partnership with Muncie Community Schools, the public school district has experienced stabilized enrollment, balanced budgets, and expanded preschool offerings. The latest evidence of the positive momentum underway is recent literary improvements in the classroom.

Two years after adopting the state-mandated “Science of Reading” curriculum, four MCS elementary schools showed double-digit growth in pass rates this Spring compared to last Spring. Reading scores at all six elementary schools improved an average of nearly 8 percent in the past year.

MCS was among the first school districts in Indiana to adopt the “Science of Reading” curriculum, which speaks to the district’s dedication to academic performance, says Savannah Oliphant, a 2022 Ball State graduate who teaches second grade at MCS’s East Washington Academy. In a recent article published in the Daily News, Ball State’s student newspaper, Ms. Oliphant said: “I don't even live anywhere near Muncie, and I will drive up here 45 minutes every day because this district is so dedicated to the students ... Every teacher is a successful teacher when we can meet the students where they are and help them grow—and that's all I see here.” Read more.

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