News to Use:

• Also on June 12, the Ball State University Board of Trustees voted to raise undergraduate tuition rates 1.25% in each of the next two years. Even with this modest increase, Ball State will still have the lowest tuition in the Mid-American Conference. These increases fall below tuition rates recommended by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the inflation rate the Federal Open Market Committee projects over the next two years, and well below the national average for four-year public universities. This is the lowest combined eight years of tuition rate increases since World War II. These modest increases reflect our continued commitment to providing access to an affordable, high-quality education for all of our students.
• At the same meeting, the Board reviewed the design for the new Multicultural Center. The $4 million, 10,000-square-foot center will open in 2020 (view a rendering and other details). The new facility will be at the heart of campus, where it belongs, and it will provide services closer to where students live and study. Its amenities will be designed to assist and support all students, and to promote inclusiveness—one of our University’s enduring values.
• In addition, the Board approved naming sports facilities after benefactors who committed a combined $11 million toward the new sports indoor practice facility. The $15 million, 84,000-square-foot structure will be named the Scheumann Family Indoor Practice Facility in honor of June and John Scheumann, ’71, who made the lead gift. The field inside the practice facility will be named Briner Field to honor Peggy and Kenneth Briner, ’69. The field within Scheumann Stadium will be called Gainbridge Field to recognize the donation from company executive Daniel Towriss, ’94, and his wife, Heather. This facility is only possible with the private gifts from our alumni and friends, and I am grateful to the people who have made very generous commitments towards our goal.
• Summer Orientation is underway. By July 12, more than 4,000 incoming freshmen and their families will have visited our campus, registered for classes, and gotten to know our University and its resources better. Freshman enrollment for the Fall semester is trending upward. Ball State received a record number of undergraduate applications — more than 27,000 — this year.
• On June 14, we held our final Centennial celebration of our proud past and bright future. The campus community brought their families for an afternoon of food, fun, and games. This special year presented opportunities to demonstrate how Ball State has grown beyond our roots as a teachers college into a world-class University with highly-respected programs in education, architecture, business, communications, fine arts, sciences and humanities, and the health professions. I am grateful to all who celebrated with us and invite you to watch a video recapping our yearlong celebration.
• This month, Jake Logan started his service as the new president of the Ball State University Foundation and vice president for University Advancement. Jake came to us from the University of Missouri, where he was the assistant vice chancellor. He has been part of comprehensive capital campaigns exceeding $1 billion at three large, public institutions—the University of Florida, the University of Oregon, and the University of Missouri. His experience will be instrumental to building on our momentum of raising philanthropic support, including the remarkable success of our first ever One Ball State Day.
• Members of our University’s Young Alumni Council will tour Bracken House with me and learn about its history and its modern-day purpose. To view the tour, visit Ball State’s Facebook page on June 27 at 5:45 p.m. 
• From June 22 to June 29, our University will host Music for All, where more than 1,800 music students and teachers from across the U.S. and Australia come to campus to perfect their craft and perform. The community is invited to free concerts during the week. We’re proud to host Music for All for the ninth year.
• SportBusiness, which provides news, analysis, data, consulting, and events to executives in the business of sport, ranked Ball State’s sports administration graduate program 29th in the world and 18th in the U.S. in its 2019 annual survey of the world’s best postgraduate sport industry programs. This is an example of how our University serves graduate students and other adults throughout their lifetime educational journeys.