December 15, 2023
Dear Colleagues:
I write to share a few highlights from today’s meeting of the Board of Trustees.
During the meeting, I shared with our trustees that our University will receive a $35 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its College and Community Collaboration initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to challenge Indiana colleges and universities to “envision and undertake collaborative projects with community stakeholders that enhance the quality of life and place in their surrounding communities.”
We will invest this extraordinary grant—the largest philanthropic gift in the history of our University—to accelerate the implementation of our ambitious plan to revitalize The Village, with the majority of these funds supporting the design and construction of our Performing Arts Center.
I am grateful to Lilly Endowment for generously supporting our plan for the Village—a plan that will make our region a more vibrant place to live, learn, work, and play.
The Board also heard a presentation about our University’s student success efforts and our improved retention rates from Jason Rivera, vice provost for student success and dean of University College.
Our University retained 77 percent of last Fall’s freshman class, an increase of four percentage points from the previous year. Our current retention rate has returned to our pre-pandemic average, a positive reflection of our enhanced efforts to help all students succeed. But we have much more work to do.
To achieve and improve upon these results, we have been leveraging data to drive interaction with students and to inform various engagement and success strategies. These strategies include the work of our academic advisors and success coaching team, the deployment of student success centers within each college, and enhancements that have been made to our onboarding programs, including Orientation, Weeks of Welcome, and First-Year Seminars.
The Board also received a presentation from Paaige Turner, Dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM), about positive retention rate trends in the college and various support services that CCIM is providing to our students. Dean Turner also provided examples of collaborations between public and student media and of how we are preparing CCIM graduates to utilize innovations like applied cybersecurity, media technology, and artificial intelligence in their future careers.
Jean Crosby, president of the Ball State University Foundation, Mark Helmus, chief advancement officer, and other colleagues from the Foundation presented an update about our comprehensive fundraising campaign, Our Call to Beneficence, which we publicly launched in October. So far, more than $233 million has been raised, which represents 66 percent of our $350 million fundraising goal.
Also at the meeting, the Board approved a change to our tuition remission program. Under the new policy, all eligible University employees can participate in the program upon their date of hire.
At the end of the Board meeting, I made a few comments. If you would like to read my remarks, please visit the website.
It is a privilege to serve with you, and I am grateful for your encouragement and support.
I hope that you have a safe and festive holiday season and that you enjoy spending your Days of Beneficence alongside your family and friends.
