News to Use:

• This Fall, our University’s Center for Civic Design opened at Ball State CAP: INDY, a reflection of our commitment to serving our neighbors near and far. Ball State CAP: INDY is at 25 North Pine Street on the former Angie’s List campus on the Washington Street corridor, now known as Elevator Hill. The Center for Civic Design provides design, planning, and visioning support to neighborhoods, community organizations, and civic leaders in the Indianapolis area, throughout Indiana, and occasionally overseas. It is an expansion of the R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning’s existing community engagement with the city of Indianapolis, its neighborhoods, and beyond. The center mutually benefits Ball State University and our neighbors, including the city of Indianapolis. Our students receive an excellent education and serve their neighbors in an urban environment. Our partners in Indianapolis have access to the expertise and resources of one of the largest and most comprehensive environmental design colleges in the country.
• We look forward to the Innovation Summit today and tomorrow at Muncie’s Horizon Center. Muncie Community Schools (MCS) administrators, teachers, and community stakeholders will gather to develop and implement effective strategies to support student success and community wellbeing. Three nationally recognized experts will share their insights: George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity; Jennifer Blatz, president and CEO of StriveTogether; and Robert Jackson, an author and educator known for his No More Excuses teaching approach.
  
• I invite alumni to connect with Ball State through a Proud and Loyal event, where they can catch up with classmates and learn about current accomplishments and initiatives at our University. This Fall, Proud and Loyal events will be held in Fort Wayne, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. See the Alumni Association website for more information.
• Homecoming will be the week of October 14, culminating with the football Cardinals playing the University of Toledo Rockets. Homecoming will include traditions such as bed races, the parade, and CharlieTown tailgating. That Friday and Saturday, we will celebrate two recent milestones for our campus: dedication of the new Health Professions Building and groundbreaking for the new Multicultural Center.  
• We will dedicate the newly constructed four-story, 165,000-square-foot Health Professions Building on October 18 at 3 p.m. The $62.5 million structure features classrooms, laboratories, offices, a resource hub, simulation labs/suites, and clinical spaces. Most importantly, it is designed for interprofessional education—physical and educational interaction between academic departments within the College of Health. This is the future of health care.
• After the Homecoming Parade the next day, October 19 at 11 a.m., we will break ground on our new Multicultural Center, east of Bracken Library, at the heart of campus where it belongs. The $4 million, approximately 10,500-square-foot facility will open in 2020. It will contain open collaboration space for student organizations and peer advocate leaders; a multipurpose room for meetings, presentations, and collaboration space; administrative offices; exhibition space for cultural art work that represent the values of inclusive excellence; and a small café.
• Our University serves our neighbors by supporting the United Way of Delaware and Henry Counties. On September 6, the day after the United Way kicked off its campaign in downtown Muncie, 537 Ball State faculty, staff, and students volunteered 1,039 hours in the Day of Action service projects throughout the area. And our University’s on-campus campaign to generate contributions from faculty and staff is underway until November 30. We hope to raise $200,000 to help the United Way with its ambitious goal to end generational poverty.