The federal government’s ongoing delays in implementing the newly revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have resulted in numerous challenges for admissions staffs at colleges and universities around the country, plus prospective students and their families.
An estimated 95 percent of Ball State’s incoming freshmen, and 80 percent of our continuing students, file a FAFSA each year. Numerous setbacks resulted in the new FAFSA not being accessible to prospective students until December 31, 2023—three months later than usual. Other issues included technical glitches with the new form and incorrect estimates of aid due to the Department of Education’s failure to update a crucial income formula.
I appreciate the work of our financial aid, Cardinal Central, and admissions staffs—led by Paula Luff, our vice president for enrollment planning and management (EPM)—in helping mitigate these risks. Thanks to our EPM team, our University's response to these challenges has included:
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regular communications with prospective and current students and their families.
- moving our enrollment decision date from May 1 to June 1.
- working with IT to prepare our software systems for necessary updates in response to the new FAFSA.
- hiring a financial aid consultant to support staff in our financial aid office, and providing informational webinars for students and families about the financial aid process.
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I am grateful to my colleagues who have stepped up to help our prospective students enroll at Ball State. Their work is a testament to our University’s commitment to our students throughout their educational journey.
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Geoffrey S. Mearns
President
Ball State University
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'Our Call to Beneficence' Podcast |
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Latest Episode of ‘Our Call to Beneficence’ Features Ball State Board of Trustee Member and Ball State Graduate, Mike McDaniel
Ball State Board of Trustees member Mike McDaniel, ’73 MPA ’79, is the guest on the May 2024 episode of the monthly podcast “Our Call to Beneficence,” hosted by Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns. This episode is available now.
Mr. McDaniel is the executive director of governmental affairs for the Krieg DeVault law firm in Indianapolis. He has a deep background in government relations and administration, having served as Indiana Republican state chairman from 1995 to 2002. Prior to that, Mr. McDaniel served as director of governmental affairs at Ball State and was director of what is now the Bowen Center for Public Affairs. His extensive career also includes serving as executive director of the Indiana State Election Board, appointed by then-Gov. Robert Orr in 1988.
All episodes of the “Our Call to Beneficence” podcast are available on multiple platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscriptions and reviews are also encouraged to help grow the audience for this podcast.
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Lifetime Learning Seeks Faculty Proposals for Non-Credit Course Ideas
Faculty members have the opportunity to pursue more student interest in degree programs or showcase faculty expertise with non-credit credentials—broadening access to degree pathways for working adults, diverse populations, military families, and students residing outside of Indiana. Courses may also equate to credit through an established curriculum mapping process that gives students a jump start into degree programs by earning an articulation badge. Among the numerous particular areas of interest to augment Lifetime Learning's existing portfolio are fine arts administration, STEM, criminal justice, human services, and counseling CEUs.
The Lifetime Learning team, and academic affairs leadership, review course proposals quarterly. Submit a course proposal for review by June 15, 2024.
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Health Plans Offer Preventive Healthcare Services
Preventive healthcare services delivered by in-network providers are covered at 100 percent under the health plans offered at Ball State. Preventive care includes preventive physical exams, certain screening tests, certain immunizations, and certain pharmacy items. Review the Anthem preventive care benefits brochure on our website for specific preventive coverage. Also, the three GAP plans provided by The Hartford offer a preventive screening benefit of $50 or $75 for those who have this coverage. To receive this payment, file The Hartford’s Health Screening Benefit claim form, which is on Ball State’s website. Questions about preventive services claims can be directed to Employee Benefits at 765-285-1834.
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R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning |
Achievements, Accolades, and Retirements
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After years of dedicated service, Robert Koester, director of the Center for Energy Research, Education, Service and professor of architecture; and Martha Hunt, chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, and associate professor of landscape architecture, are retiring this year. Prof. Koester’s retirement is effective as of June 30. Associate Prof. Hunt’s retirement is effective May 31. Joe Blalock, currently an associate professor, will become the chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture.
- Fourth-year landscape architecture student Essince Smith received the ASLA Council of Fellows Scholarship award from the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
- Master of Landscape Architecture students Shahrzad Bazyari, Sarah Gordon, Andy Netter, Marius Igitangaza Ngabo, and Sai Siddartha Vemuri won the Keys-Litten-Smith Award for their graduate student research, Speculation on the Middle.
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Junior landscape architecture student Ali Kahn was named to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Men’s Golf All-Tournament Team. Learn more online.
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Alumni Award Winners Celebrated
The Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning celebrated its 2024 Alumni Awards winners on April 22 at the Alumni Center. Those winners are:
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Distinguished Alumni Award
Dr. Angela Miller Gobar, ’84
Sarah Hempstead, ’98
Pam Light, ’73
Robin Randall,’8
Outstanding Alumni Award
Andrew Mitchell, ’04
Scott Perkins, ’90
Rose Scovel, ’99
Chris Shaheen, ’92
Meagan Tuttle, ’10
Kionna Walker, ’06
Graduate of the Last Decade
Zack Rees, ’16
Fabiola Yeps, ’13
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Miller College of Business |
Youth Summer Programming Scheduled for July
The Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute’s (ELI) youth Summer programming kicks off in July. The Institute prepares youth to be changemakers and problem solvers by providing opportunities to learn about their strengths and talents, while learning the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Camps are designed for students who like to “think with their hands” and play outside of the box while being challenged. All camps will be held at the ELI Launch Pad in the Oakwood Building:
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- July 25: Problem-Solving Through Lego® Serious Play (for grades 4-5), 8:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
- July 26: Creativity and Innovation (for grades 6-8), 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
- July 29-30: Entrepreneurial Leadership Camp (for grades 11-12), 8:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
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Registration can be completed online May 6-June 30. A limited number of scholarships are available. Contact Candy Dodd for more details.
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Miller College of Business Bestows Faculty and Staff Awards
The following faculty and staff received awards at Miller College’s year-end Excellence Awards program:
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Craig Webster, associate professor of hospitality innovation and leadership—Exemplary Faculty Award
- Nathanael Snow, assistant teaching professor of economics—Exemplary Faculty Award
- Missy Matthews, project coordinator at the Institute for the Study of Political Economy—Exemplary Staff Award
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College of Communication, Information, and Media |
Awards, Honors, and an Event
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College of Communication, Information, and Media (CCIM) Associate Dean Dr. Weiwu Zhang has been selected to be part of the 2024 Scripps Howard Leadership Academy cohort. Running July 12-25 at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York, the academy is an immersive leadership training program designed for higher education leaders in journalism and communications. Dr. Zhang is the associate dean for academic affairs and student relations in CCIM.
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This year’s Great Lakes Regional Emmy Award nominations have been announced. The works of several students, faculty and staff were recognized, including Daria Buschur and Aaliyah Prim’s documentary The Only Alternative: Exploring the Black Experience at Ball State; Tristan Fluhr, Tyler Klimes, Nick Lawler, and Collin Phillips for multiple Sports Link projects; Chris Flook for the “All Out for Christmas” title sequence; and the documentary, Fleeing to Flyover Country, led by Phil Hoffman, Lisa Renze-Rhodes, and Terry Heifetz.
- The College of Communication, Information, and Media welcomed nearly 1,100 middle- and high-school students and teachers to its annual JDAY+/CCIM+ conference. Participants at the conference had opportunities to network with, and learn from, professionals in the fields of communication, media, and information, while exploring what it means to be a student at Ball State.
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Rachel Cohn, foundations coordinator and assistant professor of art, will be participating in a residency in May at the Arteles Creative Center, Haukijärvi, Finland.
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Kristin Reeves, assistant professor of video and new media, has received an Aspire Junior Faculty Creative Arts grant in the amount of $14,987 for her multimedia installation and expanded cinema performance, “What is Nothing.”
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Heather Platt, Sursa Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts and professor of music, published “Max Heinrich, ‘Wizard of Song’: Dramatizing Lieder for American Audiences,” in The Lied Between Musicology and Performance, ed Benjamin Binder and Jennifer Ronyack. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024), 34-54.
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- Dr. Jean Marie Place, associate professor of health science, and Dr. Jonel Thaller, associate professor of social work, wrote a book, “Health Promotion Planning: Learning from the Accounts of Public Health Practitioners,” which was released by Wiley Publishing in April.
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Todd Trappe, professor of exercise science, shared that two peer-reviewed publications from the Human Performance Lab’s latest scientific work with NASA that were published recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Learn more about the Human Performance Lab and these latest works in this College of Health blog.
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College of Sciences and Humanities |
English Professor Awarded Fulbright Scholarship
The Fulbright Scholar Program awarded Dr. Jeff Spake, associate professor of English and director of English education, a Roving Fulbright Scholarship. Dr. Spanke plans to travel to Norway, where he will immerse himself in Nordic educational and cultural philosophies while offering his Nordic colleagues his expertise in American culture and pedagogy.
Brown Planetarium Breaks its Attendance Record
The Charles W. Brown Planetarium saw more than 25,000 guests this past academic year, breaking the previous record of 23,000. Additionally, the planetarium hosted dozens of special eclipse events and workshops, and distributed approximately 55,000 free eclipse glasses to surrounding communities, to prepare people for both solar eclipses that were viewable over Ball State this year. The planetarium’s eclipse team used two Ball State telescopes and cameras to broadcast the April 8 total solar eclipse from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the NASA Live Broadcast of the eclipse, which reached more than 10 million viewers.
Game Design & Development Students Publish Video Game on Steam
The first class to graduate from the Department of Computer Science’s new game design & development concentration launched its game, “Mission Rovee,” on Steam, a major video game publication platform, on April 30. Sphere Province Games, the student's game design studio, completed and published the game as the capstone of their three-semester-long development program.
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Awards and Accolades
During Teachers College’s End of the Year Celebration on May 2, the following people were honored with Outstanding Awards:
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- Scott Hall, professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies— Outstanding Research Award
- Denise Harris, secretary to the Department of Educational Studies—Outstanding Staff Award
- Sari Harris, assistant director of the Office of Teacher Education Services and Clinical Practice—Outstanding Professional Staff Award
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Scott Jackson, instructor of general music at Burris Laboratory School—Outstanding University Schools Teaching Award
- Shuning Liu, associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies—Outstanding Teaching Award
- Lisa Ruble, Earl F. Smith Distinguished Professor in Special Education and Autism— Outstanding Research Award
- Janay Sander, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology—Outstanding Service Award
- Angela Stefanski, associate professor in the Department of Elementary Education—TC Outstanding Inclusive Excellence Award
- Christy Bohn, associate lecturer in the Department of Special Education—Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Service
- Wilfridah Mucherah, interim department chair and professor in the Department of Educational Psychology—Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Service
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Deidre Bibbs, 2023 doctoral graduate, educational psychology—Equity and Excellence in Education Dissertation Award: “Black Girls, Discipline Policies, and Student Handbooks: Identifying Opportunities to Disrupt Disproportionality”
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Accolade, Scholarship, and Fellowship
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- Honors College student Shaina Miller was selected for the third annual ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Student Voting Honor Roll. The honor roll recognizes college students at participating campuses who have gone above and beyond to advance nonpartisan student voter registration, education, and turnout efforts in their communities.
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Taylor Bias, a junior Honors College student, has been awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship—one of America’s most prestigious scholarships for undergraduates who intend to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research. She was one of 438 sophomores and juniors selected this year from a pool of 1,353 students nominated by colleges and universities nationwide. Ms. Bias is the 15th Ball State student to receive the Goldwater Scholarship, along with nine others who have received honorable mention. Learn more in this Ball State press release.
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Jillian Cieslik, a senior Honors College student, and Honors College alum Kelsey Woodruff, ’22, have been selected for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP).The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Learn more in this Ball State press release.
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Immersive Learning Course Students Produce, Edit Academic Journal
Stance is a peer-reviewed academic journal—produced and edited by undergraduate students enrolled in an immersive learning course at Ball State—and published on the Ball State University Libraries Open Journals platform. The students work on the journal with Dr. David Concepción, professor of philosophy and religious studies. The latest issue of the journal, which is accessible online, features articles such as “Science and the Question of Truth,” “Nietzsche and the Birth of Joker,” and “The Formation of Body Memory Under Patriarchy.”
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Vice Provost for Student Success Named to 2024-25 Class of AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance
Dr. Jason Rivera, vice provost for student success and dean of University College, is one of only 21 participants selected for the 2024-25 class of the AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance in Higher Education. The AGB Institute for Leadership & Governance in Higher Education is designed for small groups of participants who aspire to presidencies at four-year public research universities and regional comprehensive institutions. Dr. Rivera and the other 20 participants from institutions around the country will gather for an in-person symposium in Washington, D.C., in September to kick off the program, which is entering its sixth year.
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