News for Ball State Faculty and Staff
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Stories of Gratitude
July 29, 2021
As we prepare to welcome our students back to our beautiful campus for the start of the Fall semester, I write to express my gratitude that Ball State recently was able to offer in-person, on-campus Summer Orientation. This valuable program helps our incoming students transition into their first year of college.
This year, more than 3,000 new undergraduate students and almost 8,000 family members attended Summer Orientation. While online orientation was available due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 95 percent of these students chose to participate in-person—a testament to the extensive coordination required of our campus partners during these unprecedented times.
Many members of our campus community had a direct or supporting role in planning and carrying out this year’s Summer Orientation. I want to thank the employees in our Admissions Office, our campus housing, dining, and janitorial personnel, student employees, and more than 100 academic advisors and presenters. Their hard work helps our new students and their families confidently transition into their Ball State experience.
Sincerely,
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Strategic Plan UpdateLifetime Learning Initiative
Later this Fall, Ball State University will be piloting a new initiative: “Lifetime Learning By Ball State”—a portfolio of new courses geared toward serving the adult learner.
The pilot will include seven courses targeted, in large part, to Ball State alumni before launching more widely. Recent research indicated more than half of Ball State alumni are likely to pursue additional education in the next two years in the form of a for-credit certificate, professional licensure, or for-credit course. Furthermore, our alumni would prefer to have Ball State satisfy this need for their professional development.
An internal and multi-disciplinary task force has been building the pilot project for the past 18 months. The task force is charged with crafting innovative and robust educational offerings and delivery methods—including post-baccalaureate micro-credentials, short-term learning modules, professional licensure workshops, and enrichment opportunities—to accelerate career fulfillment, and enhance personal development and wellbeing.
Look for more information in the months ahead about Lifetime Learning by Ball State. Courses will continually be added with a goal of a public launch in 2022.
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Return to Campus Protocols For Employees
Ball State is strongly encouraging all employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination, and to attest to their full vaccination using our online form. Eligible employees who have received their COVID-19 vaccination by August 1, 2021, and verified their vaccinations by August 31, are qualified for our vaccine incentive program. They also are:
- Not expected to wear a mask, inside or outside (unless public health conditions warrant, or campus authorities determine otherwise);
- Not required to engage in physical distancing;
- Exempt from quarantine requirements if identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (unless symptomatic after exposure); and
- Exempt from any mandatory surveillance COVID-19 testing.
Employees who are not planning on getting vaccinated for COVID-19 by August 1, or who do not attest they are fully vaccinated by August 31:
- May be required to submit to mandatory surveillance COVID-19 testing, as public health conditions warrant;
- Are required to wear face masks while inside campus buildings and outside when physical distancing cannot be maintained;
- Must continue to engage in physical distancing, where possible;
- Are required to quarantine if identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, even if asymptomatic; and
- Must use PTO during the quarantine period and will not be approved to work remotely.
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For Your Benefit
Tuition Remission
Ball State offers a generous tuition remission benefit for eligible employees, their spouses, and dependent children. New online request forms, available through the ServiceNow system, makes it easier to apply for this benefit.
A request for tuition remission must be completed by 5 p.m. on the first day of classes for each semester—Fall, Spring, and Summer—after registering for classes. The deadline to submit your ServiceNow form for the upcoming Fall Semester is 5 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2021. If you have already applied for your tuition remission benefit through the WorkFlow process for Fall 2021, there is no need to submit a new request.
Eligibility guidelines, links to ServiceNow forms, and instructions for completing your request are on our website.
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Upcoming Events
Fall Opening Convocation scheduled for Aug. 20
Ball State University is holding Fall Opening Convocation at 9 a.m. on Aug. 20 at Emens Auditorium. University faculty and students are invited to attend. Provost Susana Rivera-Mills will open the annual program, and will present faculty awards with President Geoffrey S. Mearns. President Mearns will celebrate accomplishments and contributions of this past year, and outline what Ball State will accomplish in the year to come.
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University News
R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and PlanningGrant Awards- Sarah Keogh, assistant teaching professor of Architecture, has been awarded a Ball State University Provost Immersive Learning Pilot Grant for “Transforming the Muncie Mall into a Community Sustainability Hub.” This project will research and plan strategies to transform a portion of the Muncie Mall into a sustainability center for the community.
- Jake Son, assistant professor of Interior Design, has been awarded a new faculty start-up grant through Ball State’s ASPiRE program. The funding will support his research proposal, “Novel Biomimetic Solution and Its Impact on Building Energy Consumption.”
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Miller College of BusinessGlobal Entrepreneurship Week events planned Nov. 8-12
The Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute will host a variety of events as a part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 8-12, 2021. There will be an open house and ribbon-cutting at the Entrepreneurship Leadership Institute at the Oakwood Building, 2501 N. Oakwood Ave., on Nov. 8. This event will be open to campus and Muncie community members. Another highlight of the week will be keynote speaker Duncan Wardle, founder of iD8 & innov8; and former Vice President of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company.
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College of Communication, Information, and MediaSuperParty resumes in-person activities Sept.1
The College of Communication, Information, and Media’s SuperParty will be from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2021. Students of any major have the opportunity to explore, connect, and engage with more than 30 student organizations, while having fun with giveaways and enjoying free pizza, plus the famous cake walk.
Retired faculty member earns excellence award from LEAP Indiana
Dr. Peggy Fisher, recently retired associate professor of Communication Studies, is the inaugural Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) Indiana Award of Excellence recipient. While at Ball State, Dr. Fisher consistently embodied LEAP Indiana's mission and vision as an innovative and inclusive teacher utilizing High Impact Practices (HIP) and experiential activities to transform her students' experiences. LEAP is a state-level initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Two CCIM students among 2021 winners of Ball State Foundation's Philanthropy Awards
Students Grace Medrano and Isaac Miller—both from the College of Communication, Information, and Media—are among the three winners of Ball State University Foundation’s 2021 Philanthropy Awards. Ms. Medrano, a Journalism and Telecommunications major, served as a Student Philanthropy Ambassador and raised more than $60,000 during her time in the call center. Mr. Miller, a Telecommunications major, served as a member of the Philanthropy Education Council, and created video that advances cultural outlook and philanthropy.
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College of Fine ArtsDOMA to host traveling exhibition of African-American Art
This Fall, the David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) presents the traveling exhibition Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, which contains more than sixty works selected from a body of art amassed over 35 years by the Davises. Their collection includes works by Romare Bearden, Beverly Buchanan, Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam, Loïs Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Gordon Parks, Alma Thomas, and Charles White. Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art was organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C., and will be on view at DOMA from Sept. 23 through Dec. 22, 2021.
Associate Professor of Art’s solo exhibition is on display
School of Art associate professor Heidi Jensen's solo exhibition, Everything Is For You Until You Discover You Are For It, is on display now through August 7, 2021 at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
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College of HealthNew Dean Leads Ball State's College of Health
Scott Edward Rutledge, Ph.D., M.S.W., began serving as Dean of Ball State University’s College of Health on July 1, 2021. Dr. Rutledge recently served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Public Health at Temple University. He began his professional career as a writer and editor for the University of Iowa Alumni Association before transitioning to a career in social work, first focusing on child welfare and then shifting to HIV prevention.
Dr. Rutledge began his higher education career in 2002 as an assistant professor in the College of Social Work and faculty affiliate in the Women’s Studies Program at Florida State University.
He then joined Temple University in 2005 where he had fulfilled various academic roles in the School of Social Work and College of Public Health.
Healthy Lifestyle Center receives award
Ball State University’s Healthy Lifestyle Center (HLC) has been recognized for its dedication to the neighbors and communities it serves. The Healthy Community Alliance of East Central Indiana (HCA) recently presented its “100,000 Award in Memory of Dr. George Branam” to the Healthy Lifestyle Center. The annual award is given to an organization that supports the work of the HCA through outstanding leadership, innovative collaborations, and an unwavering dedication to improving the health and well-being of the community.
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College of Sciences and HumanitiesDepartment of Modern Languages and Classics gets new chair, adds minor
The Department of Modern Languages and Classics welcomes Dr. Jennifer Rathbun as its new Chair and professor of Spanish with a specialization in Latin America. Dr. Rathbun’s first day was July 19. Also, the department is adding a new minor—Arab Language, Religion & Culture—this Fall.
Grant Awards- Dr. Kathleen L. Foster, assistant professor of Biology at Ball State, and Dr. Foster’s collaborator Alessandro Maria Selvitella, assistant professor of Data Science and Applied Statistics at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, have been awarded an NSF-Simons Pilot Project Program Grant from the NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology at Northwestern University. This grant will support their work on the mathematical relationship between morphology and biomechanics through development in geckos. A prestigious honor in a highly competitive field, only two of these grants are awarded each year.
- Dr. Andy Luttrell, assistant professor of Psychological Science, received funding from two external grants: $2.3 million from the National Science Foundation for proposed research, “Data-Driven Modeling to Improve Understanding of Human Behavior, Mobility, and Disease Spread”; and $150,000 from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation for proposed research, “Unpacking the Dimensions of Subjective Psychological (In)consistency: An Attitude Ambivalence Perspective.”
- Dr. Tayla Lee, assistant professor of Psychological Science, received funding for a partnered project with the Youth Opportunity Center Inc. The project is titled, “An Investigation of the Cultural Fairness of the MMPI-A-RF Restructured Clinical Scales Using Structural Equation Modeling.” This year's grant is $18,803. Holmes Finch, the University’s George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, and Janay Sander, associate professor of Educational Psychology, collaborated with Dr. Lee on this project.
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Teachers CollegeDoDEA scholarship put on pause
Teachers College has paused its scholarship for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) for employees and retirees to consider how to be inclusive of all federal employees who would like to take graduate courses in Teachers College. Updates will be shared as soon as they are available.
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Honors CollegeNational Society for Minorities in Honors Conference held at Ball State, Oct. 14-16
The Honors College will host “Beyond Diversity: Antiracism & Intersectionality in Honors,” the sixth annual National Society for Minorities in Honors Conference, on Ball State’s campus, October 14-16, 2021. Panelists and participants will include faculty, leaders, and students from across the nation. Contact dean John Emert for details.
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University Libraries
Share your experiences for Document Your Story: COVID-19 Pandemic Project
Ball State University is providing a way for people to share their experiences during or related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Document Your Story: COVID-19 Pandemic Project is an ongoing endeavor, spearheaded by the Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections, to collect and preserve items that document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities.
Contributions are being sought from Ball State’s campus community: faculty, staff and students; Ball State alumni throughout the world; and residents, community organizations and local businesses in Muncie and other parts of Delaware County. Materials can be digital or physical items. University Libraries will accept typed or handwritten reflections, poems, writings, artwork, drawings, photographs, and videos—items that help tell the stories of individuals’ experiences specifically during or relating to the pandemic.
There is no deadline for submissions. Digital materials can be submitted to local collections in three ways:
To Donate physical, non-digitized items or to ask questions, email Sarah M. Allison, University Libraries' Head of Archives User Engagement.
University Libraries will have new hours this Fall
Bracken
Monday through Thursday: 7 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Health & Foundational Sciences Libraries
Monday through Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday: 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Architecture Library
Monday through Thursday: 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday: Noon to 10 p.m.
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Achieving Academic Excellence
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Emily Brown Hoffman
As an assistant professor of early childhood, youth, and family studies in Ball State University's Teachers College, Dr. Emily Brown Hoffman's passion for research comes from a core belief.
"I am motivated to make sure that children have the early childhood education they deserve," said Dr. Hoffman, who has taught kindergarten in Chicago, and Gary, Indiana. "They deserve education that is high quality. They deserve education that is supportive, enjoyable, and fun. They deserve an education that sets them up for success."
What's the best way to prepare aspiring elementary educators? That question inspires Dr. Hoffman.
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