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Ball State University

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Ball State University is a state-run university located in Muncie, Indiana. Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans more than one thousand acres (4 km²). The student body consists of more than 18,500 undergraduate students and more than 1,500 graduate students. Famous alumni include David Letterman, Joyce DeWitt, Garfield creator Jim Davis and the founder of Papa John's, John Schnatter. Originally a normal school, Ball State has grown and expanded over the years and is recognized today for its programs in architecture, teaching, anthropology, entrepreneurship, and communications.

Contents

History

Ball State University wasn't the first school to operate at its location. Previous educational institutions operated at the intersection of University and McKinley avenues before 1918. They were neither public nor did they carry the "Ball" name.

The pre-Ball years

The area of Muncie, Indiana that is now known as Ball State University had its start in 1899 as a private school called the Eastern Indiana Normal School to educate teachers. The entire school, including classrooms, library and the president's residence were housed in what is now known as the Ball State Administration building.

The one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed down by its president, F.A. Kumier, due to lack of funding. A year later, in the autumn of 1902, the school re-opened as Palmer University for the next three years after Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker gave the school a $100,000 endowment.

Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College. It had two divisions, the Normal School for educating teachers and a College of Applied Sciences. The school had an average enrollment of about 200 students. Because of a diminishing enrollment and lack of funds, school president Francis Ingler closed Indiana Normal College at the end of the 1906-1907 school year.

Between 1907 and 1912 the campus sat vacant. In 1912, a group of local investors led by Michael Kelly reopen the school as the Indiana Normal Institute. To pay for updated materials and refurbishing the once-abandoned Administration Building, the school operated under a mortgage from the Muncie Trust Company. Although the school had its largest student body with a peak enrollment of 806, officials could not keep up with mortgage payments and the school was forced to shutter once again by June 1917 after the Muncie Trust Company initiated foreclosure proceedings.

Ball Brothers intervene

On July 25, 1917 local industrialists the Ball Brothers, founders of the Ball Corporation bought the Indiana Normal Institute out of foreclosure. For $35,100, the Balls bought the Administration building and surrounding land bordered by University Avenue, McKinley Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Tillotson Avenue, except for the northwest quadrant which was kept as a wildlife preserve (Christy Woods).

The Ball Brothers from left to right: George A. Ball, Lucious L. Ball, Frank C. Ball, Edmund B. Ball, and William C. Ball
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The Ball Brothers from left to right: George A. Ball, Lucious L. Ball, Frank C. Ball, Edmund B. Ball, and William C. Ball

In early 1918, during the Indiana General Assembly's "short session," state legislators accepted the gift of the school and the land by the Ball Brothers. The state granted operating control of the Muncie Campus and school building to the administrators of the Indiana State Normal School in Terre Haute.

The close relationship between the Balls and the school led to an unofficial moniker for the college as many students, faculty and local politicians casually referred to the school as "Ball State" as a shorthand alternative to its longer, official name. During the 1922 short session of the Indiana legislature, the state renamed the school as the Ball Teachers College. This was in recognition to the Ball family's continuing beneficence to the institution. During this act, the state also reorganized its relationship with Terre Haute, and established a separate local board of trustees for the Muncie campus.

In 1924, Ball Teachers College's trustees hired Benjamin Burris as the first president of the state-funded college. The Ball Brothers continued giving to the university and partially funded the construction of the Science Hall (now called the Burkhardt Building) in 1924, an addition to Ball Gymnasium in 1925. By the 1925-1926 school year, Ball State enrollment reaches 991, with 697 women and 294 men.

Ball State Teachers College

During the regular legislative session of 1929, the Indiana General Assembly formally separated the Terre Haute and Muncie campuses of the state teachers college system, but placed the governing of the Ball State campus under the Indiana State Teachers College Board of Trustees, [link] based in Terre Haute, Indiana. During this action, the school was renamed Ball State Teachers College. The following year enrollment increased to 1,118 with 747 female and 371 male students.

Ball State's Shafer Tower, completed in 2001
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Ball State's Shafer Tower, completed in 2001

In 1935, the school added the Arts Building for art, music and dance instruction (now solely used as the Ball State Art Museum). Enrollment that year reached 1,151 with 723 women and 428 men.

As an expression of the many gifts the Ball family gave the university since 1917, sculptor Daniel Chester French was commissioned by the Muncie Chamber of Commerce to cast a bronze fountain figure to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Ball Brother's gift to the state. His creation, the statue Beneficence, still stands today between the Administration Building and Lucina Hall where Talley Street dead ends into University Avenue.

In 1961, Ball State became fully independent of Indiana State via the creation of the Ball State College Board of Trustees,[link] so that Ball State was no longer governed remotely by the Indiana State College Board of Trustees. Also in 1961, the name of Ball State was changed to Ball State College.

Ball State University

In 1965, in recognition of the school growth beyond merely being a school to educate public school teachers, the Indiana General Assembly renames the school as Ball State University with an enrollment of 10,066 students.

Ball State has seen a trend of near-constant growth since its creation. Current enrollment is the highest in the school's history, prompting construction of a new residence hall slated to be completed in 2007-2008. Bachelor's degrees are available in eight different areas which contain over fifty individual programs — a sharp increase from the five degree programs initially offered by the University. Despite current uncertainty in the economy, Ball State's academic future is considered by many to be bright as the University continues a course of upgrading programs and adding new ones where applicable.

Campus Life

Pruis Hall
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Pruis Hall

Ball State's campus life revolves around two main quadrangles. The original historic quadrangle is at the south end of campus where the Student Center and Village are located. The new quadrangle is located to the north and consists of a variety of modern buildings that include Bracken Library and Pruis Hall, which is the cultural venue for recitals, ensembles, and films.

A 2005 survey conducted by Intel Corporation rates Ball State as the number one wireless campus in the nation. Ball State's academic and administrative buildings, residence hall common areas, and green spaces have wireless access fed by 625 Wi-Fi access points.

Living on Campus

The University currently operates seven residence halls that house nearly 7,000 students. An eighth residence hall is under construction. Ball State's freshman residence hall program is listed as one of the best in the nation by the Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the Most Interesting Colleges. Ball State is the home of the regionally recognized event, Earth Stock. Earth Stock is an all day festival geared towards raising awareness about Earth protection.

By far the largest housing complex is LaFollette, which houses over 1,900 students. This co-ed facility has four L-shaped, eight-story units. Johnson Complex, on the north end of campus, is a modern complex consisting of one eight-story building and two four-story buildings. The complex is the only one on campus to feature Z-shaped rooms and houses all Honors College students.

Aerial view of Muncie with the university in the lower left quadrant.
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Aerial view of Muncie with the university in the lower left quadrant.

Of the current residence halls in operation, only one, Elliott Hall, has been in operation for nearly the entire history of the University. Constructed from 1937 to 1939, Elliott was formerly an all-male dormitory and, during World War II, housed cadets and recruits from joint programs operated with the Army and Air Force.

Two apartment complexes operated by the University provide affordable homes for single students and students with families. Apartments are available in one- and two-bedroom styles, and townhomes are available in two- and three-bedroom styles. The apartments are located close to campus, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and schools.

L.A. Pittenger Student Center

Constructed in the mid-1950s, the Student Center houses the University's hotel, meeting rooms, a food court, and various forms of recreation for students including a bowling alley. A new student center is in planning, but no word is expected on it until the end of 2006.

The Village

Although this is considered off-campus, the Village plays an integral part of campus life for students who both live on- and off-campus. The Village is a set of shops and restaurants located immediately east of campus. Although most of the buildings have been rebuilt over the years, the Village has existed in its present location since the early 1920s. Current Village locales include [Village Green Records], TJ's Burgers, The MT Cup, Motini's, Mo's Tavern, The White Rabbit, Art Mart, The Locker Room, Wizard's Keep, Little Havanna, Pita Pit, Greek's Pizza, and The Den which is world renowned for its quite cheap Den Pop.

Happy Friday Guy

Beginning with the fall semister of 2004 a citizen from the Muncie community every Friday has donned a unique costume and rode a motorized skooter through campus shouting "Happy Friday!" and sometimes handing out candy. It is not yet known exactly who Happy Friday is (it is debated if he is a student, alumnus, friend or other form of hero; although he is also known as Scooter Bob), but it is known that he brings joy to everybody that he meets. [link]

Academics

Strengths

Though previously a bastion in the field of teaching, the university has been recognized in many fields, including architecture, business, and art. Some highlights of Ball State's programs include:

Colleges and Schools

Ball State University is academically organized into seven degree-granting colleges: Ball State University also has two non-degree-granting colleges:

Accreditation

Ball State University as a whole has been accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools continuously since 1925.[link] ABET has continuously accredited Ball State University's following bachelors degree since the date listed: Manufacturing Engineering Technology 1994.[link]

Athletics

Ball State competes in the following NCAA sports[link]
Men's sports Women's sports
Sport Division Sport Division
Basketball I MAC Basketball I MAC
Golf I MAC Golf I MAC
Swimming I MAC Swimming I MAC
Tennis I MAC Tennis I MAC
Volleyball I MIVAC Volleyball I MAC
Baseball I MAC Softball I MAC
Football I MAC Soccer I MAC
Field hockey I MAC 
| Gymnastics
I MAC
Indoor Track & Field I MAC
Outdoor Track & Field I MAC
Cross country I MAC

Ball State competes in the NCAA Division I / IA and is part of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in all olympic sports except for men's volleyball, where it competes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Conference (MIVAC).

Ball State athletics also has Cheerleading, a non-NCAA sport.

Charlie Cardinal is Ball State's anthropomorphized cardinal mascot. He is sometimes referred to on campus as simply "Charlie."


Notable alumni

Sports

NFL

NBA

MLB

Other

Arts, Literature and Entertainment

Politics

Business

Points of interest

References

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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