Shortened Bio for Introductions

Since Jo Ann Gora became Ball State's 14th president in August 2004, she has led the development and implementation of the university's Education Redefined strategic plan, the cornerstone of which is making immersive learning opportunities available to every Ball State student. In the first four years of strategic plan implementation, more than 12,000 students completed more than 750 immersive learning projects in 70 Indiana counties under the mentoring of faculty from every academic department at the university.

She also led the university's successful capital campaign, Ball State Bold, which supported the strategic plan's implementation and surpassed its $200 million goal by more than $10 million. In the eight years since her arrival, Ball State has been in the midst of an unprecedented era of campus improvement, spending approximately $418 million on major construction and renovation projects.

President Gora was one of 12 charter signatories to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2006. She has led Ball State's sustainability efforts, including its geothermal district energy system, the largest of its kind in the country. In March 2012, the project's first phase will be dedicated, allowing the university to shut down two coal-fired boilers and save $1 million annually. When the second and final phase is finished, the system will heat and cool more than 45 campus buildings, saving Ball State $2 million a year while reducing its carbon footprint by nearly half.

In 2009, President Gora earned the Mira Trailblazer Award from TechPoint for her significant and lasting contributions to technology innovation in Indiana. She is a member of the Association of Governing Boards’ Council of Presidents and is on the advisory committee of the Association’s executive search arm. She is a member of the American Council on Education's Board of Directors, chairs the Mid-American Conference Presidents' Council, and co-chairs the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, where she previously chaired the governance committee.