2008 Indianapolis Education Redefined Reception

Indianapolis Education Redefined Reception Keynote Address
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Woodstock Club, Main Ballroom, Indianapolis

Thank you, Melissa, and good evening to all of you. It’s my great pleasure to be here.

I’m sure that many of you have seen Ball State’s television commercials or billboards that use the phrase, “Education Redefined.” Perhaps you’ve wondered what we mean by that. I’m here tonight to answer that question.

We began using “Education Redefined” about 18 months ago, and we have received very positive feedback about it. I am convinced that the reason is that “Education Redefined” is not just a tagline, or even just a marketing campaign. It is the title and basis of our strategic plan, the implementation of which began last fall. It has become who we are at Ball State.

The focus of our strategic plan is immersive learning. Let me explain what I mean by that term. You are probably familiar with experiential learning, which most colleges and universities offer. Internships, community service projects, and study-abroad programs are all examples of experiential learning, in which students learn in part from the experience itself.

Immersive learning is experiential learning that is intensified. A team of students, preferably interdisciplinary, works collaboratively under the guidance of a faculty mentor for academic credit for at least a semester and often for an entire academic year. The students drive the learning process, determining the direction of the project, which produces a real-world solution to a real-world problem for a community or business partner. The solution takes the form of a tangible outcome or product—an instructional DVD, a set of architectural renderings, a business or marketing plan, or a creative work like a play or a museum exhibit.

As I got to know the university after arriving there in 2004, I saw so many examples of how faculty members were collaborating with groups of students in this way. I learned that faculty mentoring of students during this collaborative process was a traditional strength at Ball State. So in our strategic planning process, we considered ways that we could better capitalize on this strength and truly make it a hallmark of a Ball State education for all of our students.

That traditional strength was one of many reasons we decided to focus on immersive learning. It was recognized by all our constituencies—faculty, students, alumni, legislators, and private donors. We also believed that Ball State could do this because of our size. We are large enough to give our students and faculty access to leading-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities. But we also are not too large—Ball State faculty value research, but they are committed to the time that is needed to mentor and guide students.

Finally, we knew that immersive learning is embraced by bright, creative students because they know it best prepares them for a world of global competition and constant change. Immersive learning offers a significant intellectual challenge—and that is what we want Ball State to be known for.

Immersive learning quickly has become the cornerstone of what we do at Ball State. We continue to see our immersive learning opportunities both increase and broaden. They stretch well beyond the borders of our campus. Our Building Better Communities initiative took teams of students and faculty to 60 Indiana counties last year and encompassed more than 130 projects. When 2007 statistics become available, I expect we will see more student teams making a difference for Indiana.

We are working to make Ball State the destination in Indiana for students who are interested in immersive learning. In the process, we are helping to keep Indiana’s top high school students here in the state to continue their studies, and—through the connections they make during their immersive learning experiences—we believe we are helping to stem the brain drain here in the state by giving them outstanding employment opportunities in Indiana.

Perhaps you’re wondering about our results from this emphasis on immersive learning. We have received several million dollars from private donors in support of our efforts, and we were the only state university to receive legislative investment in the enhancement of its curriculum during the 2007 session. More than 13,000 students applied for admission to last fall’s freshman class, which is 21 percent more than 2006, and even more have applied to enter this fall. Last year’s entering class featured an average SAT score that was 23 points higher than its predecessor. Enrollment in our Honors College is 19 percent higher now than it was in 2006-07.

But I believe the most powerful way to show the results of this focus on immersive learning is to tell you about a couple of the projects based at the Indiana Department of Homeland Security right here in Indianapolis.

In late 2006, Pam Bright, the public information outreach director for the state Department of Homeland Security, approached faculty in our telecommunications department about the possibility of producing public service announcements, or PSAs. This led to Ball State students writing, shooting, and producing eight 30-second PSAs about emergency preparedness that have aired all around the state. The immersive learning project, completed in June, not only involved students and faculty from the telecommunications and journalism departments, but it also used first-time actors to demonstrate how families should prepare for floods, tornadoes, blizzards, and other disasters.

The executives at IDHS were so impressed with the final product and the professionalism of the students working on the project that they immediately approached Ball State about another immersive learning project, this one involving an emergency management protocol for the state of Indiana.
You heard me correctly. Since September, Pam and her colleagues have been working with Bob Pritchard, associate professor of journalism, and the students in Cardinal Communications, our student-run public relations and advertising agency.

When they finish their work next month, this team of students will have created a comprehensive protocol for emergency management and crisis communications throughout the state. The students have been researching how many states have this sort of document, and while they haven’t heard back from all of their contacts, it is clear that the answer will be in the single digits. And it is also becoming clear that this is likely the only state emergency protocol researched and written by college students! In fact, those students, Professor Pritchard, and I will be joining Department of Homeland Security officials at an event on April 28 in the Statehouse rotunda to celebrate this powerful and meaningful example of immersive learning.

In conclusion, let me tell you a story that illustrates the importance of immersive learning at Ball State. I know you saw the media coverage of the David Letterman Communication and Media Building dedication ceremonies in September. I spent more than six hours with Dave as he returned to his alma mater, along with 23 members of his family and staff. He spent an hour before the ceremony itself meeting with some of our students inside the building, away from the media attention.

The Letterman building is the most technologically advanced building on our campus, and it offers state-of-the-art facilities for the kind of immersive learning that I have been describing, facilities that Dave found out that even he doesn’t have available to him at CBS. One of the features Dave saw on his tour is a one-million-dollar post-production studio, where our students, with the guidance of faculty mentors, can edit their high-definition footage and mix in surround sound to produce a film or video. It’s the kind of studio that is normally available only to graduate students at film schools, and its availability for Ball State undergraduate students provides a perfect example of our commitment to immersive learning. It’s what Dave was talking about when he told the students, and I’m quoting here, the future of communications is in this building.

When Dave spoke at the ceremony itself, one of the first things he did was acknowledge his special professor, Darrell Wible, and ask him to stand. I met with Dave at CBS more than two years ago and asked him what he remembered about Ball State. He immediately began talking about Professor Wible and how he was responsible for what Dave had become. Now we’re talking about a man who has been recognized as the best in his profession, someone who has interviewed literally thousands of famous people on the air. Yet he remembered with great detail and clarity events that happened in Darrell Wible’s class 40 years ago! If that doesn’t demonstrate the power of Ball State’s tradition of faculty and students working side-by-side, the essence of immersive learning, I don’t know what does.

I strongly believe that we at Ball State are truly redefining education and demonstrating the university’s value to the citizens of Indiana. I am proud to serve as its president during this exciting, challenging time. Thank you for your hospitality this evening. I would be happy to answer any questions.