Ball State 90th Anniversary Dinner

Keynote Remarks in Celebration of the Ball Family
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008; 6:00 p.m.
Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building

Good evening. I am Jo Ann Gora, president of Ball State University, and it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this dinner, celebrating the wonderful history of philanthropy and service that the Ball family has given to this university.

This has been an exciting day! We have watched our undefeated football team notch its eighth win of the season. We have toured campus and this wonderful art museum. We have enjoyed the talents of wonderful musicians. But the real reason we are here is tonight's very special event, which commemorates a very special relationship.

The histories of the Ball family and Ball State University are inextricably linked. On this, the 90th anniversary of Ball State’s founding, we are proud to honor the Ball family and our shared history with this special video presentation.

Tonight is one of several events we are holding to honor the 90th anniversary of Ball State's founding. As I have learned from my mother, reaching 90 is a major accomplishment. We all should take a moment or two to savor the excitement of today's events. They honor the tremendous strides Ball State has made over nine decades and celebrate the bold steps we will take over the next one.

But even as we celebrate that anniversary, it is entirely fitting that we do so by honoring the Ball family. The video mentioned other famous universities that were chartered as private institutions in their founders' names, but the Ball brothers made possible a vibrant public university through their entrepreneurial vision. The Ball family's focus on the public good has been a hallmark of its partnership with this university--a partnership so strong that for the last 86 of those 90 years, this institution has carried the family name. Indeed, this partnership was--and still is--very much a family affair.

The Balls' legacy of beneficence is especially reassuring when you consider today's unsettled financial times. Today, many universities are wondering what their future holds. Here at Ball State, we take heart in knowing that the family and the university have come through trying economic times before.

When the five Ball brothers bought the closed Eastern Indiana Normal School in 1917, the natural gas boom in this area had ended and the economy was in a downturn. When the beautiful statue, Beneficence, was cast in 1930 to honor the brothers' support of Ball State and other Muncie organizations, the Great Depression delayed its actual dedication at the site across the Quadrangle for seven years. Just as the Ball family has done, Ball State has approached these challenges with an entrepreneurial spirit, believing that a combination of creativity, commitment, and cooperation will pull us through.

The Ball family's impact is everywhere on our campus. Many of our beautiful buildings that give Ball State much of its character are facilities that bear Ball family names. Some, such as Ball Gym, the Ball Communication Building, and the John and Janice Fisher Football Training Complex, reflect generous giving that made their construction possible. Some, such as Lucina Hall or Elliott Hall, also commemorate beloved family members or those tragically lost. Still others, such as Bracken Library, stand as testaments to the family's service and commitment to Ball State.

The fact that we are gathered in this building tonight is no accident. We consciously chose the Museum of Art as the venue for this dinner, since it is emblematic of the family’s relationship with Ball State. The Ball brothers provided $86,000 in 1934 to make the museum space possible and ensure the completion of the Fine Arts Building the following year. Throughout the ensuing years, many of the nearly 11,000 works in the museum were either donated directly from family members or made possible for purchase by the Balls’ philanthropy. And a major component in our current Ball State Bold capital campaign is the $5 million challenge from David Owsley to expand gallery space in this building to increase the art collection.

Less obvious than bricks and mortar—but every bit as important—are the investments the Ball family has made in people and ideas. Support for the Honors College and the Ball Honors House are helping us attract the best and brightest students to Ball State. The Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry has helped us redefine education by placing students at the center of immersive learning experiences. The John and Janice Fisher Institute for Wellness and Geronotology addresses a growing need in our community and our society.

In my more than four years as Ball State president, I have found that as impressive as the Balls' philanthropy and service to Ball State are, their effect on this university goes much deeper than those attributes alone. In the end, it is about people, and it is the impact—of those gifts and that service—on people that endures. The family's values have become the university's values, in no small part because through their tireless commitment, the Balls have attracted other dedicated and talented people to Ball State. Here is just one example.

I know you enjoyed the video presentation a few moments ago. You may have recognized the narrator’s voice as that of Steve Bell, who received an honorary doctorate from Ball State in May. I was happy to introduce Steve in Cleveland last month as he was inducted into the Silver Circle, the highest honor given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He earned that honor for his 19 years as a correspondent with ABC News, including 11 years as the anchor for "World News This Morning."

Yet in 1992, Steve came to Ball State as the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball endowed chair of telecommunications. Steve has told me that the Balls were major factors in his decision, because he wanted his students to hold the highest ethical standards and a deep passion for broadcast journalism--and Ed and Virginia shared those views. Because of their encouragement, Steve served on our faculty for 15 years, influencing hundreds of students and guiding his department through the successful transition to a new college--our College of Communication, Information, and Media, a place that has produced so many student Emmy Award nominees and winners over the years that Ball State is now commonly called "the nation’s best film school without a film school."

At the end of the day, that is the lasting legacy of the Ball family--their values have become a part of the DNA of every professor, student, administrator, and trustee on this campus. We deeply appreciate everything that each generation of the family has done to make Ball State the university that it is today.

The very fine universities mentioned at the start of the video all have been around longer than Ball State, yet those are the universities we are increasingly joining on lists of national rankings. There have been many examples in only the last few months. U.S. News and World Report ranked Ball State 14th as tops for innovation in its list of up-and-coming schools. In Tune magazine listed our School of Music as one of the nation's best, among institutions such as Juilliard, Oberlin, and the Boston Conservatory. Our undergraduate entrepreneurship program has been ranked in the country's top 10 by U.S. News and World Report every year since 1999. And our landscape architecture program was ranked fourth among all undergraduate programs and fifth among all graduate programs by the respected professional journal, Design Intelligence.

We at Ball State have been blessed to enjoy a unique partnership with the Ball family that has now reached 90 years--and counting. We take the stewardship of that legacy very seriously, evidenced by the millions of dollars Ball State has spent renovating and upgrading buildings--including this highly symbolic one--originally given by the family.

The Ball family’s entrepreneurial spirit, generous philanthropy, and strong sense of civic engagement have been an integral part of Ball State's culture since our founding 90 years ago. Together, the Ball family and Ball State University have accomplished much in these past 90 years; we are committed to achieving even more in the days to come. As we at the university boldly embrace our future, it is heartening to know that new generations of the Ball family will be with us, continuing the storied legacy of beneficence shown throughout our past. On behalf of Ball State University and my colleagues here, I extend our gratitude to each and every member of the Ball family, past, present, and future.

Now I would ask five members of the Ball family to offer a few words about their family's tradition of philanthropy and service on this anniversary of Ball State’s founding. First will be Frank Bracken, a member of our Board of Trustees since 1980.

Now we have a special unveiling to conclude the evening’s program. John, would you please escort Janice Fisher, representing the second generation of the Ball family, as she comes forward? As everyone knows, Janice is the matriarch of the Ball family and is our link to the five Ball brothers, whose generosity started Ball State 90 years ago. Janice, will you assist me in the unveiling?

This plaque will be cast in honor of the Ball family and its legacy of beneficence to Ball State University on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the institution's founding. Next spring, the plaque will be placed in a decorative garden, located close to the Beneficence statue, which, of course, also represents the gratitude of Ball State and of Muncie for the Ball family's philanthropy and service. A copy of the plaque also will be displayed in the Ball Associates building in downtown Muncie. In this way, future generations will recognize the deep appreciation all of us at Ball State have for the Ball family.

This has been a wonderful evening! We have a very special gift for the members of the Ball family, which we will distribute to you as you leave the Recital Hall. Good night and thank you all for coming.