Institutional Initiatives

Ball State’s current university-wide initiatives include the following:

Immersive Learning

Intense, collaborative, hands-on immersive learning experiences in every academic college extend education beyond the classroom. Immersive seminars and projects bring groups of students, faculty mentors, and community partners together to develop a tangible outcome or product—such as a film, business plan, product design, or exhibit. These student-driven experiences sharpen teamwork and communication skills, connect students with industry professionals, and provide a portfolio of work that will give graduates an advantage in the job market.

Emerging Media Initiative

The Emerging Media Initiative (EMI) is a more than $20 million investment to provide critically needed human capital and foster economic development across the state and region in evolving technology and digital content to enhance work, play, and learning; broaden access to information; and enrich personal connection by eliminating the constraints of time and location. The initiative, funded through combined institutional and new private resources, focuses the university’s historic strengths in this area and has four components: leadership and sustainability, faculty and research, student opportunities, and engagement and economic development.

Digital Exchange

The Digital Exchange, created by a second $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., explores how digital technology can innovatively and continuously promote the exchange of information in both educational and commercial environments. Three immersive learning institutes, administered by the Center for Media Design, drive this initiative: Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education (IDEE), Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA), and the Institute for Digital Fabrication (IDF).

Building Better Communities

Launched with funding from the Indiana legislature, Building Better Communities connects businesses, organizations, and communities across Indiana with Ball State expertise and resources, providing real-world solutions to real-world problems. Through customized efforts, its work results in stronger businesses, improved communities, and more efficient state and local agencies.

Building Better Communities Fellows

With funding from two $1.5 million grants from the Lilly Endowment Inc., Building Better Communities Fellows (formerly Business Fellows) links interdisciplinary student teams and faculty mentors with Indiana businesses and organizations on projects that help community partners improve services, increase business, develop new job opportunities, enhance quality, or boost competitiveness. In the process, students turn academic knowledge into real-world solutions through intense, semester- or yearlong, for-credit experiences. They develop professional experience and connections that increase the likelihood of them pursuing employment in Indiana after graduation.

Strategic Planning

A university-wide task force was appointed in 2005 to develop a new Strategic Plan to guide Ball State into the next decade. The resulting report outlines a bold plan to advance the university to a new level of distinctiveness. The vision calls for improving the quality of the student body, providing meaningful immersive learning experiences for undergraduates, continuing to build and sustain high-quality academic programs, and fostering a university community that is both vibrant and supportive.

Working Well

Growing out of the university’s strategic planning, Working Well at Ball State University is a health enhancement program designed to support Ball State employees in improving or maintaining healthy lifestyles and to optimize health care resources. The program includes the Start Where You Are walking initiative, Weight Watchers at Work, and cholesterol and blood pressure screenings. 

Inauguration Scholarships

Forgoing a traditional inauguration ceremony, President Jo Ann M. Gora used the $150,000 saved, plus additional funds provided by donors, to present scholarships to 25 Indiana high school students of high ability. Learn more about the Inauguration Scholars and their donors.