Star Press

Ball State creates student-run interior design firm partnership.

It includes a 2.8 percent increase plus $33.1 million to finish geothermal project.

James Whitford wrapped up his media interviews, and as he sat in the Ball State locker room Wednesday for a brief break before he rushed off to his next public speaking engagement, he took a moment to let what just unfolded sink in.

Ball State introduced the 41-year-old Whitford as its men’s basketball head coach in the Alumni Lounge at Worthen Arena roughly 45 minutes earlier, and his press conference generated a buzz as a lively crowd hung on his every word.

Story and video. Pleasant View Elementary school kindergarten students teaming up with Ball State University students to build a school bus pencil holder at the Applied Technology Building as part of a program to show how raw materials are converted into consumer products. Includes a video report on the program.

Beginning this month, BSU students enrolled in Steve Radil’s immersive learning geography class, will work with neighborhood associations in seven neighborhoods — Anthony, West Briar, Industry, South Central, Forest Park, Old West End and Morningside — to assess their strengths and weaknesses, known as a "mental mapping."

For the second year in a row, a project located in Haiti and executed by a class of Ball State architecture and landscape architecture students has been recognized in the 2012 Honor Awards Program sponsored by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS). In addition, four students from the same class earned a third-place award in the 2012 (New) Concrete Unit Design Competition sponsored by the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) and funded through the Indiana Concrete Masonry Association (ICMA).

Ball State University recently earned kudos for its employee wellness program, which encourages staffers to walk, stop smoking and even take advantage of one-on-one health coaching. The American Heart Association recognized BSU as a Gold Level Fit-Friendly Worksite thanks to the university’s Working Well program.