Ball State has been fully reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

The reaccreditation was approved for a ten-year period, during which the university will not undergo any type of interim review or monitoring. The reaccreditation came as a result of the university's engagement in a two-year process in which it completed a comprehensive self-study, solicited community input, and underwent a site visit by a team of consultant evaluators drawn from higher education throughout the country.

The site team reviewed Ball State's self-study and comments on the study before their February visit to the university. During the visit, the team analyzed whether the university is meeting 24 basic general institutional requirements and evaluated the institution's performance in fulfilling five key criteria.

In addition to affirming that Ball State continues to meet the general institutional requirements, the team concluded that the key criteria were satisfied and that Ball State "has clear and publicly-stated purposes consistent with its mission and appropriate to an institution of higher education." The team continued that the university also has "effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes and is accomplishing its educational and other purposes."

The accreditation report acknowledged that Ball State has taken significant action to address concerns raised during the 1993 accreditation process.

In addition to the main body of the final report, called the "assurance section," the review team produced an "advancement section," which recognizes significant accomplishments, significant progress, and exemplary and innovative practices, and offers suggestions for possible improvement.

The advancement section praised the divisions of University Advancement and Student Affairs, in addition to the Office of Teaching and Learning Advancement, for exhibiting characteristics that should serve as models for other institutions. The section also mentions the entrepreneurship program, the College of Architecture and Planning, the physical facilities, and the assessment activities of Ball State as exemplary.

The team used the advancement section to provide consultation in the areas of assessment, governance, and distance education. Noting the excellence of university leadership in the areas of distance education and assessment and the attention being given to strengthening the roles various constituencies have in governance, the team concluded that "Ball State can and is expected to" meet the challenge of positive progress in these areas "in the same positive manner they have addressed challenges in the past."

Midori, McDonald to open Music Instruction Building

World-renowned musicians Midori and McDonald will open Ball State's David and Mary Jane Sursa Performance Hall with a concert Wednesday, September 22.

The evening concert will be the marquee event for the Music Instruction Building's grand opening festivities. It will also kick off the hall's concert series, which will feature performances by pianist Krystian Zimerman and the Tokyo String Quartet.

Midori is heralded as one of the world's foremost violinists. She has played the great concert halls of Europe, Asia, and North America and has performed with many prestigious ensembles around the world.

McDonald, an award-winning pianist, has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Far East as a solo recitalist and recital partner to violinists Midori and Isaac Stern. The talented pianist has won the Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy, the William Kapell International Competition, and the Washington International Competition.

German pianist Krystian Zimerman, who was the last, and for some time also the only, pianist to perform under Leonard Bernstein, will appear Thursday, November 18.The Tokyo String Quartet, one of the supreme chamber ensembles in the world, will perform Tuesday, January 25, 2005.

The inaugural music series will showcase the $21-million Music Instruction Building. Ball State's newest building has 73,000 square feet of academic space, a cutting-edge digital recording studio, and a 600-seat tuneable performance hall, named for the benefactors.

Los Angeles-based acoustician Roger Noppe designed the hall with panels that can be adjusted to deflect or absorb sound, ensuring that each concert will have the best possible acoustics.

Ball State productions receive 16 regional Emmy nominations

Ball State has been nominated for 16 regional Emmy Awards, the most of any member organization of the Cleveland chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

A group of faculty, staff, and students from the telecommunications department will attend ceremonies Saturday, September 18, at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center.

In its first year of operation, NewsLink Indiana, Ball State's news and information effort, received an Emmy nomination in the technical achievement category. NewsLink Indiana integrates the university's television and online news products with the existing Indiana Public Radio, a radio news network, and Ball State's student-run daily newspaper, the Daily News.

The Cleveland chapter includes television stations in Akron/Canton, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo, all in Ohio; Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and Muncie, in Indiana; and Erie, PA.

Last year, Ball State received ten nominations and was honored with six Emmys.

Ball State graduates 1,232 students

Ball State's summer commencement, July 24, recognized 621 individuals receiving bachelor's degrees, 525 master's degrees, 56 associate degrees, and 30 doctoral or specialist in education degrees.

Ramon Avila, '77MBA79, the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Marketing, presented the keynote address, "Right Mental AttitudeIt's the Only Way," to 1,232 graduating students and their families and friends.

Since joining the Ball State faculty in 1984, Avila has received several honors, including a Leavey Award from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, PA, for innovation in the classroom with his advanced professional selling class, and Mu Kappa Tau's Outstanding Contributor to the Sales Profession.

Avila also has been honored by Ball State, receiving the Outstanding Faculty award in 2003, the Outstanding Service award in 1988, and the Outstanding Junior Faculty award in 1989.

CAP names Coddington new chairman

Jon Coddington has accepted the position of chairman for the College of Architecture and Planning's architecture department at Ball State.

Coddington, who was chairman of the University of Tennessee's graduate architecture program for ten years, began his position July 1.

At Tennessee, he received numerous awards for teaching excellence. His work includes the design of the Bicentennial Mall, a 19-acre urban park in Nashville that served as the centerpiece for Tennessee's 200th birthday in 1996.

Coddington has been involved with a number of urban design and master planning projects throughout Tennessee. He earned his bachelor's degree from Earlham College and his master of architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Gift to upgrade stadium, geography

A $332,773 gift from George Franklin Beatty, '49, who died December 3, 2003, will assist in the expansion of Ball State's football stadium, provide equipment upgrades, and fund programs in the Department of Geography.

Beatty, who was born in Cowan, received his master's degree and doctorate from the University of Illinois.

He taught at Ball State from 1958 until retiring in 1983. He chaired the Department of Geography and Geology from 1958 until 1973.