When the Ball State football stadium renovation and expansion is complete, the new press box will be called the Paul and Patricia Kozel Communications Center, recognizing the Muncie couple's generous gift to the stadium project.

The university's board of trustees approved the naming of the communications center in July, in addition to hiring an architectural firm.

In June, the Kozels made a $1.25 million gift to "Drive to Distinction: The Ball State Stadium Campaign," which has a goal of raising $12 million to fund the renovation and expansion of the stadium.

The Kozels' gift generated momentum for the stretch drive of the campaign, and since the announcement of their gift, an additional $500,000 has been raised, bringing the campaign's total to $10.8 million.

Paul Kozel is president and treasurer of Chesterfield Management, a company that owns multiple restaurants in northern Indiana and manages commercial properties. Patricia Kozel has been active with Chesterfield Management since 1980 and now serves as vice president and secretary. The couple, along with their children, also owns a wireless phone and tower company.

The trustees also approved the hiring of the architectural firm Browning, Day, Mullins, Dierdorf Architects of Indianapolis to lead the project. The firm has previously worked on the construction of Worthen Arena, conceptual planning for the football complex, and onstruction of the football training facility for Ball State.

The campaign will fund construction of new concession facilities, the communications center, a brick and wrought iron exterior, and new seating in the north end zone that will wrap around the structure to create a 25,400-seat horseshoe stadium.

The Paul and Patricia Kozel Communications Center will have several features and functions, including a larger, improved press box and entertainment center with home and visitor media areas and a state-of-the-art media room; donor and president's suites; and individual rental suites.

Ball State selects MiddletownStudies Center director

History professor James Connolly has been appointed director of the Center for Middletown Studies at Ball State. Connolly spent the last year as interim director.

The center was created in 1980 to focus on the research conducted by sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd, whose landmark studies Middletown  and Middletownin Transition investigated life in Muncie during the 1920s and 1930s.

Connolly succeeds Bruce Geelhoed, PhD76, chairman of Ball State's history department, who was the center's director from 1991-2004. Connolly, whose research focuses on urban and ethnic politics from 1870-1930, joined Ball State in 1996 after receiving his doctorate in American history in 1995 from Brandeis University.

Connolly obtained his master's in 1989 from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a bachelor's degree in 1984 from the College of the Holy Cross.

Jaggers named to lead university's development efforts

Charles "Chip" Jaggers, MA72EdD85, has been appointed executive director of University Development. He had been Ball State's associate executive director of development since 1999 and took on the additional duties of interim executive director in March 2003.

Jaggers came to Ball State from Taylor University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1969. He also served in three vice presidential positions, and as senior vice president for the William Taylor Foundation.

He served as Ball State's director of University Communications from 1996-99, when he moved to the development area. During his tenure as interim executive director, Ball State experienced its two best years for private giving, with $23.8 million in 2003 and $41.3 million in 2004.

Frazier appointed student representative on Board of Trustees

Danielle Frazier, a junior from New Palestine, has been appointed to the Ball State University Board of Trustees by Governor Mitch Daniels.

Frazier, who is majoring in elementary education, replaces Kyle Mitchell, '05 of Fishers. Her twoyear appointment begins immediately.

Since coming to Ball State, Frazier has been very involved. She has been active in residence hall activities, the Office of Leadership and Service Learning, Alternative Breaks advisory board, and the Excellence in Leadership program. She is the incoming president of Student Voluntary Services and has just completed a two-year term in AmeriCorps.

Ball State offers first electronic art, animation degree

Furthering its reputation as a leader in the creation of digital content, Ball State now offers a bachelor of fine arts degree with specialties in electronic art and animation.

The new specialty area, the first of its kind in Indiana, will provide students with a comprehensive digital media arts experience.

The university also offers a master's degree in studio art with an emphasis in electronic art and animation.

The areas of study offered by the Department of Art will focus on numerous innovative forms of digital art. They include computer animation, high-definition digital video, Internet-based projects, digital imaging, virtual reality, interactive art, and the relatively new artistic concept of intermedia, which fuses traditional art with media that have not previously seen considered art forms, such as computers.

Outside research funding quadrupled in 2004-05

Ball State established a new record in 2004-05 when it received $25.7 million in external grants to fund faculty education and research projects.

The university has more than quadrupled outside funding for research and educational programs since 1998-99 when Ball State received $5.5 million.

The growth of Ball State's research efforts has increased opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research projects, work one-on-one with faculty, and conduct their own research for publications and presentations at conferences.

Among the university's seven academic colleges, the College of Sciences and Humanities received the largest amount of external funding at $5.5 million for 79 projects. Teachers College received $5.2 million for its projects. Grant funding averaged about $102,000 per project. The university received five grants in excess of $1 million.

Ball State graduates 1,317 students at summer ceremony

Jeffrey Hornsby, a Ball State management professor, urged graduates to develop a plan for postcollege life during summer commencement ceremonies July 23 in Worthen Arena.

Hornsby, the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Management, gave the keynote  address "Defining Moments— Define Your Path," to 1,317 graduating students and their families and friends.

Hornsby received the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2004 during the fall  faculty meeting. He also was elevated to the rank of distinguished professor last fall.

Ball State hires new director to lead entrepreneurship team

Ball State has tapped an expert on the dynamics of high-growth firms to direct its nationally recognized entrepreneurship center.

Following a national search, Larry Cox, director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, will join  Ball State's Miller College of Business as director of the Midwest Entrepreneurial Education Center.

He also will serve on the faculty for the college's highly ranked graduate and undergraduate academic programs.

Cox succeeds Donald Kuratko, founding director of the university's entrepreneurship program, who left the university at the end of 2004.

From 1999 to 2003, Cox served as the director of research at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, MO, which works with partners to encourage entrepreneurship and education.

During his time at Wisconsin's Weinert Center, which was ranked in the top 50 nationally for  2004 by EntrePoint.com and Entrepreneur Magazine, Cox was instrumental in starting several innovative programs.

Cox obtained his bachelor's degree in 1976 from the University of  Nebraska. He received a master's degree in management information systems in 1990 and a doctorate in strategic  management in 1995, also from Nebraska.

While earning his advanced  degrees, Cox served as the director of the Nebraska Business Development Center, consulting with hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs. His personal research interests include the dynamics of highgrowth firms, the impact of entrepreneurship education, and the cognitive processes of entrepreneurs.