During the fall 2005 faculty convocation, Ball State President Jo Ann Gora issued a challenge to the faculty that applies equally to the entire university community. She noted that for our alma mater—already a distinguished institution—to soar to greater heights, Ball State must chart a more entrepreneurial course. According to the president, "as an entrepreneurial university, more refl ective of 21st-century values, I will challenge you and our students to take risks, be creative, and define new challenges...."

The Ball State Unversity Alumni Association exists to foster and fully realize the mission of the university and, in that vein, enthusiastically accepts the challenge issued by the president. Historically the Association has charted an entrepreneurial course, dating back to its inception in 1927.

The Alumni Association provides a unifying li nk between the university's past, present, and future. In that role, taking risks, being creative, and continually defining new challenges have always been hallmarks of the Association's success. Though there have been countless examples of the Alumni Association's entrepreneurial spirit through the years, the specific mention of a few might be particularly instructive.

Support for fundraising
Ball State alumni, in conjunction with the Alumni Association, have consistently  provided significant financial support to our alma mater. In the 1960s, an organized fundraising effort involving the Alumni Association generated more than $150,000 to help build the John R. Emens College-Community Auditorium during Ball State's first capital campaign. Emens Auditorium remains one of the crown jewels on our campus today.

The Annual Fund program, under the direction of the Office of Alumni and Development Programs and with significant support from the Alumni Association, was honored nationally on five occasions by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Cited for excellence in alumni fundraising among state-assisted universities, we received the awards in the 1970s and early 1980s. This rich tradition of alumni participation, in turn, helped fuel the outstanding successes achieved during later capital campaigns, such as Wings For The Future, the Alumni Center Campaign, Above and Beyond, and the recently completed Drive to Distinction Campaign.

Support for Student Scholarships
Through the years, the Alumni Association has demonstrated initiative by finding ways to support or establish countless scholarship opportunities for Ball State students. Beginning with an initial allocation of $1,200 in 1955, the Alumni  Association's commitment today includes significant support for such wide-ranging scholarship programs as the Alumni Merit, Ralph E. Whitinger, John R. Emens, Martin Luther King, Ray Ashley, Oliver C. Bumb, Robert E. Linson, and Alumni  Association Legacy Scholarships. Notably, 50 legacy scholarships were awarded for the 2005-06 school year alone. Since the inception of the legacy scholarship program, 694 alumni families have received more than $825,400 in scholarship assistance. More recently, the Alumni Association stepped to the plate and funded one of the hugely successful Presidential Inauguration Scholarships that were initiated in 2005 by President Gora.

Events, Programs, and Services
An entrepreneurial mind-set has always provided a foundation for the events,  programs, and services made available by or through our Alumni Association. For instance, the Ball State Alumni Association sponsored or hosted a total of 236  events in 2005. Of those, 151 occurred on campus with the remaining 85 taking place away from Ball State, often at great distances. A total of 47,954 alumni  attended the events.

In the further spirit of entrepreneurship, the Association constantly reviews and evaluates the types and locations of events it sponsors or hosts in an effort to appeal to the broadest spectrum of Ball State alumni. Events that do not work as hoped are discontinued or revamped, while tried and true events oft en become time-honored  taditions. Ideas for new events are constantly considered. If you have ideas for new or diff erent alumni events, please share them with me, Ed Shipley, or any of the other staff members or volunteers. There is a good chance your idea may be
implemented.

The long-standing Alumni Association awards program is designed to support the mission of the university by recognizing outstanding achievements of notable alumni and friends. Though the program includes such traditional honors as the Distinguished Alumni Awards, Benny Awards, and accolades tied to specific  colleges and departments, entrepreneurship plays a role here, too, because the program is constantly evaluated and new honors, such as the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Awards, Executive Director's Award, and Student Scholarship Talent Search Awards, are added when deemed appropriate by the Alumni Council.

The Ball State Alumnus is a significant component of the work of the Alumni Association. Through the magazine, alumni are informed about all Alumni Association events and programs, kept in touch with one another and their alma  mater, and educated and informed about Ball State University—its problems and successes, its past, present, and future. The Alumnus is an invaluable asset to the university and the Alumni Association. In the true spirit of entrepreneurship, the
Association recognizes a need to constantly strive to improve and enhance the magazine so it becomes an even more significant vehicle for sharing the ideals and mission of the university. With sufficient resources, the Alumnus can continue on a path toward becoming one of the preeminent alumni magazines in the country.

Technology
Merely keeping up with changes in technology requires an entrepreneurial approach.  As with the greater university community, the goal of the Alumni Association is not just to keep up but rather to remain on the cutting edge of  technology as it relates to alumni relations. Through the years, the Association has progressed from the use of 3x5 note cards maintained in file drawers to a system that today permits instant electronic communication via e-mail that resulted in 1,860,760 immediate contacts with alumni in 2005 alone. Monthly, the Alumni Association's Web site averages approximately 155,000 hits which is but one indicator of the growing significance of technology in the life of our alumni population. New programs and technologies are constantly being evaluated. The current iConnect lifetime e-mail account that is now available to all Ball State alumni is an example. The only certainty is that today's technologies will be replaced by newer and better technological advances that will be embraced by the Alumni Association in the future.

The stature of Ball State's Alumni Association is a direct reflection of the hard work, dedication, and success of teachers, artists, historians, architects, business  executives, scientists, journalists, athletes, philosophers, researchers, and  performers—to name but a few—who now proudly claim this university as their alma mater. To remain worthy of the stature entrusted unto it, your Alumni  Association will continue to chart an entrepreneurial course in support of the ideals and mission of Ball State University.

Mark A. Ervin, '81MA85, President
Ball State University Alumni Association