An experienced administrator with a superior track record in strategic planning, fundraising, establishing external partnerships, and improving faculty and student diversity is joining Ball State as provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Terry King, currently dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, will assume the post July 17. However, he will begin making regular working visits to campus beginning in April.

"Terry is truly excited about this opportunity and about quickly and thoroughly immersing himself in the life of this institution," said Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora. "These early visits were his idea, and I think that's indicative of the kind of energy and enthusiasm we can expect from Terry King.

"Terry possesses a wonderful combination of experience and personal qualities that will enable him to lead the core academic enterprise of the university — truly its heart and soul — to the next level of achievement and distinction. He is collaborative, personable, creative in his thinking and experienced as an administrator — and he has a keen sense of humor, an attribute not to be underappreciated. Plus, he has a fine record of scholarly accomplishment in his own right."

King's hiring is pending approval by the university's board of trustees at its next meeting, set for May 5.

King says he was attracted to Ball State because of its high aspirations and the ways in which it is poised for even greater success.

"President Gora and the leadership team of Ball State University have articulated high aspirations for the institution," King said. "The focus on high-quality, student-centered programs that can achieve national visibility greatly attracted me to seek this position. I look forward to being part of the team.

"I am very impressed with the faculty, staff and students whom I have met at Ball State.  In my opinion, all the right ingredients are in place for this institution to become truly great."

King has served as dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State — a college of 150 faculty members, eight academic departments and 32 academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels — since 1997. During that time, he:

• collaborated in the development of the computing and information technology initiative for the university
• began the K-State LEA/RN Program to enhance learner-focused education for engineering faculty members and faculty members in other colleges
• initiated the Innovation Leadership Program in collaboration with the College of Business Administration to provide business expertise to people with scientific and technical backgrounds to promote entrepreneurship and technology transfer
• facilitated the process to create the College of Engineering's strategic vision, mission, core values and numerical performance objectives
• increased the college's endowment from $7.9 million to $21 million and raised annual gift activity to the college to more than $10 million per year
• created the Women in Engineering and Science Program in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences to recruit and retain women students and faculty members
• enhanced the stature of the college's Multicultural Engineering Program
• was responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of external advisory boards used by the college, resulting in more than 100 professional and industry leaders being engaged in the advancement of each college unit's goals.
   

Before joining Kansas State, King was chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. He began his professional career as a research engineer at Exxon Chemical Co. in Baton Rouge in 1979 and progressed to senior engineer in 1981. In 1982, he joined the faculty at Iowa State as an assistant professor, becoming an associate professor in 1986 and a full professor in 1990.

King has taught at all levels of chemical engineering, and his research interests are fundamental catalysis and surface science, application of solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to catalyst studies, catalyst applications, surface thermodynamics and reaction engineering. Prior to becoming dean in 1997, King attracted $4.7 million in research funding, primarily from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

King earned a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Iowa State in 1975 and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979.

King's family includes his wife, Kathleen, a professor of art specializing in painting, drawing and printmaking, and two sons, Andrew (23) and Jonathan (20).

(Note to editors: For more information or to arrange an interview with King, contact Heather Shupp, executive director of university communications at (765) 285-1560, (765) 748-4823 (cell) or hshupp@bsu.edu.)

Heather Shupp, Executive Director