When Ball State students arrive for the fall 2007 semester, some of them will move into a new residence hall that incorporates features suggested by current students.

The Ball State Board of Trustees today approved a plan to build a new hall that will house approximately 500 students and be located immediately north of the DeHority Halls complex. Construction is expected to begin in May and be completed by June 2007, with student use beginning in the fall semester.

To serve the dining needs of students living in Woodworth Hall, DeHority Hall and the new hall, the trustees also approved an expansion and renovation of the Woodworth Dining Hall. The renovation and expansion will be completed in time for the fall 2007 semester. The combined cost of the projects is $36 million with $30 million to come from the sale of housing and dining facility revenue bonds and the balance to come from the university's housing and dining renewal and replacement funds.

Ball State has not added a new residence hall since the Johnson complex opened in 1969, and the new hall marks a major turning point in housing on the university campus, said Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora.

"This new facility is designed to meet the needs and expectations of today's college students as expressed to us by current students," she said. "While we have renovated many of our existing halls in an effort to provide an appealing environment for our students, the new hall will truly set the standard for the future of on-campus living."

The university updated its long-range plan for the residence halls in 2001 with the help of Anderson Strickler, a consulting firm. The firm surveyed students about the features they find most appealing in residence halls and concluded that, in some instances, the level of remodeling necessary to meet student demands is cost prohibitive and that funds could be better used investing in new facilities.

Earlier this year, Alan Hargrave, director of housing and residence life, spent two months gathering feedback from student groups on proposed room and building designs for the new hall.    

"Current students' opinions validated what we had found during the Anderson Strickler survey in 2001," Hargrave said. "Students expressed a desire for more privacy and space, better lighting, air conditioning and adequate community space. They also wanted to maintain a sense of community, safety and security, excellent learning environments and convenience — all features incorporated in the new hall's design."

Among the proposed features of the new hall are:

• A focus on double-occupancy rooms clustered around semi-private bathrooms
• A limited number of single-occupancy rooms with private baths
• Community space including seminar and activity rooms to facilitate living and learning for students

In other news, the trustees approved two honorary degrees to be awarded May 7 during the spring commencement ceremony. The honorees are:

• David Gergen, honorary doctor of laws degree. Gergen serves as editor-at-large of U.S. News & World Report and as a television commentator. He is also a professor of public service at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the director of its Center for Public Leadership. Gergen has served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. In addition, he is a best-selling author and has been a frequent contributor to Public Broadcasting Service programs.
• David T. Owsley, honorary doctor of humanities degree. The son of Lucy Ball Owsley and the grandson of Frank C. Ball, Owsley has continued his family's legacy of philanthropy to Ball State as a generous benefactor of the Ball State Museum of Art. His wide expertise in the areas of art collection, art research, art preservation and art education is represented by the extraordinarily diverse works of art that are integrated into nearly 30 percent of the Ball State Museum of Art collection.  Single-handedly, his connoisseurship has furnished the museum with collections of art representing Ancient China, India and Southeast Asia.  In 1978, the Owsley Gallery of Ethnographic Art was dedicated to recognize his magnificent gifts.
   

The trustees also approved:

• a proposal that Ball State offer a doctorate of philosophy in educational studies degree. The degree brings together existing courses in Teachers College, offering candidates a greater emphasis in demographics and educational technology. The proposed doctorate degree must be approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
• a new governance structure for Ball State's University Senate, which resulted from two years of work to revamp the previous structure and was approved by faculty and staff in April.
• the university's financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30. Bill McCune, university controller, told the trustees the university's financial records, policies and procedures had received a clean bill of health from the auditors.
• a change in the university health care plan regarding coverage of maintenance medications, defined as medications that will be taken for at least 90 days.
   

Finally, Gora announced that Indiana Governor Joe Kernan has reappointed Hollis Hughes as a member of the Board of Trustees, effective Jan. 1. Hughes, president and chief executive officer of the St. Joseph County United Way, has served as a trustee since 1989 and is currently assistant secretary of the trustees' executive committee. Hughes earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in sociology and psychology from Ball State.