In the magazine's annual listings of top graduate programs offered by business schools, Ball State's entrepreneurship program is ranked 25th, up one spot from last year. In 2005, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university's undergraduate entrepreneurship program among the top five in the nation.

Over the last five years, Ball State's graduate entrepreneurship program has been consistently ranked in the magazine's top 30.

The university's secondary education program is ranked at 55th with several other colleges and universities in the magazine's first expanded listing of the nation's top 100 programs in that field.

"The ranking is a testament to the hard work and dedication that has led the entrepreneurship program to be considered as one of the best in the nation," said Lynne Richardson, dean of the Miller College of Business. "When a student receives a master's degree in entrepreneurship, they are armed with an 'entrepreneurial perspective' necessary to compete in the contemporary business world."

The 2007 edition of the newsstand book, "America's Best Graduate Schools," which contains all the U.S. News & World Report rankings, is slated to go on sale April 3.

"Risk, vision and spirit are the basis for the success of our program and our graduates," said Larry Cox, entrepreneurship center director.

In addition to U.S. News & World Report, the entrepreneurship program has been highly rated in recent years by several publications, including Success and Business Week.

Ball State has been educating outstanding teachers for careers in secondary education for more than a century, said Laurie Mullen, associate dean of Teachers College.

Ball State's secondary programs produce engaged professionals for the future through state-of-the-art educational technology and knowledge of its use in advancing teaching practices and student performance.

"We are pleased that the quality of our secondary education program is recognized by  U.S. News & World Report," Mullen said. "Faculty in Teachers College and the various content areas across campus, along with our school-based colleagues, are highly committed to quality programs that prepare classroom teachers to work effectively in our nation's classrooms."

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Cox at lwcox@bsu.edu or (765) 285-9002. Richardson may be reached at lrichardson@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8192. Mullen may be contacted at lmullen@bsu.edu or (765) 285-5452.)