Holmes will begin his duties July 1, and a national search to fill the position will begin this fall.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve the college and the university. My goal is not to simply hold steady during my interim role, but to keep the college moving forward,” Holmes said. “The college is thriving, we have excellent faculty, great students, strong relationships with the community and many important initiatives underway. I believe we will attract an outstanding pool of candidates in our national search to replace Scott Olson.”

Since 2001, Holmes has been serving as department chair and professor of communication studies. Before teaching at Ball State, he was an associate professor of communication at the University of Utah.

Holmes earned his bachelor’s degree from Southwest State University in Minnesota, his master’s from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

“I have great confidence in Michael’s leadership, and I know that everyone will support him during this transition,” said Beverley Pitts, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Ball State.

The position opened when Scott Olson accepted the position of vice president for academic affairs at Minnesota State University. During Olson’s tenure, he was instrumental in securing the $20 million iCommunication grant from Lilly Endowment and establishing CCIM as one of the nation’s 10 largest colleges of communication.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Holmes at (765) 285-1882 or mholmes@bsu.edu. For more stories, log on to the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)