Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora launched the initiative to provide educational opportunities to students rather than spending funds on a formal inauguration ceremony. The recipients will be announced March 29 during a small ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse, in which Gov. Mitch Daniels will officially recognize Gora's installation by the Board of Trustees as Ball State's 14th president. The ceremony will be streamed to the Web at www.bsu.edu.

The university created the Inauguration Scholarship fund with $150,000 in direct and indirect savings it realized by not holding a formal inauguration ceremony. Initially, the university hoped 15 benefactors would each pledge a $10,000 "Medallion" gift, allowing the university to offer 15 Inauguration Scholarships to high-achieving students from across Indiana. As of March 7, the university had received commitments for 23 Medallion gifts, named for the medallion bestowed on the president during an inauguration ceremony.

"We're delighted to be focusing our celebration on the recognition of these highly qualified students and to be inaugurating their future at Ball State," she said. "I am honored to be putting students first and truly cannot think of a better way to formally usher in my presidency."

Students receiving Inauguration Scholarships must be Indiana residents. Each also will be awarded a Ball State Presidential Scholarship, and the combination of scholarships will have a value in excess of $32,000.

Gora announced her plan January 26 during a news conference in the Statehouse with Gov. Daniels. The university had secured 11 Medallion gifts before the news conference, but the announcement prompted several additional commitments, including two from Ball State supporters attending the event.

"Ball State is blessed with outstanding support from a tremendous group of alumni, friends and supporters, so the level of philanthropy generated by this initiative doesn't really surprise me," said Don Park, vice president for university advancement. "The Inauguration Scholarships have certainly struck a chord with our benefactors, making them quite eager to support the president's initiative."

The announcement also has garnered a great deal of media attention across Indiana and beyond. Stories about the Inauguration Scholarships appeared nationally in USA Today and the Chronicle for Higher Education and on CNN.

The story also aired on 16 television stations in nine television markets across Indiana, at least nine radio stations and was covered by 33 Indiana newspapers. A guest column by Gora appeared in seven Indiana newspapers and will be featured in the July issue of CHANGE magazine, a highly respected higher education magazine.

In addition, nine Indiana newspapers ran positive editorials about the initiative, and The Muncie Star Press named the Medallion Benefactors "Star Performers."