MUNCIE, Ind. – On his first day as an official Muncie resident, incoming Ball State University president Blaine Brownell watched a lifetime of memories parade in front of him.

There is his grandmother’s Oriental rug that never quite found a home when his family lived in Memphis. A large, awkward-sized package contains their son’s senior architecture project from Princeton University. A toddler’s stroller is wheeled by, ready for a visit from his nearly two-year-old grandson, Blaine IV, on Friday.

On and on the mirrors, dressers and tables are pulled from the tractor-trailer and into Bracken House, the university’s official presidential home located in an historic Muncie neighborhood a few blocks off campus at 2200 W. Berwyn Road.

The 57-year-old soon-to-be president is amazed at the lifetime collection.

"We never did find a place for that rug when we lived in Memphis, but it will be placed in a bedroom here -- it’s like it was meant to be," Brownell said on an unseasonably cool Wednesday morning, a stark contrast to the recent hot and humid conditions.

Casually sipping her coffee and chatting with movers, his wife, Mardi, looked more relaxed than most people do on moving day.

"Of course this probably is the easiest move we have ever made," said Mrs. Brownell. "On our drive up here we saw some people with their mattresses and other belongings on the back of their truck. We remember what it was like to do it all by ourselves like that."

"After all the anticipation, it is great to be here," Brownell said. "It is exciting to be starting a new job, but it has been made positive by the support of the university staff and community residents. We feel extremely welcomed."

Brownell was selected to be Ball State’s 12^th president by the Board of Trustees in late April. He comes to the university after stops at the University of Memphis, University of North Texas, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Purdue University.

Despite the turmoil of packing and moving a household several hundred miles north, Brownell admits to giving quite a bit of thought about his new role.

"I believe very strongly that you have to appreciate the context of the situation," Brownell said. "The context is the people, the relationships, what works and what doesn’t, and past histories.

"The worst thing that can happen for any institution is to have someone come in from the outside with a theoretical plan about how things are to be done without knowing the context," he said. "My thought is to contribute to the progress the university is making and not to bring in some theory about what should happen."