MUNCIE, Ind. - For most Ball State University students, Indiana Gas Co. means nothing more than another bill to pay. But the natural gas utility is about to change that.

Starting this fall, Indiana Gas begins a five-year, $100,000 partnership program with Ball State’s nationally recognized College of Architecture and Planning. The partnership is designed to provide creative and innovative programs to enhance the ways in which students learn.

The program will provide construction costs for three energy-efficient demonstration homes designed by Ball State architecture students and faculty members, support of Ball State student-sponsored projects such as Habitat for Humanity, sponsorship of College and Architecture and Planning guest lectures, funds for library resource materials and $50,000 in minority scholarships.

Construction of the first demonstration home began Sept. 15.

"We wanted to provide programs for students that will make the transition from the classroom to the working world easier," noted Indiana Gas President and CEO Niel Ellerbrook. "Students not only will design a house on paper, they will observe its construction from the ground up. You can’t get much more real than that."

Ball State officials welcomed the company’s support.

"We are pleased to have this opportunity to work in partnership with Indiana Gas," said Jeffrey Hall, acting dean of Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning. "Our ongoing applied research in energy-efficient housing and innovations in

alternative materials and construction processes will be applied to the demonstration homes. The generosity of Indiana Gas in supporting various programs of the college will be of great benefit to our students."

The college houses Ball State’s architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning programs and is recognized as a national leader in environmental design and planning.

Indiana Gas is a public utility that provides local distribution of natural gas and related services to 500,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across two-thirds of Indiana. The utility is the primary operating unit of Indiana Energy, a publicly owned holding company with subsidiaries in the natural gas distribution business and related services.

By Ted Buck, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about this story, contact Jeffrey Hall at (765) 285-5861 or e-mail: jhall@bsu.edu. )