An information session will take place at 4 p.m. Aug. 31 at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center, Ballroom to accept applicants for the 2005 Business Fellows program, which has nearly 90 openings for Ball State University students. Business Fellows offers juniors, seniors and graduate students a chance to spend a semester in an intense applied work experience that will benefit an Indiana business, industry or community. The initiative, funded by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., works in collaboration with Ball State's Building Better Communities initiative.

"Last year's inaugural projects were a great success," said Deborah Balogh, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. "The momentum from those successes will allow us to continue to create new business connections in a wide variety of disciplines that will also help increase future job opportunities in Indiana for these students."

Each project will have a faculty member and a team of students working on a problem-based project to improve services, quality or competitiveness; it can also increase business or develop new job opportunities. Students will earn a stipend for their effort and be able to attend numerous professional development workshops.

"Each individual project goes well beyond what a traditional internship could provide," said Nicole Feldhues, Ball State's Business Fellows co-director. "The experience students are able to gain during Business Fellows is unparalleled and can only continue to benefit our students and Indiana's economy."

This year's projects are:

• Indiana Clean Communities: John Motloch, landscape architecture professor, and 10 students will assist Elkhart and Muncie in implementing the Indiana CLEAN program.
• BAA Indianapolis — Cluster Computing Project: Fred Kitchens, information systems and operation management professor, and nine students will study the potential use of a variety of computer cluster technologies at the Indianapolis International airport.
• Downtown Dinner Theatre: Harold Mortimer, theatre professor, and 14 students will work with Muncie organizations to establish a dinner theatre.
• Fashion Retail Growth in Indiana: Valerie Birk, family and consumer sciences professor, and 10 students will explore how Jules Boutique, a small retail store in Goshen, Ind., can compete and survive in the marketplace.
• Profiting Nonprofits through Grantsmanship: Barb Stedmen, English professor, will work with eight students to guide organizations in East Central Indiana in seeking and obtaining grants.
• Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce Marketing Campaign: Bob Pritchard, journalism professor, and eight students will assist the organization with membership, branding, marketing and improving services.
• Medical Consultants: Joel Whitesel, information systems and operation management professor, and five students will work to improve the quality of the medical claims process and payment cycles.
• The Whale Hunters Business Development: Enar Tunc, information systems and operations management professor, and six students will provide strategic assistance in research and market analysis.
• On Special Assignment with The Chronicle-Tribune: Sheryl Swingley, journalism professor, will work with eight students to prepare a special "State of Grant County" section for the Marion newspaper.
• Security Protocol for Minnestrista Cultural Center: Angela Nickoli, criminal justice professor, and 10 students will work to develop security protocol for the center's staff, patrons and 40-acre property.

To see each project's detailed proposal, log on to www.bsu.edu/careers/fellows.

Business Fellows, coordinated by Ball State's Career Center and funded by a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., gives Ball State students the opportunity to turn academic knowledge into business solutions through intense, semester-long applied work experiences that will benefit an Indiana business, industry or organization. The program, works in concert with Ball State's Building Better Communities initiative.

Building Better Communities is an initiative designed to spur economic development and quality of life advancement in Indiana by applying Ball State's strengths in applied research and hands-on learning to projects across the state. Building Better Communities works to match the university's expertise and resources to the varied needs of Indiana communities.

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Feldhues at (765) 285-2430 or nfeldhues@bsu.edu.)