Research was first conducted at Ball State University prior to the 1950's with extramurally funded research appearing on campus during the late 1950's or early 1960's. Prior to 1965, Ball State was a teacher's college, nationally recognized for its significant contributions in the area of teacher training. When Ball State achieved University status in 1965, its organizational structure was revised to reflect the establishment of colleges and many new departments.

Bureau of Institutional Research. Even before an institutional master plan was articulated in written form, the importance of research and creative effort in shaping the development of the University was made evident by the founding of the Bureau of Institutional Research in 1960. The Bureau, originally directed by a faculty member with an assignment of two-thirds time to this role, was the predecessor of what is now the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs.

Internal Grant Program. The early 1960's saw the beginning of the University Research Committee and the forerunner of the present internal research and creative grant program.

From 1965 to the early 1970's, there was only a slight increase in research activity at Ball State University and no significant change in the level of extramural funding. Slowly but surely faculty interests and academic pursuits were beginning to broaden as evidenced by the change in type of projects receiving external support. During this period, some of the large training grants began to be replaced by smaller project grants and a small, highly dedicated group of faculty began to sharpen their abilities to conduct significant research as well as their proposal writing skills. Concurrently, the University, primarily through the efforts of a few departments, increased its research capability by the employment of faculty with strong research credentials.

Until the late 1970's, the total number of dollars received yearly from extramural sources, excluding those for construction and student financial aid, remained essentially constant, $1,000,000 - $1,300,000. From 1979 on, the amount of funding for Ball State University research and creative endeavors has continued to grow, reaching $25 million for 2002-03.