The fellows, and their semester-long seminars, are:

• "The Expectation of Excellence: Girls, Sports and Community," Kecia McBride, associate professor of English (fall semester)
• "Cybercommunities, Cyberselves and Constructed Realities," Melinda Messineo, associate professor of sociology (spring semester)
• "An Experiment in Deliberative Democracy: Hoosiers Debate Health Care," Dan Reagan, associate professor of political science (spring semester)

Messineo and her students will research and produce a mixed-world play that will investigate how virtual identities and communities compare with reality.

They will partner with the Muncie Civic Theater to create a play and graphic novel that explores how identities are presented and compare how online and real-life relationships are maintained.

The Virginia Ball Center, founded in 1999, explores the connections among the arts, humanities, sciences and technology; creates products to illustrate each project's collaborative research and interdisciplinary study; and has each team present its product to the community.

By Jody Kress