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Public universities offer affordable education. Private funding can take
that education to new levels and add immeasurably to the opportunities
available to students. One of the most gratifying accomplishments of my
sixteen years as president of Ball State University was the increase in
private support for the university and the myriad educational adventures
that this support made possible. Private giving has allowed students to travel, experiment, and explore in ways that otherwise they might only have read about in books. Ball State sent Rinker scholars – students who have received scholarships to study abroad – all over the world. Chemistry undergraduates were able to investigate compounds that could extend the options for cancer treatment. Urban planning students developed a geographic information database for a county as part of a project that would not just further their studies, but would make property data more easily accessible to county officials and homeowners as well. Private support has helped faculty develop projects that enhance their course content or broaden their students’ educational experiences far beyond the classroom. And new academic initiatives expanded the scope of student studies in an amazing variety of ways. Private funds have increased the number of National Merit, National Achievement, and Hispanic scholars on campus. Sixty-four of these scholars are now enrolled on campus in part because of the scholarships they were offered. Their presence here has elevated the level of academic discourse and added to the diversity of the campus community. In addition, Ball State built the arena and the Alumni Center mostly with private funds, and private gifts will also pay for the expansion of the football stadium and for Shafer Tower, a dramatic new landmark at the heart of north campus. Perhaps the most important use of private contributions has been the establishment of three endowed chairs and seventeen distinguished professorships, which have permitted Ball State to recognize its most outstanding teacher-scholars and also attract several top faculty from across the nation. Most of the money for these endeavors came from our first comprehensive campaign, Wings for the Future. The campaign was a great success, raising more than $44 million. It has added immeasurably to the campus academically, physically, and aesthetically. The current campaign, Above and Beyond, has raised more than $70 million and will undoubtedly surpass the original goal of $90 million before it is concluded in June 2002. It will contribute to additional scholarships and support faculty development, innovative academic programs, and the construction of a new student center that will help create a greater sense of community on campus. Private giving is one very tangible way in which alumni and friends – and Ball State has many truly wonderful friends -- can make the college experiences of Ball State students greater, broader, more challenging, and more exciting. Because of their gifts, the total assets of the Ball State University Foundation have risen from $12.4 million in 1984 to approximately $123 million in 2000, almost a tenfold increase. Although impressive, these figures do not accurately represent the spirit of support demonstrated by alumni and friends. It is the active interest of contributors that distinguishes many of the gifts that come to the university. Some donors give only to Ball State’s twenty-two Division I-A athletic teams, but their support is especially critical for those sports that do not generate revenue. Some contributors direct their gifts toward making the campus more beautiful, some want to assist faculty members with projects that will enhance their classroom teaching, and some hope to aid students who otherwise might not have the means to attend college or spend out-of-class time on research or travel. New scholarships in the College of Fine Arts have attracted talented students to the university each year and have given the program and the students in the program greater opportunities to expand their work and enhance their studies in their chosen major. For example, the School of Music has increased significantly the number of string players in the orchestra, and the Department of Theatre and Dance has attracted a growing number of outstanding actors and dancers, as was demonstrated in their recent production of West Side Story. It is this kind of interested giving, giving with enthusiastic intent, that has brought Ball State to its current level of achievement and has made partners of the university and the people who contribute to our continued success. I am pleased to have been a part of the effort to accomplish these goals. Blaine Brownell has come here at a propitious moment in Ball State’s history and in his own professional journey. This moment is perhaps the academic equivalent of a convergence of the planets. A university primed to take advantage of the best that technology, research, and academic commitment can offer and a president well prepared by training and his own deliberate efforts have come together to continue Ball State’s journey and create a bright future for our students, alumni, friends, faculty, family, and community. President Brownell has already taken steps to frame the issues and guide the debate about Ball State’s future direction. Sandra and I look forward to new developments at the university with keen interest and excitement. I hope that the stories in this report have enabled you to share my enthusiasm and pride in the Ball State story so far.
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John E. Worthen and