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Sherry Kloss, violin  Tetrapylon Gate, Aphrodisias, Turkey Enriching faculty perspectives through international experiences is a priority at Ball State. So much so that the university was recently cited by Peer Review, a publication of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, as one of the nation’s best examples of an institution that supports faculty members to conduct international teaching and research. Named one of four “best practice” institutions, Ball State was commended for its use of private gifts to a comprehensive fund-raising campaign to fund exchange programs, to provide seed money for the creation of study abroad programs, and to fund grants for attending overseas conferences, as well as grants that encourage junior faculty members to internationalize their teaching and research. As part of the university’s international training and development efforts, 18 Ball State faculty and professional staff members traveled to Turkey for two weeks this past summer. The time spent learning about the country, exploring ancient ruins, and exchanging ideas with Istanbul University’s faculty, staff, and students will provide educational inspiration for years to come. The trip’s group leader, Honors College Dean James Ruebel, reports: “To have seen the remains of the monuments from what were once great cities in western Asia Minor in their original physical context is priceless. It will change the way I teach not only the political culture but to some extent the literature of the ancient Greek and Roman world.”

It’s a legacy the Ball State distinguished professor inherited from renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz, for whom she served seven years as master-teaching associate, and one that is part of a genealogy of violin greats dating back to 1600 and Vivaldi.

Kloss says she often wondered why Heifetz chose her to receive the historic Tononi violin with which he made his famous Carnegie Hall debut in 1917. She concluded, “He knew I would do the right thing.”

Doing the right thing means making a commitment to teach a whole new generation of students the artistry and techniques Kloss has honed in years of performing, recording, and presenting master classes throughout the world.

The Sursa Distinguished Professor in Fine Arts has brought her hopes, dreams, and high expectations for all students, whether future performers or music education majors, to Ball State.

“I choose to show young people how they can succeed,” she says. “They are the hope of future generations to keep the arts alive and to keep the love of music vital. I see it happening here at Ball State.”

Kloss is one of many dedicated teacher-scholars of the highest caliber who have been drawn to Ball State by its enthusiastic commitment to teaching.

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, a number of distinguished professorships and endowed chairs attract outstanding new faculty members from across the country, and reward and retain the finest of the current faculty.

David Haber came to Ball State this year as the John and Janice Fisher Distinguished Professor of Wellness and Gerontology, eager to combine teaching and research in the two areas for which he has built a reputation for excellence. He is on the faculty of the Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology.

“This is the only institute for wellness and gerontology in the country,” he explains. “My twin interests blend very well with the twin focuses of the institute.”

The author of one of the most popular textbooks in the field, Haber plans to conduct research at Ball State that focuses on the collaboration between medical care and community health. In a new course he’ll begin teaching in 2002, he also will provide Ball State students with unique opportunities to meld the latest research with the experiences and attitudes of older adults at the institute’s Community Center for Vital Aging in Muncie.

David Haber with students

“I’ve always involved students with older adults in the community, and I plan on continuing that here,” Haber says. “That’s the kind of thing that enables me to enjoy myself educationally.”

A dedication to education also influenced Curtis Gary Dean’s decision to accept a faculty position at Ball State as its Lincoln Financial Groups Distinguished Professor of Actuarial Science. “I was meeting people at Ball State who had a commitment to teaching students,” he says. “There’s an enthusiasm and a sense that this is the mission.”

A former executive with SAFECO Insurance Companies in Indianapolis, Dean brings 25 years of professional industry experience and expertise, as well as ties to the business world, to students in the actuarial science courses he teaches at Ball State. “I can tell students what it’s like out there in the job world, to provide real-life examples of what they will be doing with what they’re learning here at Ball State,” he explains.

Curtis Gary Dean

Dean, a Fellow of the Casualty Actuary Society and a frequent speaker at professional meetings and conferences, is one of three fully certified actuaries in Ball State’s Department of Mathematical Sciences.

“Students get lots of individual attention and mentoring from us,” Dean says. “When I talk to prospective students, I tell them that Ball State focuses on teaching and producing outstanding graduates.”

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