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Building trades training in Muncie  September 11 vigil on campus Hope. That’s what Ball State English professor Lee Papa had in mind when he founded Artists Resisting Terror (ART), a unique affiliation of college and university arts organizations and departments that responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As Papa brought together singers, actors, musicians, and creative writers for an ART-sponsored benefit for the Red Cross at Ball State on October 11, he noted, “We want 10/11 to mean hope as much as 9/11 meant horror.” Papa’s initial inspiration for creating ART was an e-mail message that featured a World War II-era newspaper article quoting Winston Churchill on defending “the free arts.” The writer, director, and drama studies teacher explains, “I began to realize that many writers wanted to express themselves, and I thought it would be great to organize a place for writers and artists to present all of their responses.” The idea has expanded into a multiuniversity organization devoted to using the arts to demonstrate resolve and resistance to terror and violence in all its forms, at home and abroad. One hundred percent of the proceeds from events go to organizations that support victims, including the Red Cross and the United Way. Thanks to Papa, ART is providing help to those in need while promoting hope and healing for artists, the community, and the world.

Two new federally funded training programs administered by Ball State’s Center for Organizational Resources (COR) are giving new job skills and new hope to 3,000 unemployed and underemployed workers in Muncie and Indianapolis.

Programs like these are the lifeblood of COR, which serves more than 7,500 individuals and organizations each year by using its staff, the Ball State faculty, and a statewide network of professionals to provide workforce development assistance.

These efforts also demonstrate the university’s commitment to community service and public-private partnerships. Extending educational resources to Indiana residents, businesses, schools, and other organizations is a fundamental part of Ball State’s mission as a state-supported university.

It’s an example worth emulating for colleges and universities that are striving to make a difference in the world beyond the classroom.

One of Ball State’s new training programs, a two-year initiative called Building Employment Skills Together (BEST), prepared 2,700 local residents for new job opportunities before it concluded in 2001. BEST was funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The program was nominated for a Best Practice Award from HUD and won the Award of Excellence in Economic and Community Development from the University Continuing Education Association. Both honors have recognized that BEST is a national model for community-based projects.

Participants included 300 welfare recipients assisted through the Impact division of East Central Opportunities in Muncie. “When they found out Ball State was going to be involved, it just made a world of difference,” says Impact instructor Steve Janney. “It changed people’s lives.”

Others helped by the BEST program ranged from displaced workers needing new jobs to clerical employees seeking new skills or careers. The initiative nearly tripled its original goal of 1,000 participants.

BEST offered classes in computer software, stress and time management, interpersonal communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, problem solving, job search readiness, certified training consultant skills, and personal financial management. Preapprenticeship training prepared workers for the building trades, and participants constructed six new houses for low- and moderate-income home buyers.

BEST was a partnership with the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, Muncie Community Schools Adult Education, Delaware County Building Trades, Muncie Home Ownership and Development Center, and other groups.

Today another Ball State program is training 300 displaced workers in the Muncie and Indianapolis areas for higher-wage jobs in Indiana’s information technology industry. This two-year program is funded by $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Labor and HUD.

The IT project supports the state’s economic development work as Indiana faces increasing numbers of workers displaced from an aging manufacturing economy.

Information technology training in Fishers, Indiana

“Technology has become the focus of economic development for higher-wage jobs both nationally and globally, and we will play a major role in helping Indiana address the critical need for skilled information technology workers,” says Stephanie Huffman, assistant director of the Center for Organizational Resources in Ball State’s School of Continuing Education and Public Service.

Participants can earn national IT certifications and Ball State certificates in computer hardware and software skills. Other classes enhance overall employment skills, helping workers to reenter the labor force at wage rates comparable to their prior earnings.

The new information technology training involves a partnership with East Central Opportunities in Muncie and the Interlocal Association in Fishers, Indiana.

“This important partnership will leverage state and federal resources to assist a vital industry,” says Craig Hartzer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. “The certifications available through this program prepare workers for the future demands of the new economy.”

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