Our Mission 

The mission of Ball State's Department of Architecture Professional Advisory Board is to provide reflective feedback, advice, counsel, and constructive assessment to the Department for their pursuit of an ever-improving level of program excellence.

Our Goals and Objectives

To promote the value and importance of architecture, urban design, design-build and historic preservation by supporting the mission, values, aspirations and interests of the Department of Architecture within the larger academic context of the Estopinal College of Architecture & Planning and the ever-increasing global scale of the practice of architecture.

To provide advice and counsel on aspects of professional practice such as employment trends, market conditions, curriculum opportunities, and other information critical to the Department’s mission of effectively educating architecture students.

To provide considered feedback on, and external assessment of, the Department’s program offerings from a professional point of view:

  • B.ARCH. Professional Degree – NAAB Candidacy professional degree 5 year program
  • M.ARCH Professional Degree – NAAB Accredited professional degree two year program for students with undergraduate “pre-professional” degree; three year program for students with any undergraduate degree
  • M.S. in Architecture Post-Professional Degree – currently “on-hold” as B.Arch and other curricular changes come on Advisory Board
  • M.S. In Historic Preservation Degree – two semester or three semester program dependent on student’s undergraduate educational background
  • Minor degree programs offered by the Department of Architecture including: Historic Preservation and Social and Environmental Justice.
  • Graduate Certificate programs offered by the Department of Architecture: Historic Preservation, Social and Environmental Justice, Digital Design and Fabrication, High Performance Building Design.

To foster bridging opportunities between education and practice; to provide assessment, input, guidance and assistance with aspects of the programs that engage the profession (i.e., internship programs, graduate placement opportunities, etc.); additionally to provide assessment, input, guidance, and assistance with recruitment initiatives, travel study aspects of the programs, interdisciplinary program aspects, and extra-curricular activities carried out in cooperation with national and local professional organizations (i.e., NCARB, AIA, CSI, NOMA, ALA, ASHRAE, IAF, YAF Indy, etc.).

Finally, to provide assessment, input, guidance, and assistance in the Department’s preparation for, activities during, and post-evaluation of the NAAB Accreditation Team visits.

Advisory Board Members

Ideally, the Advisory Board shall consist of approximately twenty-five members.

The Advisory Board seeks a diverse membership representing varied gender, race and ethnicity, geographic location, educational background, professional experience (years, firm type, responsibility in firm), and alternative career paths (education, public service, other). Not all members need to be Ball State graduates and not all need to be practicing architects. One member of the Advisory Board will be a faculty member in the Department (part-time contract, full-time or other) who is also actively engaged in the profession.
Members shall be invited to serve for a three (3) year term (after the Advisory Board is initiated). If amenable to both the member and the Department Chair, members can be asked to serve one additional (sequential) three (3) year term. A member of the Advisory Board may also be considered to serve for an additional, single three (3) year term after being inactive for a minimum of five (5) years.

In order to guarantee a balance between continuity and change on the Advisory Board, one-third (33%) of the Advisory Board will have their terms end in any given year. To initiate this staggered representation (i.e the Advisory Board’s initial formation in November 2017), members will be asked to serve an initial term of either one, two, or three years, guaranteeing the staggered representation in the years to come. One-third will be appointed for a one year term; one-third for a two year term, and one-third for a three year term. Selection of 1, 2 or 3 year terms at the Advisory Board’s initiation will be at the chair’s discretion and in discussion with the Advisory Board member.

Procedures of the Advisory Board Operations

Regular meetings of the entire Advisory Board shall take place twice a calendar year; the scheduled dates shall be informed by the Ball State academic schedule. The two regular-scheduled meetings of the Advisory Board shall take place approximately four (4) weeks after the last day of both the fall and spring semesters (i.e., one meeting late January, one meeting early June). One of these meetings will provide opportunities to interact with faculty and students. Member travels in support of the Advisory Board’s activities will be self-funded. The Department will have some funding for expenses such as meals, receptions, etc.

The Department Chair shall schedule the upcoming dates of the two regular-scheduled meetings at the post-spring semester meeting for the following academic year.
Approximately six (6) weeks prior to a scheduled regular meeting, the Department is responsible for sending a communication reminding Advisory Board members of the upcoming meeting including a preliminary agenda; applicable attachments; and any recommended reading to be done prior to the actual meeting. Advisory Board members will be asked to confirm (or not) their availability to attend the scheduled meeting. Two weeks prior to the meeting, the Department Chair shall send, by both e-mail and postal mail: a final agenda; applicable attachments; and any recommended reading to be done prior to the actual meeting.

If so determined by the Department Chair, a special meeting of the entire Advisory Board OR a designated sub-committee of the Advisory Board may be called in order to accomplish specific tasks in a timely fashion. One example would be planning for and participating in the NAAB accreditation preparation and visit.

One of the two, regular-scheduled meetings shall take place on the Ball State campus with a portion being held in the College of Architecture & Planning Building. The second meeting shall take place in a city within a 5 hour radius of Muncie (i.e., Indianapolis; Ft. Wayne; Louisville; Chicago; Cincinnati).

The Department shall be responsible for recording the minutes of all meetings and providing these minutes to all members of the Advisory Board, Dean of ECAP, faculty and staff in the Department of Architecture, and university administrators (as helpful/necessary).

Each summer, the Department Chair will collate and annual executive summary of the Advisory Board’s activities for distribution to the Advisory Board.