Arlesha Moore, Fulbright Award recipient

At Ball State, great work gets rewarded. Each year, the university recognizes outstanding students and faculty members not only for their academic achievements but also for their contributions to the Honors College. These students and professors have distinguished themselves in the classroom, in their research and in their service to the Honors College. Recognized by their peers, they are the embodiment of the Honors mission.

Students

First awarded in 1996, the Provost’s Prize annually honors a Ball State senior of high academic achievement, as selected by a committee of students and faculty. The committee includes one faculty member from each of the university’s academic colleges.

The prize includes a $1,000 award. Recipients’ names are inscribed on a plaque permanently displayed in the Honors College.

Criteria

You must have at least a 3.5 grade point average.

In addition to academic excellence, the selection committee evaluates educational achievement, such as fellowships, internships, overseas study, research/creative projects, work experience, awards, performance activities, and volunteer service.

The committee focuses on the way in which academic excellence combines with other opportunities—even nonacademic ones—to form a unique educational experience.

The winners of the Joe and Carol Trimmer Awards for Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis or Project are recognized at the annual Honors College senior recognition ceremony in April. Winners receive a certificate from the Trimmers commemorating the award.

Joe Trimmer is a long-standing Honors College faculty member and was the founding director of Ball State’s Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry. Carol Trimmer was outreach coordinator for Indiana Public Radio WBST 92.1 at Ball State.

A maximum of two scholarships of $1,000 each have been provided for the most outstanding Honors College theses project. One award is given for a research thesis, one is given for a creative project.

Criteria

The nominated student must be an Honors College student on track to complete the Honor College requirements and earn the Honors College Diploma or a recent December Honors College graduate.

Students who graduated prior to December are not eligible for nomination.

A thesis completed before a student's final year may be submitted when complete or nearly complete, but the thesis may not be re-submitted in a subsequent year.

The Academic Honors in Writing program fosters and rewards excellence in undergraduate writing at Ball State. At commencement, selected graduating seniors are honored for their superior writing skills. This prestigious achievement is acknowledged in the commencement program and on the recipients’ transcripts.

How to Apply

For this year's application dates and deadlines, please obtain a brochure from a departmental liaison or the Honors College office (Ball Honors House). Below is the typical schedule.

  • December: Applicants submit portfolios to their department liaison faculty representatives.
  • January: Department liaisons submit portfolios of department finalists to the program coordinator.
  • February: University finalists are selected and notified of the common essay procedures.
  • Mid-March: University finalists write the common essay.
  • April: Recipients are selected, and the awards are officially announced at the university's spring program honoring seniors.

Criteria

Seniors who will graduate during the current academic year (December, May, or July) are eligible to apply for this honor. Applicants are not limited to members of the Honors College. Students with excellent writing skills should begin assembling a portfolio of their best writing as early in their academic career as possible. Portfolio items may come from any course or writing exercise from any time in a student’s career.

Since 1994, the Vander Hill Award has been presented annually by Honors College students—under the auspices of the Student Honors Council—to the most outstanding honors faculty member of the academic year.

The recipient is chosen entirely by the Student Honors Council, receives an honorary engraved plaque, is honored at a luncheon sponsored by the Honors College, and is the guest of the Honors College at the next meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council.

 

Criteria

Faculty members are nominated by the Honors College student body and the final recipient is chosen by a selection committee comprised of members of Student Honors Council and led by the SHC Director of Awards and Engagement. 

Sponsored by the Meyer family and other donors, the Bruce F. and Ildiko B. Meyer Endowed Lecture Fund provides financial support for the Honors College to host a lecture series in memory of the late Professor Bruce Meyer and his wife, Ildiko.

Ball State’s Whitinger Lecturer is chosen annually by the fourth-year Whitinger Scholars to speak at the spring Whitinger banquet.