Topics: Administrative, Board of Trustees, President
August 19, 2016
Interim President Terry King speaks to Ball State faculty about the Academic Long Range Plan and Campus Master Plan, as well as other projects coming during the 2016-17 academic year.
Ball State University has a focused strategy for its next two decades, Interim President Terry King told several hundred faculty and staff at today’s Fall Opening Convocation.
He noted the recently adopted Academic Long-Range Plan and Campus Master Plan will guide the campus as it evolves to meet the needs of students and faculty.
“These plans are not prescriptive but rather guidebooks, as it means that we have a clear vision of where we are headed and how to get there,” said King, who noted the convocation was his 11th at Ball State. “The Academic Long-Range Plan allows us to organize our academic assets and talents to consolidate our strengths and prepare the institution to best serve our distinctive role in Indiana for the coming decades.”
He said the Campus Master Plan, the university’s first in 20 years, is a flexible framework that provides guidance to the physical environment of the campus for the next 15 to 25 years.
King also noted that the university has several major projects underway, including the renovations of the Applied Technology Building and Emens Auditorium as well as completion of the nation’s largest geothermal system of its kind.
Projects start next spring
The university also will begin work next spring on the East Mall, which will include a green, pedestrian and bicycle mall from the Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation and Wellness Center to the Village, plus the new $62.5 million Health Professions Building, home to the College of Health.
“It is very clear that the university is a great place to work, learn and live,” King said. “We continue to recruit good students and excellent faculty. We continue to enhance our facilities and resources while giving thoughtful analysis to the way we do things. Quite simply put, we are in a good place. We are well positioned in the state and in the nation and our momentum is both positive and steady. I thank you and I wish you the best for the coming year.”
King was joined by Rick Hall, chair of the Board of Trustees, who reminded faculty and staff that their roles as teachers and mentors will have a major effect on the lives of Ball State students.
“It was 31 years ago that I was a freshman. As I look back, I can measure all that is good and trace it back to Ball State,” Hall said. "This coming year will be filled with challenges, just like every other year is filled with challenges. I hope as you overcome those hurdles, you never lose sight of the fact that you’re changing lives.”
Faculty Awards
To conclude the convocation, Hall, King along with Bob Morris, acting provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, bestowed the university’s most prestigious honors to several top faculty members.
The outstanding educators, selected by their peers, received plaques from the Ball State University Alumni Association. Each was honored for outstanding contributions to students and to the university.
Outstanding Faculty Award
Lawrence Gerstein, counseling psychology
Outstanding Junior Faculty
Eric “VJ” Rubenstein, biology
Outstanding Creative Endeavor
Karen Kessler, theater
Outstanding Research Award
Rui Chen, information systems
Outstanding Teaching Award
Scott Pattison, chemistry
Excellence in Teaching (ExIT) Award
Adam Ballart, Spanish
Brittany Hendricks, music performance
Eric “VJ” Rubenstein, biology
Lawhead Teaching Award
Mary Clark-Flynn, English
Outstanding Administrator
Sushil Sharma, Miller College of Business
Outstanding Diversity Advocate Award
Eva Zygmunt, elementary education
Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award
Tyler Smith, theater
Outstanding Faculty Service Award
Melinda Messineo, sociology
Rawlings Outstanding Distance Education Teaching Award
Troy Dobosiewicz, theater
By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist