Ball State University on
Dec. 7 will celebrate its expanded presence
in the Fort Wayne, Ind., community with “An Evening with Ball State at Electric
Works.”
This free event is from 3-7
p.m. Wednesday at Electric Works, 1030 Swinney Ave., Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Ball
State President Geoffrey
S. Mearns and David
Ferguson, dean of the R.
Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) and professor of Landscape Architecture, will make
remarks at 5:30 p.m.
“At Ball State, we are dedicated
to serving our neighbors and communities—including our more than 14,000
graduates living and working in the Fort Wayne area,” President Mearns said.
“Through Ball State at Electric Works, and other upcoming endeavors, I am
grateful to be expanding our University’s footprint in the Northeast Indiana
region.”
Ball State at Electric Works, a
dedicated office within Electric Works’ coworking space, will be a place where students,
faculty, and staff, primarily from CAP, will continue working with partners in
and around Fort Wayne to accelerate the growth and prosperity of the Northeast
Indiana region.
Located in the sprawling
mixed-use Electric
Works development, at the
historic site of the former General Electric campus in Fort Wayne, Ball State
at Electric Works will be a catalyst of meaningful partnerships between Ball
State and local community and industry leaders. The studio will provide an on-site base for a variety
of CAP projects in Fort Wayne and throughout Northeast Indiana, and will
involve many of the college’s disciplines that include Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, and Construction Management and Interior Design.
CAP’s
involvement at Electric Works is also expected to be a catalyst for other Ball
State colleges to leverage their expertise in the Northeast Indiana region,
with future opportunities currently being explored in the healthcare and
education fields.
“Ball State and the
Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning want to be a part of Fort
Wayne’s future and its trajectory from a design and planning standpoint. We’re
here to actively participate,” Dean Ferguson said. “Fort Wayne is a place that is innovative
and filled with the entrepreneurial spirit. We’re here for the long haul, and
we’ve got backing from many of our alums. And we’re happy to be at Electric
Works.”
Through
a Ball State Immersive Learning project, and with
guidance from faculty advisors, CAP students will learn in this hands-on, real-world experience. Each semester’s project will vary. A studio
class will be paired with a real-world project that is based in the Fort Wayne
area; in many cases, area industry firms will advise the classes. The space at
Electric Works can serve as a meeting place for classes, with conference rooms
and large-group spaces available as needed.
According
to Dean Ferguson, at least one class during the upcoming Spring 2023 semester will
be exploring potential changes and growth opportunities along Fort Wayne’s
Broadway corridor, which connects the Electric Works campus to the city’s
downtown district.
CAP has also established a
fund for a scholarship that will support the work of selected students in
future studio projects. Fort Wayne-based firms and individuals contributing to
this fund are MKM Design, Design Collaborative, Martin-Riley, Elevatus
Architecture, MSKTD, and Matt and Lisa Momper.
Ball State has more than 14,000
alumni living in Northeastern Indiana, including several hundred CAP
graduates—many of whom worked directly on the multi-million-dollar Electric
Works mixed-use development led by Ancora Partners. Fort Wayne native and 1991
Ball State CAP graduate Jeff Kingsbury is a principal at Ancora.
The University will engage with
its alumni in Northeast Indiana to explore ways to jointly serve Allen County
and its surrounding communities. To this end, Ball State will continue mobilizing
and leading partnerships with local industry leaders that can be beneficial to
the future of the region.
“Ball State
University has a noted track record of engaging with industry partners to
bolster students’ educational experiences and better serve Indiana,” said Jeff Eads, director for Industry
Engagement at Ball State. “We are
thrilled to work with employers and community leaders in and around Fort Wayne
to help the Northeast Indiana region flourish.”
‘An Evening With Ball State at
Electric Works’ Itinerary / Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2023
• 3-4 p.m.
— Student Engagement Exhibit / GE Club, Building 23: R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture
and Planning (CAP) students will be exhibiting their work created through
engagement with the neighborhood adjacent to Electric Works.
• 4-5 p.m.
— Customer Experience Excellence (CXX)
Workshop / Building 27A: Greg
Zirkle, director of Executive
Education in the Miller
College of Business, will provide
this free training to preview the University’s Executive
Education offerings. In this
interactive session, participants will learn the key drivers of customer
experience, begin mapping their organization's own customer touch-points, and
leave with actionable insights to apply.
• 5-7 p.m. — Reception / The
Forum, Building 27A: Starting at 5:30 p.m., hear remarks from Ball State
President Geoffrey S. Mearns and CAP dean David Ferguson. President Mearns and
Dean Ferguson will be available for media interviews following the conclusion
of their remarks.