History of Ball State University
Encyclopedia
The History of Ball State University predates Ball State University
's public
-funding era by almost two decades. Previous educational institutions operated at the intersection of University and McKinley avenues before 1918. They were neither public nor did they carry the "Ball" name.
that is now known as Ball State University
had its start in 1899 as a private school called the Eastern Indiana Normal School to educate teachers. The entire school, including classrooms, library and the president's residence were housed in what is now known as the Ball State Administration building.
The then one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed down by its president, F.A. Kumier, due to lack of funding. A year later, in the autumn of 1902, the school re-opened as Palmer University for the next three years after Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker gave the school a $100,000 endowment.
Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College. It had two divisions, the Normal School for educating teachers and a College of Applied Sciences. The school had an average enrollment of about 200 students. Because of a diminishing enrollment and lack of funds, school president Francis Ingler closed Indiana Normal College at the end of the 1906-1907 school year.
Between 1907 and 1912 the campus sat vacant. A local farming family paid off the school's property taxes and used the campus as forage for grazing sheep and cattle. They also kept up the insurance on the Administration Building and used it for storage.
In 1909 Delaware County
residents petitioned the state to take over the land and reopen it as a state-funded normal school. The proposal failed when lawmakers did not pass an appropriations bill to pay for the acquisition of the Indiana Normal College land and building.
In 1912, a group of local investors led by Michael Kelly reopened the school as the Indiana Normal Institute. To pay for updated materials and refurbishing the once-abandoned Administration Building, the school operated under a mortgage from the Muncie Trust Company. Although the school had its largest student body with a peak enrollment of 806, officials could not keep up with mortgage payments and the school was forced to shutter once again by June 1917 after the Muncie Trust Company initiated foreclosure
proceedings.
, founders of the Ball Corporation bought the Indiana Normal Institute out of foreclosure. For $35,100, the Balls bought the Administration building and surrounding land bordered by Reeves Avenue (now University Avenue), McKinley Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Tillotson Avenue, except for the northwest quadrant which was kept as a wildlife preserve (Christy Woods).
The Balls, who were active donors to the state and national Republican Party
, contacted newly-elected Indiana governor James Putnam Goodrich, a fellow Republican who was born and raised in the nearby town of Winchester
. The Balls proposed giving the school directly to the state. In a lesson learned from the failed 1909 attempt to get state control of the normal school, the Balls wanted to avoid another appropriations bill debate in the Indiana General Assembly
.
In early 1918, during the Indiana General Assembly's "short session," state legislators accepted the gift of the school and the land by the Ball Brothers. The state granted operating control of the Muncie Campus and school building to the administrators of the Indiana State Normal School
in Terre Haute
.
On June 17, 1918, the first students started enrolling at the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division. Its initial enrollment was 235 students. Its primary purpose was to serve as a college to educate teachers for the public schools in the surrounding communities including Muncie, Anderson
, Richmond
, Marion
, Gas City
and as far away as the boom towns of Indianapolis
and Fort Wayne
.
The school grew slowly over the next few years to an enrollment of more than 400, helped along by its status as a state-funded college. During this time, the Ball family continued to be benefactors to the school. They donated the funds to build Ball Gymnasium.
The close relationship between the Balls and the school led to an unofficial moniker for the college as many students, faculty and local politicians casually referred to the school as "Ball State" as a shorthand alternative to its longer, official name. During the 1922 short session of the Indiana legislature, the state renamed the school as the Ball Teachers College. This was in recognition to the Ball family's continuing beneficence to the institution. During this act, the state also reorganized its relationship with Terre Haute, and established a separate local board of trustees for the Muncie campus.
In 1924, the State Teachers College Board of Trustees in Terre Haute, Indiana
hired Benjamin J. Burris
as the first president of the state-funded college. The Ball Brothers continued giving to the university and partially funded the construction of the Science Hall (now called the Burkhart Building) in 1924, an addition to Ball Gymnasium in 1925. By the 1925-1926 school year, Ball State enrollment reaches 991, with 697 women and 294 men.
. During this action, the school was renamed Ball State Teachers College. The following year enrollment increased to 1,118 with 747 female and 371 male students.
In 1935, the school added the Arts Building for art, music and dance instruction (Which now houses Ball State Art Museum, The Department Of Geology and classes in many other disciplines). Enrollment that year reached 1,151 with 723 women and 428 men.
As an expression of the many gifts the Ball family gave the university since 1917, sculptor Daniel Chester French
was commissioned by the Muncie Chamber of Commerce
to cast a bronze fountain figure to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Ball Brother's gift to the state. His creation, the statue Beneficence
, still stands today between the Administration Building and Lucina Hall where Talley Street dead ends into University Avenue.
The school grew steadily until the 1940s when World War II
broke out and many would-be Ball State students opted to join the war effort by enlisting in the military. by 1944 enrollment had dropped to 550 students, the lowest since the 1910s. During this time, on Ball State's campus the U.S. military built barracks on the campus for recruiting, training, and other purposes.
In 1945, John R. Emens
took over as the fifth president of the school. In 1946, Ball State purchases the Christy Woods preserve.
Following World War II
and due in part to the large number of veterans who took advantage of the G.I. Bill, expansion took on a much swifter rate. The barracks were left for university use. The school used them as dormitories for the new influx of students.
By 1950, the school's enrollment was 3,144 with 1,507 women and 1,637 men. That same year, radio station WBST-FM started broadcasting from the basement of the Administration Building.
In 1961, Ball State became fully independent of Indiana State via the creation of the Ball State College Board of Trustees, so that Ball State was no longer governed remotely by the Indiana State College Board of Trustees. Also in 1961, the name of Ball State was changed to Ball State College.
It wasn't until the promotion of the school to official "University" status, that Ball State began to grow academically. It was in the same year, 1965, that the College of Architecture and Planning was established, offering the only public-university degrees in architecture within Indiana. Programs expanded, and more teachers were hired from across the nation in response to this. Thus, the school which had been dubbed the "Little Commonwealth" was now expanding into the modern world.
Ball State has seen a trend of near-constant growth since its creation. Current enrollment is the highest in the school's history, prompting construction of new residence halls slated to be completed in 2007 (Park Hall) and 2010 (North Residence Hall). Bachelor's degrees are available in eight different areas which contain over fifty individual programs—a sharp increase from the five programs that the University initially offered bachelor's degrees in. Despite current uncertainty in the economy, Ball State's academic future is considered by many to be bright as the University continues a course of upgrading programs and adding new ones where applicable.
* Presidency is considered to be an "interim" presidency.
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
's public
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
-funding era by almost two decades. Previous educational institutions operated at the intersection of University and McKinley avenues before 1918. They were neither public nor did they carry the "Ball" name.
Historical timeline
| Prior institutions in what is now BSU's Administration Building | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Indiana Normal School | Established | 1899 | Type | private Private university Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are... |
| Palmer University | Acquired | 1902 | ||
| Indiana Normal School and College of Applied Science | Acquired | 1905 | ||
| Closed | 1907 to 1912 | |||
| Muncie Normal Institute | Acquired | 1912 | ||
| Muncie National Institute | Renamed | 1913 | ||
| Closed | 1917 to 1918 | |||
| Modern era | ||||
| Eastern Division of Indiana State Normal School | Established | 1918 | Type | public Public university A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions... |
| Ball Teachers College, Eastern Division, Indiana State Normal School | Renamed | 1922 | ||
| Ball State Teachers College | Renamed | 1929 | Governance | Indiana State Teachers College Indiana State University Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S... Board |
| Ball State College | Independence | 1961 | Governance | Ball State's Board of Trustees |
| Ball State University | Renamed | 1965 | ||
The pre-Ball years
The area of Muncie, IndianaMuncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
that is now known as Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
had its start in 1899 as a private school called the Eastern Indiana Normal School to educate teachers. The entire school, including classrooms, library and the president's residence were housed in what is now known as the Ball State Administration building.
The then one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed down by its president, F.A. Kumier, due to lack of funding. A year later, in the autumn of 1902, the school re-opened as Palmer University for the next three years after Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker gave the school a $100,000 endowment.
Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College. It had two divisions, the Normal School for educating teachers and a College of Applied Sciences. The school had an average enrollment of about 200 students. Because of a diminishing enrollment and lack of funds, school president Francis Ingler closed Indiana Normal College at the end of the 1906-1907 school year.
Between 1907 and 1912 the campus sat vacant. A local farming family paid off the school's property taxes and used the campus as forage for grazing sheep and cattle. They also kept up the insurance on the Administration Building and used it for storage.
In 1909 Delaware County
Delaware County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 118,769 people, 47,131 households, and 29,692 families residing in the county. The population density was 302 people per square mile . There were 51,032 housing units at an average density of 130 per square mile...
residents petitioned the state to take over the land and reopen it as a state-funded normal school. The proposal failed when lawmakers did not pass an appropriations bill to pay for the acquisition of the Indiana Normal College land and building.
In 1912, a group of local investors led by Michael Kelly reopened the school as the Indiana Normal Institute. To pay for updated materials and refurbishing the once-abandoned Administration Building, the school operated under a mortgage from the Muncie Trust Company. Although the school had its largest student body with a peak enrollment of 806, officials could not keep up with mortgage payments and the school was forced to shutter once again by June 1917 after the Muncie Trust Company initiated foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
proceedings.
Ball Brothers intervene
On July 25, 1917 local industrialists the Ball BrothersBall Brothers
The Ball brothers were the founders of the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Business which eventually became Ball Corporation. They greatly improved the quality of life of Muncie, Indiana through their philanthropy and business. They were instrumental in the creation of Ball State University, and...
, founders of the Ball Corporation bought the Indiana Normal Institute out of foreclosure. For $35,100, the Balls bought the Administration building and surrounding land bordered by Reeves Avenue (now University Avenue), McKinley Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Tillotson Avenue, except for the northwest quadrant which was kept as a wildlife preserve (Christy Woods).
The Balls, who were active donors to the state and national Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, contacted newly-elected Indiana governor James Putnam Goodrich, a fellow Republican who was born and raised in the nearby town of Winchester
Winchester, Indiana
Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Randolph County...
. The Balls proposed giving the school directly to the state. In a lesson learned from the failed 1909 attempt to get state control of the normal school, the Balls wanted to avoid another appropriations bill debate in the Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
.
Indiana State Normal School
Indiana State Normal School may refer to former names of:*Indiana State University from 1865 to 1929*Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 1920 to 1927...
in Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
.
On June 17, 1918, the first students started enrolling at the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division. Its initial enrollment was 235 students. Its primary purpose was to serve as a college to educate teachers for the public schools in the surrounding communities including Muncie, Anderson
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...
, Richmond
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
, Marion
Marion, Indiana
Marion is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,948 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Grant County...
, Gas City
Gas City, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,940 people, 2,393 households, and 1,643 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,599.2 people per square mile . There were 2,497 housing units at an average density of 672.3 per square mile...
and as far away as the boom towns of Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
.
The school grew slowly over the next few years to an enrollment of more than 400, helped along by its status as a state-funded college. During this time, the Ball family continued to be benefactors to the school. They donated the funds to build Ball Gymnasium.
The close relationship between the Balls and the school led to an unofficial moniker for the college as many students, faculty and local politicians casually referred to the school as "Ball State" as a shorthand alternative to its longer, official name. During the 1922 short session of the Indiana legislature, the state renamed the school as the Ball Teachers College. This was in recognition to the Ball family's continuing beneficence to the institution. During this act, the state also reorganized its relationship with Terre Haute, and established a separate local board of trustees for the Muncie campus.
In 1924, the State Teachers College Board of Trustees in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
hired Benjamin J. Burris
Benjamin J. Burris
Benjamin Jackson Burris is best known for being a past president of Ball State University and held many different occupations...
as the first president of the state-funded college. The Ball Brothers continued giving to the university and partially funded the construction of the Science Hall (now called the Burkhart Building) in 1924, an addition to Ball Gymnasium in 1925. By the 1925-1926 school year, Ball State enrollment reaches 991, with 697 women and 294 men.
Ball State Teachers College
During the regular legislative session of 1929, the Indiana General Assembly formally separated the Terre Haute and Muncie campuses of the state teachers college system, but placed the governing of the Ball State campus under the Indiana State Teachers College Board of Trustees, http://www.indstate.edu/isu_today/history_trad.htm#Eastern_Division based in Terre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
. During this action, the school was renamed Ball State Teachers College. The following year enrollment increased to 1,118 with 747 female and 371 male students.
In 1935, the school added the Arts Building for art, music and dance instruction (Which now houses Ball State Art Museum, The Department Of Geology and classes in many other disciplines). Enrollment that year reached 1,151 with 723 women and 428 men.
As an expression of the many gifts the Ball family gave the university since 1917, sculptor Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
was commissioned by the Muncie Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
to cast a bronze fountain figure to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Ball Brother's gift to the state. His creation, the statue Beneficence
Beneficence
Beneficence is a bronze statue on the campus of Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. It is referred to as "Benny" by the students.-History:...
, still stands today between the Administration Building and Lucina Hall where Talley Street dead ends into University Avenue.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out and many would-be Ball State students opted to join the war effort by enlisting in the military. by 1944 enrollment had dropped to 550 students, the lowest since the 1910s. During this time, on Ball State's campus the U.S. military built barracks on the campus for recruiting, training, and other purposes.
In 1945, John R. Emens
John R. Emens
John R. Emens is the 6th President of Ball State University and was previously the director of personnel for the Detroit Public Schools. Emens also has the John R. Emens National Award for Support of Free Student Press named after him as well as the John R. & Aline B. Emens Scholarship Program...
took over as the fifth president of the school. In 1946, Ball State purchases the Christy Woods preserve.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and due in part to the large number of veterans who took advantage of the G.I. Bill, expansion took on a much swifter rate. The barracks were left for university use. The school used them as dormitories for the new influx of students.
By 1950, the school's enrollment was 3,144 with 1,507 women and 1,637 men. That same year, radio station WBST-FM started broadcasting from the basement of the Administration Building.
In 1961, Ball State became fully independent of Indiana State via the creation of the Ball State College Board of Trustees, so that Ball State was no longer governed remotely by the Indiana State College Board of Trustees. Also in 1961, the name of Ball State was changed to Ball State College.
Ball State University
In 1965, in recognition of the school growth beyond merely being a school to educate public school teachers, the Indiana General Assembly renames the school as Ball State University with an enrollment of 10,066 students.It wasn't until the promotion of the school to official "University" status, that Ball State began to grow academically. It was in the same year, 1965, that the College of Architecture and Planning was established, offering the only public-university degrees in architecture within Indiana. Programs expanded, and more teachers were hired from across the nation in response to this. Thus, the school which had been dubbed the "Little Commonwealth" was now expanding into the modern world.
Ball State has seen a trend of near-constant growth since its creation. Current enrollment is the highest in the school's history, prompting construction of new residence halls slated to be completed in 2007 (Park Hall) and 2010 (North Residence Hall). Bachelor's degrees are available in eight different areas which contain over fifty individual programs—a sharp increase from the five programs that the University initially offered bachelor's degrees in. Despite current uncertainty in the economy, Ball State's academic future is considered by many to be bright as the University continues a course of upgrading programs and adding new ones where applicable.
Past presidents
- Benjamin J. BurrisBenjamin J. BurrisBenjamin Jackson Burris is best known for being a past president of Ball State University and held many different occupations...
(1924–1927) - L.A. PittengerL.A. PittengerLemuel Arthur "L. A." Pittenger is best known as being the 4th president of Ball Teachers College later known as Ball State University, as well as having Ball State University's student center named after him....
(1927–1942) - Winfred E. WagonerWinfred E. WagonerWinfred Ethestal Wagoner was an American educator, best known as the former president of Ball State Teachers College, now known as Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.- Personal life :...
(1942–1945) * - John R. EmensJohn R. EmensJohn R. Emens is the 6th President of Ball State University and was previously the director of personnel for the Detroit Public Schools. Emens also has the John R. Emens National Award for Support of Free Student Press named after him as well as the John R. & Aline B. Emens Scholarship Program...
(1945–1968) - John J. PruisJohn J. PruisJohn J. Pruis is best known as being a president of Ball State University as well as having a building dedicated in his name on the campus. He went to Western Michigan University for his education and later for a career. Pruis, originally from Holland, Michigan came to Ball State on July 1, 1968,...
(1968–1978) - Richard W. BurkhardtRichard W. BurkhardtRichard Wellington Burkhardt was the 8th President of Ball State University, from 1978 to 1979.He retired from the university in 1985.-References:...
(1978–1979) - Jerry M. Anderson (1979–1981)
- Robert P. Bell (1981–1984)
- John E. WorthenJohn E. WorthenJohn E. Worthen is the 11th President of Ball State University and the 20th President of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.-Background:...
(1984–2000) - Blaine A. BrownellBlaine A. BrownellBlaine A. Brownell is the 12th President of Ball State University as well as holding positions at other universities across the United States. Brownell is also the former CEO of u21pedagogia.-Background:...
(2000–2004) - Beverley J. Pitt (2004) *
- Jo Ann M. GoraJo Ann M. GoraDr. Jo Ann Marie Gora is the 14th President of Ball State University. Before coming to Ball State she was a chancellor of the University of Massachusetts, and, prior to that, she was the Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Gora, a native New...
(2004–Present)
* Presidency is considered to be an "interim" presidency.
External links
- Ball State University web page
- Ball State University Archives and Special Collections
- History of Ball State's Old Quad
- History of Ball State's Indiana Public Broadcasting
- Architectural history at CollegeTownProfile.com
- Ball State University Campus Photographs collection contains electronically accessible historic campus photographs
- Ball State University Campus Maps collection contains electronically accessible historic campus maps
- Leading the Way: The Presidents of Ball State, 1918-2000 Exhibit by Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections