Ball State University
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2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47306
http://www.bsu.edu

Ball State University is a state-run university located in Muncie, Indiana. Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans more than one thousand acres (4 km²). The student body consists of more than 18,500 undergraduate students and more than 1,500 graduate students. Famous alumni include David Letterman, Joyce DeWitt, Garfield creator Jim Davis and the founder of Papa John's, John Schnatter. Originally a normal school, Ball State has grown and expanded over the years and is recognized today for its programs in architecture, teaching, anthropology, entrepreneurship, and communications.

In 1965, in recognition of its enrollment growth (10,066 students) and for transforming into more than a school to educate public school teachers, the Indiana General Assembly renamed the school Ball State University.

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 a new residence hall slated to be completed in 2007-2008. Bachelor's degrees are available in eight different areas which contain over one hundred and fifty individual programs — a sharp increase from the five degree programs initially offered by the University. 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.

Ball State's campus life revolves around two main quadrangles. The original historic quadrangle is at the south end of campus where the Student Center and Village are located. The new quadrangle is located to the north and consists of a variety of modern buildings that include Bracken Library and Pruis Hall, which is the cultural venue for recitals, ensembles, and films.

A 2005 survey conducted by Intel Corporation rates Ball State as the number one wireless campus in the nation. Ball State's academic and administrative buildings, residence hall common areas, and green spaces have wireless access fed by 625 Wi-Fi access points.

Ball State University wasn't the first school to operate at its location. 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.

The pre-Ball years
The area of Muncie, Indiana 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 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. 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 shut down once again in June 1917 after the Muncie Trust Company initiated foreclosure proceedings.

Ball Brothers intervene
On July 25, 1917 local industrialists the Ball Brothers, 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 University Avenue, McKinley Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Tillotson Avenue, except for the northwest quadrant which was kept as a wildlife preserve (Christy Woods).

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.

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, Ball Teachers College's trustees hired Benjamin 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 Burkhardt Building) in 1924, and an addition to Ball Gymnasium in 1925. By the 1925-1926 school year, Ball State enrollment reached 991 students: 697 women and 294 men.