Don Mikesell served as Ball State's dean of students from 1985 to 2001. Before he was an administrator at our university, Don was both an undergraduate and graduate student on our campus. In this episode, Don reminisces about what Ball State was like when he first enrolled in 1956. From Greek life to helping adopt a more relaxed student dress code (believe it or not, khakis were controversial at the time!), Don was an involved and engaged Cardinal. Don also reflects on the mentors who s...
Craig Hartman is an accomplished architect and senior consulting design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious design firms. Craig attended high school in rural Indiana. But it was the education that he received at Ball State University that opened his eyes to the possibility of making a professional name for himself on a global scale. In this episode, Craig talks about experiencing the first years of our University’s College of Archit...
Ron Galbraith is a retired CEO and entrepreneur with a distinctive career path—one that began in academia, continued in healthcare, and ended as an entrepreneur. But before he enjoyed career success, Ron was a Ball State student who, on his first day on campus, walked into the wrong science class. Ron’s experiences as a first-generation college student in the 1960s shaped his professional aspirations. Guided by faculty mentors who encouraged his love of learning, Ron became a professor ...
Throughout Dr. Jeff Bird’s long and fulfilling career in medicine, he has put his patients—and the people of Muncie—first. Dr. Bird grew up in Muncie. After completing his residency at Ball Hospital, he embarked upon a long and fulfilling career in medicine here in his hometown. As the hospital prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Dr. Bird reflects on the decades he’s spent—first as a doctor and then as an administrator—working to provide the best healthcare to the people who li...
During Brandon Allmon-Jackson’s major theatrical productions, he is never seen by the audiences. But as a stage manager fulfilling his dream of working on Broadway, he’s the person most responsible for making sure big acts—including The Music Man, Back to the Future, and Sunset Boulevard—go off without a hitch. In the years since he graduated from Ball State in 2012, Brandon has applied the skills he learned in the classroom, along with his dedication and drive, to stand out in the competiti...
Hope Churchill is a senior studying business administration in our Miller College of Business. She’s also our current student representative on the Board of Trustees. In this role, Hope serves as the voice of her peers, advocating for her fellow Ball State students and bringing their perspectives to the board. As she prepares to graduate in May, Hope reflects on her Ball State journey and her service to our University. She shares how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced her high school and...
Jeff Feltman is a distinguished Ball State graduate who has had an impressive career in foreign affairs and international diplomacy. Currently, Jeff is the John C. Whitehead Visiting Fellow in international diplomacy in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, and he's a senior fellow at the UN Foundation, both of which are based in Washington, D.C. Over the course of his impressive career, Jeff served as the UN's undersecretary general for political affairs and as U.S. Speci...
Paris McCurdy is a graduate who played a pivotal role in Ball State's own March Madness Cinderella Story. Paris was a senior for the Cardinals when he and his teammates won the MAC Championship and went on to compete in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. As our basketball teams prepare to kick off another season of play, Paris reflects on his memories of that remarkable ’89-’90 season and about the valuable role he played in getting the Cardinals to the Sweet 16. He also talks about his ca...
Roy Weaver spent nearly 30 years serving Ball State University—first as a faculty member and then as an administrator. He was the associate dean of our Teachers College for 10 years, before serving another 16 years as dean. In addition to his passion for serving Ball State students, Roy has a passion for Ball State football, which celebrates its 100th season in 2024. Roy’s appreciation for the Cardinals inspired him to co-write a book about Timmy Brown, a former All-American football player...
Since 2016, Mike McDaniel has been a dedicated member of the Ball State Board of Trustees. He is also a proud two-time graduate of our University, where he met the professor who became the mentor who shaped his future career in state politics. Mike recently finished his final legislative session as the executive director of governmental affairs for Krieg DeVault, a law firm based in Indianapolis. Before working for Krieg DeVault, Mike’s 51-year career in government relations and admini...
Brady Sallee became the head women’s basketball coach at Ball State University in 2012. Since then, he has established a culture of excellence for the Cardinals, a culture that is rooted in fundamentals and teamwork. For years now, Brady has broken records in Ball State Athletics. He is the only head coach to take his team to nine postseason tournaments, and with 237 victories, he is the winningest basketball coach in Ball State University. In this episode, Brady shares how his...
Hollis Hughes is very well known by many members of the Ball State University community. As a two-time graduate, Hollis had the distinction of serving on the University’s Board of Trustees for more than two decades. Previously, he served as a board member of the Ball State University Foundation, the Alumni Council, and the Black Alumni Council. Hollis studied at Ball State at a time when segregated housing policies existed on our campus and in our community. In this episode, he shares how a ...
Anand Marri serves as Ball State’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, a position for which he is responsible for the University’s academic mission, including supporting leadership for all academic units. When he accepted the role in October 2023, Dr. Marri was no stranger to Ball State. He previously served three years as dean of the Teachers College, during which time enrollment in the college increased and faculty and staff generated a significant increase in ...
Over the past three decades of his career at Ball State, Jim Lowe has dedicated himself to ensuring the functionality, comfort, safety, and sustainability of every building that makes up the University’s campus. As the associate vice president for facilities planning and management, Jim is responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the University’s facilities—and for planning, designing, and constructing our future buildings. Jim’s career has encompassed a ser...
Betsy Ross is a Ball State graduate who became one of the first women to break into national sports news. Today, she is the president of Game Day Communications, a sports and entertainment communications firm based in Cincinnati. Betsy graduated from Ball State in 1972 with a degree in journalism. After working in print and television media in South Bend, Indiana, she became a television news anchor and reporter for the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati. In this episode, Betsy shares ...
Jim Champy is a leading expert on management issues involving business engineering, a topic for which he wrote a New York Times best-selling book that has sold more than two million copies. In addition to being the co-author of Reengineering the Corporation, Jim was most recently chairman emeritus of consulting for Dell Services. Before that, he was chairman of consulting and head of strategy for Perot Systems. In this episode, Jim shares how his college education prepared him to launch hi...
Dr. Lee Ann Kwiatkowski—or Dr. K as she is affectionately known in the community—serves as the director of public education and CEO for Muncie Community Schools (MCS). When she accepted the role in July 2019, Dr. K assumed leadership of the innovative partnership between MCS and Ball State. Over the past five years, she has helped the district make good progress in achieving our collective goals: student enrollment at MCS has stabilized; budgets have been balanced annually; and compensation ...
Greg Fehribach is an attorney and the founder of The Fehribach Group, a consulting firm specializing in accessibility, universal design, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He is also a proud two-time graduate of Ball State who made history as the first student with a disability to be elected to serve as the University’s student body president. On this new season of “Our Call to Beneficence,” Greg talks about how the accessibility of Ball State’s campus in the 1970s made...
Dwight Smith is an innovative producer of reality television shows in Hollywood. He’s also a proud graduate who, in his own words, grew up as a “Ball State baby.” In this episode, Dwight talks about how our University fostered his love for the entertainment industry and how one of his favorite professors helped him launch his career in Hollywood. Dwight also describes the evolution of the production company Mission Control Media, which he co-owns with the same business partner he’s wo...
Randy Pond is an accomplished Ball State graduate who presently serves as the chair of our University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. As our May Commencement speaker, Randy inspired our graduates with his story about being a first-generation college student. After graduating from Ball State in 1977, he embarked upon a successful and fulfilling career that allowed him to serve as a corporate leader for one of the largest and fastest growing technology companies in the world. In t...