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[foundations37]

Any information on Ball State University? Thanks...

[etandss]

I am familiar with one department only, and you can PM me if you'd like to know which one (it's in the humanities). Muncie is a nice town and you're close to Indy, which has great shopping and pretty darn good food, not to mention a good symphony, excellent art museum, and public art venues.

The campus is very nice and I wish I could teach there.

[alohafromhere]

I taught there for three years and loved it.  The students are what you might expect in a state school -- some terrific at the top, a solid middle group, and some woefully underprepared.  However, I found virtually all of them to be decent, hardworking students (this is undergrads).  And by the time I left for a tt position elsewhere, the admission standards had gone up and the incoming students were getting better.

My position was in the humanities and my colleagues were also a mix -- some wonderful scholars and teachers who gave their all, as well as some who were bitter at their fate ending up in Muncie, Indiana, at a state school. The usual.  I gravitated toward those who gave their all, and made friendships and partnerships that I still have four years later.  There are good people doing good work there.

The university itself has opportunities for faculty to do a range of interesting work with good students.  Honors College, a Diversity Associate program, service learning in the community, etc.  Good support for faculty in the form of a number of internal grant opportunities; I was able to secure a number of funds beyond the basic support for research and travel.

Good library.  Walkable campus.  Typical midwest seasons: hot and humid summer, cold and miserable winter, lovely spring and fall. 

Muncie will lose one of its prime manufacturing plants in the next couple of years with a net lost of I believe 750 jobs.  The city already is suffering from other closures, so this will not help.  There is high unemployment, and the attendant crime, drugs, etc.  It seems to be concentrated in specific neighborhoods.

The downtown has a small area that caters to students.  Some nice coffeeshops, bookstores, etc.  A few decent restaurants.  The bypass has the usual franchises.  There's a small mall, and a quite wonderful Target.  Not a "super" Target, but still.

If you are into equestrian sports, Muncie is a great place to be.  Very good stables and instruction nearby.  I believe there is a Ball State equestrian team as well.  And, the surrounding countryside is lovely.  Much more rolling than the flatness of other parts of Indiana.

I'd go back to Ball State anytime if there were a tt opening in my field. It's a good place to be.

[trentsands]

Another Thumbs Up for Ball State.  Taught there for a couple years.  Students aren't always the most prepared, but I've generally been able to motivate them to work and learn harder.  I had fantastic interactions with faculty from a variety of departments.

There's also hidden (and not so hidden) pockets of money available at this school.  This is important because (in my experience) the school doesn't necessarily pay as well as some others.  The hidden money and benefits help though. 

The school has one of the top Telecommunications departments in the country.  Students in the department have one regional Emmy's, beating out local TV channels.  It was also declared the country's most wireless campus, with remotve access sites available even out in the campus greens.

The school has a very strong green initiative.  The importance of recycling is emphasized everywhere, even in the faculty's offices (where a large trash can with a transparent lining is supplied for recyclables and a much smaller can with dark lining is supplied for non-recyclables).  As well, the school was forefront in obtaining a Prius Hybrid fleet for in-school vehicle rentals.  City recycling is easy as well.  Consumers can lump all their recyclables in one bag, and the recycling facility sorts it all on site (which also supplies some low skill jobs in the area).

If you're into the Nordic/Lord of the Ring's feel, you should check out The Herot.  Excellent beer selection; Medieval atmosphere.

[wannabephd]

If I were a SC member and had a posting open that was not getting enough applicants, I would come here and start one of these threads about my school.  It always makes me want to check the listings to see whether there are any openings, especially when the reviews are as positive as these are.

[foundations37]

Trust me.  I am not a member of a SC. I accepted a tenure-track position last year. I made a bad decision. Therefore, I am trying to find out as much information on the schools I will visit in the next few weeks.

[spork]

Alma mater of David Letterman; he established a scholarship there for C students like himself.  BSU is a gem.

[etandss]

Trust me.  I am not a member of a SC. I accepted a tenure-track position last year. I made a bad decision. Therefore, I am trying to find out as much information on the schools I will visit in the next few weeks.

Well, it sounds like you can't go wrong with Ball State! ;) Best of luck, and I hope you don't get burned again.

[theatretd]

I taught at Ball State for four years.  I absolutely loved the University and my department.  Strong emphasis on technology, teaching and the arts are fairly well supported.

Muncie can be a tough place to live for a few reasons.  If you have a spouse who will be looking for employment, that can be tough.  My wife went unemployed for about seven months (we needed to be an two income family) and then was only able to find a job that was a 1.5 hour commute one way.  Oh yeah, she's a teacher.  We weren't expecting that to be a problem.

Property taxes are high and only going higher.  The city is struggling with a shrinking population and how to maintain/expand city services.  I paid almost as much in property taxes on my house in Muncie as I am now on a house that is worth almost twice as much.

Schools are not bad and if you have kids, feel free to contact me about schools.

We had great friends, lived in a great neighborhood and I loved my job.  But  Indiana can be rough for transplanted southerners and we left to be closer to family.  I would go back and work for Ball State in a heartbeat if it weren't for the distance from family.

[trentsands]

Property taxes are high and only going higher.  The city is struggling with a shrinking population and how to maintain/expand city services.  I paid almost as much in property taxes on my house in Muncie as I am now on a house that is worth almost twice as much.

Property taxes are, of course, a relative thing and depend as much on where you're coming from as where you're going to.  Based on the city I'm in now, the property taxes anywhere in Indiana are a steal.  (Of course, in some states at least, with high property taxes come strong community resources.)

[helpful]

I once thought "Ball" State refers to basketball or baseball. But then I was told that it referred to a big donor, the guy who owned the Ball canning jar company. Is that true?

[foundations37]

Thanks...This is great information. I appreciate your help.

[theatretd]

The "Ball" refers to the Ball brothers who were responsible for Ball Corporation (Ball canning jars are only part of that) who were huge benefactors for Ball State, Ball Memorial Hospital, and pretty much Muncie in general.  Ball Corp is no longer in Muncie, but the Ball family still has roots there and family foundations still provide a lot of philanthropy to the area.

[trentsands]

The "Ball" refers to the Ball brothers who were responsible for Ball Corporation (Ball canning jars are only part of that) who were huge benefactors for Ball State, Ball Memorial Hospital, and pretty much Muncie in general.  Ball Corp is no longer in Muncie, but the Ball family still has roots there and family foundations still provide a lot of philanthropy to the area.

Basically, the school started out as a teachers' college, but it shut down a couple times because it was financially unsound.  The Ball brothers purchased the property, made the college stable, and donated it to the state.

[helpful]

The "Ball" refers to the Ball brothers who were responsible for Ball Corporation (Ball canning jars are only part of that) who were huge benefactors for Ball State, Ball Memorial Hospital, and pretty much Muncie in general.  Ball Corp is no longer in Muncie, but the Ball family still has roots there and family foundations still provide a lot of philanthropy to the area.

Thanks; I always thought it ironic because I think of Indiana as "Ball State", what with the history of the University of Indiana and Larry Bird at Indiana State U. And now the Pacers.