Even though he has only been in office for about three months, President Geoffrey S. Mearns has stayed busy preparing for his first academic year in his new role.
Since his first day in office, Ball State's 17th president has been very goal oriented with how he will approach his job. Mearns has been working towards fostering a relationship with the Ball State and Muncie community while preparing for the development of a new strategic plan and university’s centennial celebration.
Connecting with the community
Throughout his time on campus this summer, Mearns had the opportunity to meet with a variety of Ball State staff, faculty, administrators and students.
Recently, Mearns has met with the University Police Department, Alumni Association, Ball State football players and cheerleaders as well as RAs and hall directors.
"I continue to be out and about on campus meeting with as many people as I can," Mearns said. "I am looking forward to August 21 when campus comes alive once again."
Being able to start his job this summer also gave Mearns time to meet other community members off campus. He met with the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, members of Muncie Sunrise Rotary Club and even Vice President Mike Pence.
"It has been a very good opportunity to meet with people and hear about their perspective on the university and what their hopes and aspirations are for the future," Mearns said.
One of Mearns' goals this year is to continue to provide transparency and strong communication with students.
The president sends quarterly emails, providing the Ball State community with updates on his progress and involvement in addition to what is going on around campus. He will continue using platforms like Twitter to communicate.
“We know that when we communicate well and regularly, it provides answers to questions that people have about what’s happening on our campus," Mearns said. "The more we can do to provide that information proactively, it tends to prevent kind of the speculation about certain events if they don't have that information.
"We are going to continue to be proactive and responsive."
Mearns also encourages students to reach out to him is by visiting his office in the Administration Building.
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Preparing the Strategic Plan
Mearns praised the previous strategic plan and is in the process of developing a new one. He's working to gather input from stakeholders, staff and most importantly, students.
When asked what areas of Ball State may need improved, Mearns said its too early for him to make any assessments where the university might have strengths and needs improvement. That's where student input is vital in creating a new plan.
“Getting student input in the strategic planning process will be so valuable to us," Mearns said. "We intend to engage our students in many ways – open forums and surveys. That’s where, frankly, the information will flow to us, particularly to me, will be very beneficial in trying to identify those areas that need improvement.”
Informal engagement will also be beneficial in preparing to create the new strategic plan. Mearns said he has mentioned that idea to Kay Bales, vice president for student affairs and enrollment services.
He plans on meeting with students and having conversations, discussing what they find unique about the university as well as areas that need improvement.
"In order to participate meaningfully in that process, I need to continue to – for my own orientation – spend most of my fall semester continuing the process of education, listening and learning," Mearns said.
By the end of the fall semester, Mearns anticipates appointing a representative committee made up of faculty, staff and at least one student to participate and kick off the formal planning process by January 2018.
Until then, Mearns hopes to continue to hear from students.
"We need student perspectives," he said. "They can play a role in shaping the future of the institution, insuring that we are providing a high quality and relevant education for the next generation of Ball State students so the institution continues to be one that they are proud to be associated with."
Planning the Centennial Celebration
Mearns recently met with the Centennial Celebration Committee to discuss finalizing a plan for celebrating the university's 100th year since its creation by the Ball brothers in 1918.
The celebration will begin in August of 2018 and go until May or June of the following year.
Students can expect to see a variety of events and activities hosted by the university, potentially including throwback activities associated with athletics, concerts, documentary history, a hashtag and other forms of branding.
Mearns said the university is hoping the celebration will also be used as a platform to engage with alumni.
"The students are going to be pretty excited," he said.
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