Editor's note: In honor of the university's centennial year, The Daily News is counting down 100 days to the university's celebration Sept. 6 with 100 of Ball State's most famous traditions and figures. Check back each day to read about Cardinal history.
The 17th president of Ball State University, Geoffrey Mearns, came to Muncie from Kentucky in May 2017.
Mearns, who was announced as the university’s 17th president in January 2017, was the president of Northern Kentucky University for five years.
Mearns graduated from Yale University and received his juris doctor degree at the University of Virginia. He was an attorney for 15 years, served as federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice and worked on several high-profile cases including the Oklahoma City bombing case.
Before working at NKU, Mearns served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Cleveland State University.
Since his first day at Ball State, Mearns said he has tried to get involved with the Ball State and Muncie community.
In his first year, Mearns held open forums with Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler to hear what kind of improvements Muncie residents wanted to see. Additionally, upon his installation, the Mearnses donated $100,000 to create an endowment fund for Muncie Central graduates who are going to become first-generation college graduates at Ball State.
On campus, Mearns hosted several informal campus visits, where he and his wife Jennifer walked around parts of campus in order to get to know campus and Cardinals better.
“What is particularly gratifying to me is that a consistent theme that I have heard from all of those people, even given their diverse perspectives, is their passion and pride for Ball State,” Mearns said. “They’re proud of what we have accomplished in the first 100 years and passionate, enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.”
Additionally, House Bill 1315 passed in Mearns’ first year. The bill allows Ball State’s Board of Trustees to appoint five members of the Muncie Community School board. Mearns will select the remaining two based off three recommendations from Tyler and three recommendations from Muncie City Council.
Read more centennial content here.
Contact Andrew Smith with comments at ajsmith15@bsu.edu or on Twitter @AndrewSmithNews.
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