“Let’s take the world” was the closing message from President Geoffrey S. Mearns as he addressed Ball State faculty and staff at the 2017 Fall Faculty Convocation.
The mantra comes from Ball State alumnus Yosef Tekle-Wold’s, who's journey from Ethiopia to commencement this June inspired Mearns as he ushered the new school year forward.
“In just a few months, we will embark on a process to articulate old vision for our second century, for our future—for our legacy—and I suggest that we follow his lead, let’s take the world,” Mearns said. "Let’s take the world."
In addition to encouraging faculty to take on the world, Mearns spoke about his strategic planning process and an anticipated increase in student enrollment in coming years.
This fall, Mearns said more than 4,000 freshmen are expected to be officially enrolled—a record-breaking number of new students on the campus. Exact numbers and an official number will be announced in September.
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Along with an increase in enrollment, Mearns discussed Ball State's new and upcoming marketing brand to make Ball State a "top choice" for prospective students.
“Over the next few months, we are going to reveal a refreshed brand and we’re going to launch a new marketing campaign," Mearns said. "We are going to be more vocal. We are going to be more visible. We are going to tell the Ball State story with the passion and the energy that it deserves."
The new marketing brand will transform Ball State from a “hidden gem” to a top choice for students, he added.
Among revealing a new marketing brand, a strategic plan timeline and alumni stories, Mearns took a moment to address recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, a topic that he said was personal.
Mearns was born and raised in Charlottesville and his father was on the law faculty at the University of Virginia.
“As a child, I ran around on the university lawn not far from where on Friday evening, white supremacists carried torches. I was baptized in the church within a few blocks from the site where Heather Heyer was murdered on Saturday. ... What happened in Charlottesville last weekend, as I said, was personal. It was profoundly disturbing, it was sad. So what are we to do? What are we to do? First, all of us must condemn unequivocally the racial hatred, the bald faced bigotry that instigated the violence … that’s the first step. But all of us must also continue to do the work to create a more inclusive culture, right here on our campus. It requires us to engage in courageous conversations. It requires all of us to reflect candidly on our preconceptions and our predispositions. We must engage others deeply. We must engage others with an open mind and with an open heart. And progress, real progress requires a sustained effort from all of us. But if each one of us, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our universities, in our corporations, or other organizations, if we are all able to create inclusive cultures with the people that we meet each day, then I believe we can continue to create a more just society. We can form, we can form the more perfect union that our founding fathers envisioned. This is my hope.”
Mearns will address the freshman class during the Freshman Convocation on Sunday and will have the same message for students as he did faculty.
“That same message about engaging in the hard work of understanding people who have different perspectives and different backgrounds,” Mearns said. “Again, it’s not just about what you say, it’s most importantly about how you listen and that why I wanted to talk about the importance of listening actively and empathetically. With an open mind and an open heart, that’s how we can create a more inclusive environment. This campus is strong in that respect, but our work is not yet done.”
The convocation also included university awards.
The following faculty were presented with awards:
- Lawhead Award in General Education - Jennifer Rowland, Matt Moore and Jeff Spanke
- Rawlings Outstanding Distance Education Teaching - Qiannong (Chan) Gu
- Outstanding Diversity Advocate - Jagdish Khubchandani
- Outstanding Creative Endeavor - Christopher Flook
- Outstanding Faculty Advisor - Marilynn Quick
- Outstanding Faculty Service - David Concepcion
- Outstanding Administrator - Robert Kvam
- Outstanding Teaching - Laura O’Hara
- Outstanding Research - Scott Trapper
- Outstanding Junior Faculty - Katie Lawson
- Outstanding Faculty - Lawrence Judge
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