This information was collected for the April/May 2026 edition of the CCIM (Some)TIMES. Read the newsletter via email and/or Canvas Community! 

Although the Spring semester has come to a close, CCIM’s students, faculty, and staff didn’t slow down with their accomplishments! From awards to conference presentations, CCIM has been dedicated to working hard and achieving success. 

Please take a moment with us to look back at these amazing achievements and appreciate the hard work of our college! 

STUDENT NEWS 

Six young men pose together on a red carpet in front of a tournament bracket backdrop for the CECC May Madness 2026 Texas esports event, smiling and with arms around each other's shoulders.
  • Ball State’s Valorant and Rocket League teams qualified to compete in the CECC May Madness competition held from May 1 – 3. The teams got the opportunity to travel to Waco, Texas and compete for the Commissioners Cup to finish their seasons! 
A bold red graphic declaring Ball State Sports Link as "No. 1 in the" nation, featuring a white silhouette of the United States, with a banner noting it is BEA's top winning sports media program in back-to-back years.
  • Ball State Sports Link was recently ranked #1 for BEA’s (Broadcast Education Association) 2026 Top Winning Sports Program. This is the second year in a row that the program has received this recognition which ranks schools based on students’ creative works and their accomplishments! 
An overhead view of a busy indoor event or expo in a modern building atrium, with attendees browsing multiple vendor or student organization tables and displays set up across the floor.
  • On April 23, the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development (EMDD) hosted its annual symposium. This event allows EMDD graduate students to showcase their project teams and in-class work from the past academic year. First-year EMDD students presented interactive digital experiences created using the tool Ren’Py in EMDD 630: Nonlinear and Interactive Storytelling under the supervision of Dr. Joshua Fisher. Second-year EMDD students displayed the high-fidelity prototypes of their client-based projects. Several EMDD students presented their creative capstone projects and for the first time, there was a poster presentation from undergraduate Media Design and Development Design Tools and EMDD 103: Introduction to Media Design classes taught by Alex Lukens. Students’ work included everything from UI/UX design to game development, graphic design and more. Congratulations to everyone who presented, and to Dr. Jennifer Palilonis, Kevin Moloney, and Tong Li for their continued work and support for EMDD! 

CCIM UNIT NEWS 

A speaker in a red blazer addresses a seated audience at the Louie Awards 2026 ceremony, with two large pink projection screens displaying the event name flanking the podium.
Students in the College of Communications, Information, and Media attend the Louie Awards at the Student Center on April 14, 2026. Photo by Bobby Ellis/Ball State University
  • On April 20, the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication held their annual Louie Awards! This award ceremony, named after former journalism department chair Dr. Louis E. Ingelhart, gives student organizations the opportunity to celebrate their members and the work they’ve achieved throughout the academic year. Read about this year’s ceremony and award recipients in our blog here! 
Six smiling students hold awards and certificates in front of a Ball State University College of Communication, Information, and Media backdrop, celebrating their achievements at a recognition event.
  • The Department of Media held the Media Awards Banquet in April this year to recognize student accomplishments and award scholarships! This banquet was not only an opportunity for students to be recognized for their hard work, but also a chance for them to get even more involved. The event was livestreamed by Assistant Lecturer Michael Jefferson’s Media Equipment and Technology class, giving students hands-on learning experience.  
A large crowd of students and guests are seated at round tables with red tablecloths during the Comm Gala, held in a modern building atrium decorated with red and black balloons and a film strip display.
  • On April 10, the Department of Communication Studies held their annual Comm Gala! This event celebrated and awarded students, faculty, and alumni for their service, advocacy, team spirit, and much more! 

FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS 

Leo Caldwell poses for a professional headshot wearing a colorful floral print shirt against a dark background.
  • Leo Caldwell, Assistant Lecturer in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, has been invited back to the University of Oregon’s Knight Campus Graduate Intern Program’s (KCGIP) Inclusive Workshop Series. He will be the keynote at the series’ final event, the Inclusion Symposium, that is held in August. The theme is Cultivating Connection in a Disconnected World. The KCGIP is an applied master’s program with five focus areas that combines lab and lecture content with a 9-month paid internship. Caldwell also has been invited back to speak at SiriusXM this summer about The Substance in Suffering.