Variable winds, occasional dark clouds, and we all ponder what is on the horizon. However, as a creative scholar and writer, I know everything is a metaphor, and those winds could fly a colorful kite; the clouds could bring a refreshing rain; a sunrise may be on the horizon, or at least a sailing ship…come to take us somewhere, on yet another voyage.

In the English Department, we do not despair. Our faculty of award-winning teachers and scholars work together and are focused on the essential task: serving our community, our alumni, and of course our students—with engaging learning experiences that help them develop creativity, critical thinking, research, writing, teaching, communication, and language skills and immerse themselves in the worlds of literary editing, digital design, professional and creative writing, and so much more.

We have a plethora of activities outside the classroom: nationally recognized author and scholar visits, panels, literary festivals, writer in residence programs, and, again, multiple programs and grants and writing camps that engage the Indiana community and beyond. All of these events and undertakings have a purpose: to allow students to make genuine connections that allow them to pursue their passions, guide them towards graduation, and empower their future career path.

We are committed to helping these students not only find fulfilling lives by studying the Humanities, but to also find a job. Career-prep opportunities exist throughout a student’s time at Ball State, including alumni and faculty mentoring, immersive learning “hands on” classes, working in our Writing Center, a career readiness class, and a new paid internship program.

English holds over well over 100 events per academic year. (I know because I write the annual report for the department.) In the interest of brevity, I would like to highlight two, one reinforcing our dedication to the larger community and another emphasizing our alumni and their role in career readiness.

In the fall of 2025, we had our third (and counting) Writer in Residence event, a visit by award-winning and best-selling author, Christina Diaz Gonzalez. This donor funded event (yes, we need your support to do these wonderful things!) accomplished many things but the department is most proud of these numbers:

• We gifted over 1,200 (!) young adult books to students and community members.
• Over the course of the week, in addition to more casual meet-and-greets, Ms. Gonzalez appeared at eight events, engaging over 1,100 members of our community, including schools (all 3 Muncie middle schools participated), community centers, and events on BSU campus.

And what did the community think of these BSU English events? Well we know, because they wrote notes of thanks!

“Thank you for signing my book and thank you for making these books and thank you for showing up at our school and letting us speak to you!!!”

““Thank you for coming to visit us here in Muncie and giving us signed books and I am going to read Concealed with my parents.”

“Maybe I’ll become a writer one day just like you!”

These are the events that are the very core of the English Department: As English faculty (and author of a new memoir) Jill Christman stated about the Writer in Residence program, “The success of the Ball State University Writer-in-Residence-in-the-Schools Program 2025 proved that we can have a real and lasting impact in the Muncie community, particularly given the generational nature of literacy and illiteracy. If we make a difference in one generation, we affect the next. Our primary goal will continue to be to give youth in the Muncie community greater access to the lifesaving gift of storytelling.”

Another recent successful event was a panel of alumni speakers. These kind folks had one thing for sure in common—all graduates of our English department!—but also proved one our mottoes around English, “You can do ANYTHING with an English degree.” One alum owns a bookstore, one works in marketing, and one is an administrator for the Ball State library. Whatever concentration in English, from Linguistics to English Education to Professional Writing to Literature to Creative Writing, an English degree provides experience and skills that will transfer to a variety of professions that prize communication, creativity, and critical thinking expertise, as our graduates seek to impact their communities and the world.

Would you like to share your career story with us, too? We’d love to hear it. Here’s how you can do so easily.

We are grateful to pursue this work in career readiness and community with each other, and with you. You can help us with the work of maintaining this community. Contribute to the Ball State Foundation to support our programming and extracurriculars. Hire or mentor one of our graduates. Come visit us and share how your education in English prepared you for a fulfilling life.

Thank you for reading about our achievements and for all that you do.

Sincerely,
Sean Lovelace
Chair of English