Archives


  • Cathy Day: From the Circus to the Workshop

    Cathy Day has been teaching creative writing at the college level since 1997, from Minnesota State University at Mankato, to the College of New Jersey, the University of Pittsburgh, and now to Ball State. Day’s published work includes her memoir, Comeback Season, and the novel The Circus in Winter as well as numerous short stories […]

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  • Preserving Indigenous Languages in Mexico

    What is of human derivation, reflective of the richness of a culture, often elusive—not recorded, and according to the National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices Project, disappearing at the rate of one every 14 days? The endangered languages of our planet. The survival of languages, which allow us rare and fragile glimpses into a culture, is dependent […]

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  • Outstanding Researcher: Holmes Finch

    The 2012 Researcher of the Year is known campus wide as a statistical guru, but that was not his original career path. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1987, Holmes Finch soon discovered his real passion. Having enjoyed a statistics course as an undergraduate student, he switched his focus to […]

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  • Getting the Scoop: Southeast Asian Students Learn Emerging Media and American Culture

    During the summer of 2012, students from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines visited Ball State as participants in the Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) program. With a focus on new media in journalism, this is the second year that Mary Spillman, assistant professor in journalism, and Suzy Smith, assistant professor in telecommunications, have received a grant from the U.S. […]

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  • Goal! Using Soccer as a Diplomatic Tool

    Sports can have a profound impact on a community, a country, and the world. It can also serve as an effective path of diplomacy, helping to transcend cultural differences and bringing people together, which is the mission of Sports United, a cultural exchange program of the U.S. Department of State. With the support of a grant […]

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  • Take a Moment to Listen: Using Oral Histories to Preserve Individual Experiences

    Oral traditions long preceded written records. Legends, myths, histories, and cultural traditions were passed from generation to generation through the spoken word. Historically, these orations served to preserve the traditions of entire civilizations. Today, oral histories are used to preserve the experiences of the individual. Oral histories detail individuals’ personal experiences, capturing their memories and […]

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  • Purpose in Rural Youth

    What constitutes having a purpose in life? What difference does it make? Those are questions that Kendall Cotton Bronk, assistant professor of educational psychology, has attempted to address. Bronk believes that purpose represents “an intention to accomplish something in life that is at once meaningful to the individual and at the same time leads to productive engagement with […]

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  • Creative Endeavor Awardee: Beth Turcotte

    Beth Turcotte’s vita includes everything from being an agent for actors to finding ways to ensure children can study the arts even as funding is cut in schools. “The arts give students tools that can be applied in whatever they decide to do,” says Turcotte, Ball State’s Outstanding Creative Endeavor Awardee for 2012. “They are equipped to […]

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