Category: Projects

Community-neighborhood projects

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Thomas Park – Avondale Neighborhood Action Plan

The Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Action Plan (TPANAP) is a citizen-generated policy regarding the future of the neighborhood, containing initiatives that will developed by the residents of the neighborhood with the assistance of the students.  The TPANAP will fall under the umbrella of the Muncie Action Plan (MAP), which is a strategic guide for the city to create an action agenda for the future.  A partnership has been established with MAP and Ball State University to help with the organization of neighborhoods, to assist with needs assessment/goal setting and to develop collaborative projects that meet the unique needs of each neighborhood.  In addition to the Action Plan, a TPANAP Handbook will also be produced as a document to aid citizen planners when they begin to enact initiatives from the Plan.

Learn more by visiting their website: Thomasparkavondale.wordpress.com.

Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway
Department:  Urban Planning
Community Partner:  Thomas Park – Avondale Neighborhood Association
Students: Unai Miguel Andres, Robin Behery, Simran Bhinder, Zane Bishop, Jessie Boshell, Julia Chanen, Chelsea Fenimore, Tiffany Gehrke, Cody Hedges, Amber Janzen, Paul Jones, KyeongHyun Kim, Sravani Mikkilineni

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Serve to Learn Youth Development Project and Focus Groups

The Whitely Community Council would like to create a youth focused TimeBank.  This project team obtained data from community youth about the experiences they would like to “withdraw” as well as the assets they could “deposit” as participants in the program.  This information would be used to increase students’ awareness of and interest in the “Serve to Learn” TimeBank program as well as help them articulate their personal interests and assets.  To gather the asset data and foster program engagement, BSU students conducted activity-based focus groups with Muncie area youth.  This data gathered will help the committee members design the TimeBank program.  In addition to developing research skills, BSU students connected with and increased empathy for the Muncie Community and learned about the principles of TimeBanking.

Youth Development Project Faculty Mentor:  Dorshele Stewart
Departments:  History
Community Partner:  Whitely Community Council
Students: Elyssia Anderson, Lauren Borst, Michelle Caneva, Hayley Eckert, Victoria Fehr, Thomas Harrell, Victoria Harris, Deidre Henderson, Mercedes Hoover, Samantha Maethner, Kirsten Neal, Samantha Reason, Brianna Refner, Nina Richardson, Eleonora Smith, Eric Southerland, Danielle Wellman, Kaylyn West, Justice Williams, Brandon Wyllie

Time Bank Focus Groups Faculty Mentor:  Melinda Messineo
Department:  Sociology
Community Partner:  Whitley Community Safety Committee
Students: Sonia Brewer, Victoria Foster, Hallie Johns, Grace Kelly, Braderick Morrison, Jessica Oracheff, Keanna Peppers, Danielle Staley, Abigail Stellwagen, Christina Valdez, Brianna Williams

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Whitely Community Safety Committee Focus Groups

The Whitely Community Council Public Safety Committee has been discussing the national dialogue regarding police and community tensions and how those feelings may be reflected in Muncie Delaware County.  This project team conducted interviews and focus groups with Muncie Delaware County residents and police about their perceptions of local police-community relations.  This data will help the Public Safety Committee design programming with the objective of improving communication, understanding, and safety.

Faculty Mentor:  Melinda Messineo
Department:  Sociology
Community Partner:  Whitley Community Safety Committee
Students: Nathan Ayers, Denasiha Christian, Brett Donley, Asia Flemings, Autumn Huse, Alicia Klingerman, Patrick Kluger, Savanna Paddock, Erin Phelps, Lara Schneider, Matthias Tankersley

 

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Muncie’s Sports Tourism Potential: Strategies to Make the SportsPlex Serve the Community Better

This project involved students taking the lead in a research project to learn about how the Muncie SportsPlex could be made to be financially viable and serve the Muncie community better.  Students gathered data and wrote a report that gave Mayor Tyler actionable business intelligence to assist in improving the product, services and financial viability of Muncie SportsPlex.

Faculty Mentor:  Craig Webster
Department:  Family and Consumer Sciences
Community Partner:  City of Muncie
Students: Cheria Averitte, Leah Beebe, Nicole Box, Cade Carter, Jeshua Drown, Alex Hurt, Anna Johnson, Kyle Jones, Bailey Kelley, Colleen Kinninger, Sarah Kniesly, Ed Landreth, Taylor Lipinski, Michael Lorenzano, Maddie McMurray, Mike Melton: Graduate Assistant, Kim Scott, Jessica Stanton, Taylor Stiffler, Katherine Sutton, Brandi Tuzinski, Alexandria Vaden, Sarah Von Raesfeld, Ciara Whitaker

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Louis E. Ingelhart Scholars and Facing Cancer

Ball State University students combined their effort and energy to produce the next iteration of The Facing Project, a local initiative which aims to connect people through stories to strengthen communities. Each iteration reveals people in our community who face certain circumstances and wish to share their stories. The students chose to concentrate on Facing Cancer in East Central Indiana. All stories have been published in a free book and distributed at a community debut as well as to those who may have direct influence toward those who face depression — such as doctors, counselors, therapists, teachers, coaches, parents, and friends. The goal of The Facing Project is to inform and educate about under-reported and sometimes misunderstood topics.

Faculty Mentor:  Adam Kuban
Department:  Journalism
Community Partner: Cancer Services of East Central Indiana — Little Red Door
Students: Tyson Bird, Patrick Calvert, Phylisia Donaldson, Nicole Dowd, Ryan Flanery, Alaina Halsey, Lauren Hansen,
Asa McCormick, Kaylie McKee, Edward Metzger, Trenton Scroggins, Rose Skelly, Jacob Turpin, Dagny Zupin

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Sustainability Park at Heath Farm Conceptual Plan

Education in Sustainability across a range of levels from elementary school through college has never been more important than at this time of climate change, habitat loss and other environmental impacts. Sustainability education is extremely effective when techniques are demonstrated in the field and the learning is hands-on. This project proposes to develop an underutilized Ball State owned parcel as a community resource and national model in sustainability education. The partners and beneficiaries for this project include Ball State students, public school students, and the general public.

Faculty Mentor:  Dave Ferguson
Department:  Landscape Architecture
Community Partner:  Red-tail Land Conservancy
Students: Drew Bailey, Denise Blankenberger, Courtney Castleman, Tatiana Cox, Olivia Davis, Zachary Herring, Sammy Iskrzycki, Katlyn (Faye) Lichtsinn, Payton Smiley, Cassidy Smith, Chelsea Smith