Tag: projects

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Abandoned Housing Policy Analysis

An excess of abandoned housing currently exists within the City of Muncie. The presence of this abandoned housing creates a number of problems for nearby residents and also for the city as a whole. Policies, intended to reduce the quantity of abandoned housing in the city, have not had as a large an impact as had been hoped. This project team gathered evidence first about the problem and its impacts in the community and then developed a limited number of policy alternatives, estimated their likely impacts, and made policy recommendations for consideration by the community partner.

View the report (pdf)

Faculty Mentor: Chip Taylor
Department: Political Science
Community Partner: Muncie Redevelopment Commission
Students: Carly Acree-King, Joshua Arter, Allison Badgero, Derick Brady, Travis Casper, Julia Chanen, Amy Combs, Aaron Davis, Jessica Fields, Nathanial Law, David Nickel, Jessica Nickel, Alex Rodriguez, Greta Slater, Aaron Tellez, Gage VanDine, Jes Wade

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Spring 2017 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this spring on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.

Abandoned Housing Policy Analysis
Community Partner:  Muncie Redevelopment Commission
Faculty Mentor: Chip Taylor, Department of Political Science

Advancing ecoREHAB Through Story and Strategy
Community Partner:  ecoREHAB of Muncie, Inc.
Faculty Mentors:  Kate Elliott, Department of Journalism; Paul Gestwicki; Department of Computer Science

Assessing Heat Leaks in the 8twelve Target District
Community Partner:  Muncie 8twelve Coalition
Faculty Mentor:  Jason Yang, Department of Geography

Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders:  Character and Leadership Development at the Boys & Girls Club of Muncie
Community Partner:  The Boys & Girls Club of Muncie
Faculty Mentor:  Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies

Maring-Hunt Community Garden Pavilion
Community Partner:  Maring-Hunt Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture

Minnetrista Neighborhood Action Plan
Community Partner:  Minnetrista Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway, Department of Urban Planning

Rehabilitating Houses
Community Partner: Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Technology

Story Maps from and for “South-of-the-River” Neighborhoods in Muncie
Community Partners:  Forest Park Neighborhood Association; Thomas/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Jörn Seemann, Department of Geography

Sustainable Food Production: Integrating Collaboration within the Community
Community Partner:  Muncie Food Hub
Faculty Mentor:  Gerry Waite, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies

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Shafer Leadership – Community Needs Assessment

Shafer Leadership Academy partnered with this immersive learning project to enumerate the current leadership needs and capacity of the Muncie community. Through gathered need and capacity data, students conducted secondary source research and surveys. The data gathered will help the Shafer Leadership Academy to design appropriate programming and seek relevant funding. In addition to developing research skills, the project team connected with and increased empathy for the Muncie Community and learned about the value of community leadership.

Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo
Department: Sociology
Community Partner: Shafer Leadership Academy
Students: Drew Apanavicius, Emmalie Hodge, Audrey Meade, Casey Misner, Zoe Sutton

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Riverside-Normal City: Portrait of a Middletown Neighborhood in a Post Industrial Age

This project conducted an ethnographic study of the Riverside Normal City (RNC) neighborhood, which is the area east of Ball State University in Muncie. Using participant observation, oral history, archival research, photography and semi-structured interviews, students provided an interdisciplinary analysis of how this neighborhood has changed over time. Students attended monthly RNC neighborhood meetings, interviewed neighborhood residents, scanned residents’ photos while collecting stories, reading about the history of Muncie and documenting the neighborhood today. In analyzing this data, students were asked to consider the economic, sociocultural, and political causes that changed this neighborhood overtime and how these changes have impacted local residents. The findings were published in a book.

Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Erickson
Department: Anthropology
Community Partner: Riverside-Normal City Neighborhood Association
Students: Iesha Alspaugh, Simran Bhinder, Abby Clark, Joseph Coachys, Alejandra Diaz-Fernandez, Barbara Dickensheets, Kathleen Harper, Amber Janzen, Savannah Myers, Mia Nickelson, Kathryn Powell, Alexis Smith, Bevin Snyder, Leslie Thomas

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Preventing Financial Exploitation of Older Adults

Financial fraud and abuse are on the rise and older adults are prime targets for functional exploitation. Financial scams targeting older adults have become so prevalent, they are being considered “The Crime of the 21st Century”. Preventing financial exploitation from ever happening in the first place is the best defense for protecting older adults. In collaboration with the Muncie Delaware Senior Center, the project team prepared training materials that included prevention steps, warning signs and typical schemes targeted at older adults. The team worked with the Center and developed a training protocol and process focused on educating older adults on issues related to financial exploitation.

Faculty Mentor: Ronald Dolon
Department: Social Work
Community Partner: Muncie Delaware Senior Center
Students: Samantha Disher, Kelly Eby, Kelsey Freiburger, Laura Groleau, Sarah Hellman, Addie Herndon, Carolyn Keating, Sarah Leone, Haley McAbee, Miranda Morris, Hannah Yeoman

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Narrative Contemporary Dance

This project team was tasked with developing a workshop production of a narrative dance performance. Students in this project learned to fully organize a complete dance production from concept through choreography, as well as, planning for costume, set, production and music technology. The focus of this project was on the experience of developing the performance, not a full performance event. The project team staged two unproduced public performances to a limited audience to demonstrate the dance. As the team developed elements of the production, they also taught classes to children as their after-school activity. These classes of dance technique and improvisation helped the children develop discipline, hard work, perseverance, dance ethic in class, and the etiquette of being a part of an audience.

Faculty Mentor: Vladimir Stadnik
Department: Theatre and Dance
Community Partner: Cornerstone Center for the Arts
Students: Madison Baker, Esther Bower, Jacquelyn Clark, Hanna Crane, Sean Erickson, Christina Fee, Amanda Gottrich, Nicole Grossman, Carly Jerstad, Alexandria Koontz, Alexander Modlin, Nicole Popovich, Elly Rebeka, Hannah St. Aubin, Adina Stuhlman, Shannon Swift, Rachael Wieczorek