Category: Projects

Community-neighborhood projects

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Fall 2016 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

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

Let’s Build!
Community Partner:  Ross Center
Faculty Mentor:  Jennifer Warrner, Department of Technology

Delaware County Historical Society Strategic Plan
Community Partner:  Delaware County Historical Society
Faculty Mentor:  Robert V. Morris, Department of History

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

Elementary Maker Workshops:  Making an Interactive STEAM Exhibit with Elementary Pre-service Teachers and Children
Community Partner:  Burris Laboratory School
Faculty Mentor:  Kate Shively, Department of Elementary Education 

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

Families for Forward Thinking:  Partnering with Parents in the 21st Century
Community Partner:  Wee Wisdom Nursery School and Child Care Facility
Faculty Mentor:  Stacey Allred, Department of Elementary Education 

Sustainability Park for Northwest Muncie
Community Partner:  Red-tail Land Conservancy
Faculty Mentor:  Dave Ferguson, Department of Landscape Architecture 

Jacket Copy Creative: Covering All Your Communication Needs
Community Partner:  Whitely Community Council
Faculty Mentor:  Eva Grouling Snider, Department of English

Unmasked: The Stigma of Meth
Community Partner:  Ball Brothers Foundation
Faculty Mentors:  Terry Heifetz, Department of Telecommunications, Juli Metzger, Department of Journalism

Narrative Contemporary Dance
Community Partner:  Cornerstone Center for the Arts
Faculty Mentors:  Vladimir Stadnik, Department of Theatre and Dance

Preventing Financial Exploitation of Older Adults
Community Partner:  Muncie Delaware Senior Center
Faculty Mentor:  Ronald Dolon, Department of Social Work

Riverside-Normal City:  Portrait of a Middletown Neighborhood in a Post-Industrial Age
Community Partner:  Riverside-Normal Neighborhood Association, Building Better Neighborhoods
Faculty Mentor:  Jennifer Erickson, Department of Anthropology

Shafer Leadership – Community Needs Assessment
Community Partner:  Shafer Leadership Academy
Faculty Mentor:  Melinda Messineo, Department of Sociology

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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