Forge your path in East Central Indiana!

Biker crossing a bridge on the Cardinal Greenway

Ever wonder what lies beyond Muncie and Delaware County? We are part of a vibrant 10-county region with many unique amenities, great value for families, high quality of life, and growth and vision within our communities.

The new Forge Your Path website highlights the great things in our region to encourage people to live, work, and play here. Visit forgeeci.com to discover new resources, amenities, and adventures that are within easy reach.

Residents also can be featured as ambassadors for their county. If you love living in Muncie, consider sharing what you love with visitors and prospective residents.

Learn more at forgeeci.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

East Central Indiana is the place where you can design the life YOU want to live. ECI is the place where you matter. You can make a difference here. Smaller communities mean a chance to be a part of something. It means there’s time and opportunity to chase your dreams. You can be who you want to be here and everyone is welcome. So get involved. Get inspired. Forge your path.

Spring 2021 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Student studying the back of a solar panel

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

Anthony Northside Neighborhood Living Quality
Faculty Mentor:  Jason Yang, Department of Geography
Community Partner:  Muncie Action Plan, Anthony Northside Neighborhood Association

Brightfield to Bright Future
Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Community Partner: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter

More to come!

Makerspaces

In the Spring 2020 Semester, the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry hosted an amazing program allowing students with the BSU English Department in partnership with the Muncie Arts and Culture Council to explore the “makers” movement becoming increasingly popular in our cities. The investigation covered some of the cool makerspaces here in Muncie and culminated in a large enough collection of stories and data for 2 print books – a compilation of oral histories and a collection of photo essays featuring stories of Muncie makers. Learn more at the website for the project on the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry’s site, and check out these other awesome resources!

Project Website | Seminar Facebook Page | Interactive Map of Muncie & Surrounding Area Makerspaces

 


Faculty Mentor: Laura Romano
Department: English
Community Partner: Muncie Arts and Culture Council
Student Team: Stressca Nathaniel, Tamera Sims, Jack Satter, Elizabeth Baum, Mason Killebrew, Jessica Snow, Andrew (Drew) Catalano, Halie Wills, Sarah Morrow, Laura Romano, Darrin Sims, Elizabeth Riester, Hannah (Cali) Fehr

Tourist Maps for Muncie and Delaware County

Students in Geography 341 (Cartography and Visualization of Spatial Data) partnered with the Muncie Visitors Bureau to produce visual materials that promote Muncie attractions to area visitors. Students collected and organized data during the semester and explored possible map designs for both print brochures and interactive online applications. Guides on restaurants and breweries, Muncie pop culture, the Garfield trail, and the Bob Ross experience are just some of the pieces completed by the students.


Faculty Mentor: Jörn Seemann
Department: Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Visitors Bureau
Student Team:  Alyssa Bilbrey, Jarrett Braden, William Cape, Dan Council, Becca Garrett, Nathan Gidley, Elante Ingram, Jamie Johnson, Benjamin Lutz, Riley Mccreary, Ben Meyer, Jordan Verdeyen, Clay Zeigler

Spring 2020 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

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

Academy of Model Aeronautics Video Project
Faculty Mentors: Tim Pollard, Department of Telecommunications; Suzanne Plesha, Office of Immersive Learning
Community Partner: Academy of Model Aeronautics

Assigning the Living Quality of Muncie Neighborhoods Using Remote Sensing and GIS
Faculty Mentor:  Jason Yang, Department of Geography
Community Partner:  Muncie Action Plan

Beneficence Records (ongoing)
Faculty Mentor:  Daniel Porter, Department of Music Media Production
Community Partner:  Indiana Public Radio

Capturing “The Big Idea”
Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo, Department of Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank

Geospatial Design Laboratory
Faculty Mentor: Jörn Seemann, Department of Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Visitors Bureau

Halteman Park Landscape Architecture Studio Project
Faculty Mentors:  Chris Baas, Jeremy Merrill, J.P. Hall; Department of Landscape Architecture
Community Partners:  Halteman Village Neighborhood Association, City of Muncie, Muncie Parks Department

Human Rights Symposium
Faculty Mentor: Ruby Cain, Department of Educational Studies
Community Partners: City of Muncie Human Rights Commission, Industry Neighborhood Association, Whitely Community Council, Muncie Public Library, Muncie Housing Authority, It Is Well With My Soul, DePaul University School of New Learning and Service Engagement Projects, Northeast Indiana Workers Project, Inc.

i-Made (Indiana Made) Muncie:  Custom Fabricated Design-through-Production (ongoing)
Faculty Mentor:  Kevin Klinger, Department of Architecture
Community Partners:  Indiana Hardwoods (IHLA), Midwest Metals, Minnetrista, Mobile Market

The Junior Producers Club
Faculty Mentor:  Christoph Thompson, School of Music
Community Partners:  Boys and Girls Club, Buley Community Center

Muncie Neighborhood Visual Identity Design (ongoing)
Faculty Mentor:  Shantanu Suman, School of Art
Community Partners:  Building Better Neighborhoods, Muncie Action Plan

Preserving the Past and Looking Toward the Future:  Historic Preservation and Digital Storytelling for a Muncie Landmark Church
Faculty Mentor:  Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies
Community Partner:  St. Mary Catholic Church

Renovation of Residential Structures
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design
Community Partners: ecoREHAB, Urban Light, and Brothers 2 Brothers

Sustainable Muncie Project:  Assessing Sustainability for the City of Muncie
Faculty Mentor:  Sanglim Yoo, Department of Urban Planning
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan

Teen Dating Violence
Faculty Mentor: Ron Dolon, Department of Social Work
Community Partner: A Better Way

Tourist Maps for Muncie and Delaware County
Faculty Mentor: Jörn Seemann, Department of Geography
Community Partner: Muncie Visitors Bureau

Urban Health in Muncie, IN:  Pb in the Soils (ongoing)
Faculty Mentors:  Carolyn Dowling, Department of Geological Sciences; Jessi Haeft, Department
of Natural Resources and Environment Management
Community Partner:  United Way of Delaware County

Well Connected 
Faculty Mentor:  Jane Ellery, School of Kinesiology
Community Partners:  Muncie Action Plan, Future of Work/Sustainable Muncie, George and Frances Ball Foundation

Working with the Whitely Community to Identify Needs and Resources of Men who are Reentering the Community After Periods of Incarceration
Faculty Mentor:  Keisha Warren-Gordon, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Community Partner:  Whitely Community Council