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!

Teen Dating Violence

Teen dating violence is estimated to occur in one of every ten dating relationships. Nearly 1.5 million U.S. high school students are physically abused by their partners each year. The dynamics of adolescent abuse, neglect, and battery has mostly gone unnoticed. A study of 10th graders showed that 35% had been either physically or verbally abused; and 31% were perpetrators of that abuse. Given the prevalence of dating violence, communities must work together to ensure that victims have access to resources and increased legal protection. Social workers understand the needs of adolescents and their families. Their role is to support teenage victims while advocating for legal, medical, scholar, and family support. The students who participated in this immersive learning experience worked with Muncie’s A Better Way domestic violence shelter, to gain in-depth knowledge of the concerns of teenage victims facing dating violence. Students also gained a new understanding of how local agencies collaborate to provide services for the victims of teen dating violence.


Faculty Mentor: Ron Dolon
Department: Department of Social Work
Community Partner: A Better Way
Student Team: Petyon Adamiec, Mike Burns, Matthew Curtner, Chrislynn Degraffenreid, Rachael Dunn, MakaylaGrayson, Tika Harlan, Alyssa Hewson, Amanda Johnson, Liv Kennett, Alexis Knight, Hannah Leach, Keyairra Mcdonald, Jordan Otero, Casey Radz, Riley Ridenour, Ruth Schultz, Mackenzie Staver, Savannah Urban, Emily Walls

The Muncie Challenge

Take the Muncie Challenge!  Students in the Community Collaboration and Service Learning in Wellness Management class spent spring semester (2020) talking with Muncie residents to uncover what they love about their city and then working with some of those same residents to help others experience Muncie in a new light and find ways to make Muncie a little better each day. Students had fun and found a new appreciation for Muncie.  They then got to share their perspective on how others can take advantage of the great places they learned about.  Students can take what they learned and put it into practice where ever they find themselves in the future.

So what is the Muncie Challenge?  The Challenge encourages you to take action in 10 areas.  These include: Eat, Connect, and be Social; Get Moving; Show Your Community Pride; Enjoy Muncie Parks and Markets; Connect Professionally; Experience Muncie Culture; Give Back to your Community; Jump into the Arts; Learn and Grow; and Use the Cardinal Greenway.  You can participate at 3 levels.  First, try one or two activities in each area or “Give it a Go.”  The you can do some more or “Take a Step Further” and “Make it a Habit.”   Download your passport and get started today!


Faculty Mentors: Jane Ellery
Departments: Kinesiology
Community Partner:
Student Team:

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

Healthy Moms, Healthy Communities: Understanding Perceptions and Evaluating Maternal Opioid Treatment in Muncie

In the United States, opioid prescriptions and subsequent use are on the rise, particularly among pregnant women. Opioid-addicted women, however, face numerous obstacles in receiving care. These obstacles are shaped by cultural and environmental factors surrounding them, such as access to transportation and community-wide stigma that often exacerbates addiction. In this immersive learning project, students worked with the Suzanne Gresham Center to learn about the opioid epidemic in the Muncie community. Students conducted interviews with community members, learned how to analyze qualitative data, and developed an educational product that provides the community information on the opioid epidemic among pregnant women in Muncie.


Faculty Mentors: Caitlyn Leonardson-Placek, Jennifer Wies, Jean Marie Place
Department: Anthropology, Nutrition and Health Science
Community Partner: Suzanne Gresham Center
Students: Kendall Brophy, Lydia Egan, Genevieve George, Gwyneth Harris, Sage Hatcher, Shelbie Hathaway, Natalie Hudanick, Alejandra Ibarra, Courtney Johnson,
Mikayla Kauffman, Kathryn Loving, Dana Northam, Victoria Petriskey,
Rhyan Radabaugh, Wambui Watene, Mia Williams, Anuoluwapo Adeboje, Kyle Basicker, Beau Carpenter, Grant Coil, Lauren Cooper, Jacob Dragt, Amanda Gray, Maurita Greene, Helen Helfer, Kahleigha Johnson, Charlee Krugler, Jacob Mccoy, Erin Miller, Jala Miller, Sarah Mueller, Brittany Novak, Katherine Porter, Olivia Porter, Emily Riordan, Payton Sanders, Kayla Scott, Erin Simons, Alexus Sturdivant, Kimiko Thomas, Destony Warner, Raeshawn Weeks,

Fall 2019 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

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

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

Campus Sexual Assault and Rape Culture in the Age of #MeToo 
Faculty Fellow:  Jill Christman, Department of English
Community Partner:  Jana’s Campaign and The Facing Project

Computer Science for Middle Schoolers (CS4MS) (ongoing)
Faculty Mentor:  Dave Largent, Department of Computer Science
Community Partners:  Burris Laboratory School, Muncie Central High School, Northside Middle School

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

Makerspaces as an Opportunity to Cultivate and Reinforce Cultural Identity in Post-Industrial Cities 
Faculty Fellow:  Laura Romano, Department of English
Community Partner:  Muncie Arts and Culture Council

Muncie Micro-Cinema
Faculty Mentor:  Maura Jasper, School of Art
Community Partner:  Muncie Arts and Culture Council

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 Church

Reconstructed Early Language and Literacy Learning: Addressing school readiness through critically conscious listening centers
Faculty Mentors:  Emily Hoffman, Department of Early Childhood, Youth and Family Studies; Kristin Cipollone, Department of Elementary Education
Community Partner:  Huffer Memorial Children’s Center

Resiliency Plan for Muncie
Faculty Mentor: Michael Burayidi, Department of Urban Planning
Community Partner: City of Muncie

Sitting at the Feet of our Muncie Elders:  Stories of Resistance and Resiliency
Faculty Mentor: Darolyn “Lyn” Jones
Community Partner: Westminster Village, Muncie Delaware County Senior Center, Moth Danner and YART (Yard Sale for Art).