Alumna Jean Ann Harcourt was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike Pence July 7.
Harcourt was approached by the governor’s office for the position, which is something she considers an honor.
“It’s my turn to give back to the university,” Harcourt said. “Now I have time to give back to [Ball State] … using my business experiences, successes and challenges to promote and assist the students, administration, staff and faculty.”
Harcourt currently serves as president and CEO of Harcourt Industries, Inc., a school supply manufacturing company. Her father and brother attended Ball State, and when it was Harcourt’s time to go to college, her father told her that she would go to Ball State for a business degree.
“Back then [in the '70s] it was when women didn’t do business a lot. I thought I was going to get a teacher’s degree,” Harcourt said. “I had a lot of classes where I was in with men only.”
Graduating in 1975 with her bachelor’s degree in business administration, Harcourt said it was her classes at Ball State that gave her the basis to take over Harcourt Industries after her father passed away when she was 22.
While working for the family business, Harcourt said she had to operate differently than a male in her position would at the time, mainly because she was one of few females in the manufacturing industry. Harcourt even chose to go by 'Jean Ann,' similar to the male name 'Gene,' so there would be less negativity from visiting suppliers before they arrived.
Now in her new trustee appointment, Harcourt said she meets regularly with Ball State cabinet heads and spends time reading pamphlets to learn about Ball State and how the university operates.
Harcourt currently has high hopes for Ball State’s new president and will support whoever is chosen as the university moves forward, she said. Although Harcourt is not on the search committee, she said she's taking the situation seriously and with a good heart.
“I’ve learned there’s a lot I need to learn,” Harcourt said. “I’m small business; I’ve been the boss; I’m not the boss out here … I don’t want the board to do any micromanaging or whatever. There needs to be a good balance between being effective and knowing what we’re doing.”
Harcourt’s term will expire Dec. 31, 2017, but she believes her current role is to be informed about the issues, and the board’s responsibility to the state of Indiana is to hold Ball State accountable for providing the best possible educational programs and opportunities to students, as well as watching the cost of a student’s education.
“I’m a successful small businesswoman, but this is a different operation, and I want to be sure that we love the university [and] want to make all the right decisions,” she said.
Read More
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / 8 hours agoOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
AP: New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction
By Staff Reports / 8 hours agoNew York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
AP: Hamas willing to enact ceasefire if an independent Palestinian state is established
By Staff Reports / 8 hours agoWednesday, April 24th, a top Hamas political official said the group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders, according to the Associated Press (AP).
