Two Ball State veterans have been selected to head Ball State's $20 million iCommunication initiative.
David Ferguson and Rodger Smith will serve as director and associate director, respectively.
The iCommunication project is funded by a four-year grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant will provide funding for Ball State to create a design, research and education center that will "shrink the world" for students and faculty with digital media technology.
Previously the director of Ball State's Land Design Institute, Ferguson has also served as chair of the department of landscape architecture. Provost Beverley Pitts said in a press release that Ferguson would bring a unique blend of creativity and strategic planning to the project. "He (Ferguson) knows how to bring diverse constituencies together in collaborative ways," she said. "He can also provide vision for this project, including the practical and strategic means to implement innovative ideas on our campus through the generosity of the Lilly grant." As Ferguson's associate director, Smith will be responsible for coordinating research and technology reviews for the initiative, and will work to create partnerships with professionals in the digital media industry. Donald Lacasse, chairman of the theater department, said Smith has expressed continued interest in the future of technology. "He (Smith) has a great interest in technology, especially in digital technology," Lacasse said. Prior to joining Ball State as a theater professor six years ago, Smith spent time in Los Angeles as a film director. He has been involved with the iCommunication project since its start. Ferguson said he is optimistic about working with him on the initiative. "We make a tremendous team," Ferguson said. "He (Smith) is extremely creative and very passionate about this project. He has a lot of pride and ownership." Ferguson said that the $20 million from the grant will be put towards facility upgrades, curriculum development, the advancement of special projects and the reconstruction of a new home for media design. The money from the grant is already being put to work and the university is seeing progress every day, Ferguson said. This fall, six new course have been added to the journalism and telecommunications curriculum as a direct result of the iCommunication funds. The courses include information design, digital story-telling entertainment, Internet as a global community, Korea I-Net, digital video audio production and digital story telling news.
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