When President Blaine Brownell speaks about "Building Better Communities," he does not limit himself to Muncie.
"It's part of out overall strategy to tell the Ball State story to the rest of the state," Brownell said.
Every year, Brownell and a few other members of the administration travel to civil clubs and editorial boards to make Indiana aware of what is going on at Ball State. The efforts stem from Brownell's desire to work with communities throughout the state to promote the university.
Brownell said he is helping lay the groundwork for a request the university will make to the Indiana General Assembly in January.
"We are as interested as Purdue and IU in helping the state deal with economic problems," Brownell said. "IU and Purdue have regional campuses and therefore more of an awareness. We don't have regional campuses."
This, however, has not stopped the university from branching out across the state.
Tom Morrison, Director of State Fiscal Relations for Ball State, said many of the components of "Building Better Communities" are ongoing programs.
Morrison said the College of Architecture and Planning has worked outside the university for 30 years.
"The College of Architecture and Planning has a number of projects throughout the state," Brownell said.
One project Brownell mentioned was the College of Architecture and Planning's Indianapolis Center, which acts as a regional campus for the college in the Indianapolis area.
Morrison and Brownell said the university is not stopping there.
"This is an opportunity for the state to further advance programs to communities around the state," Morrison said. "Ball State has existing programs, and is asking the state to allow us to expand them."
To fuel the expansion, Ball State will ask for $2.45 million from the Indiana General Assembly in January. Morrison
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