A total of 183 Ball State University faculty and staff who successfully obtained funding for arts and humanities research last year were recognized Tuesday during the university's 15th annual BeneFacta Day at Cardinal Hall. Funding for university projects and research this year reached an all-time high.
BeneFacta Day, sponsored by the Office of Academic Research and Sponsored Programs, recognized those who obtained funding for scholarly activities and creative endeavors between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Last year, 362 proposals were submitted and 252 of them were approved.
Funding this year reached a total of $25,761,332. The money for various research and projects came from nonprofit organizations, various foundations and businesses, federal sources, the state of Indiana, local contributions and higher education programs.
Seventy-nine percent of this funding went toward research projects, while 10 percent went to academic support, five percent to institutional support, four percent to public service and two percent to instruction at Ball State.
Carla Maltas, Assistant Professor of Music Education, said she received funding from a foundation in Delaware County for a sound system that will benefit 600 students by allowing others to hear them as they sing.
"For us, we have a tendency to go to corporate foundations like Lilly or nonprofit organizations," Maltas said.
Maltas said individuals can apply for two types of grants -a bricks and mortar grant for building facilities, and service grants. Sponsors look at the type of project the person or group wants to do and whether they have been successful in the past.
"There always has to be a project and premise," Maltas said.
With BeneFacta Day's focus on art and humanities projects, keynote speaker Jim Henry, a scholar in barbershop singing, delivered a presentation entitled, "Origins of Barbershop Harmony."
Henry, the Director of Choral Studies at the University of Missouri in Saint Louis, holds a degree in vocal music education and music theory and composition. Henry also has a doctorate in music composition. He was chosen as a speaker for BeneFacta Day because of his experience in the barbershop world as a director, singer, and scholar.
"In the field of barbershop, it's taking amateur singers and helping them create a professional product," Henry said.
Barbershop Harmony has been around for 100 years and is often stereotyped as white males dressed in overalls with handlebar moustaches huddled around a lamp post. In reality, much of barbershop harmony originated from African Americans, Henry said.
James L. Pyle, Assistant Vice President for Research at Ball State, called Henry an "impessario extraordinaire" and said the university's goal is to build on the dollars that come in.
"Everything we do has a student focus either directly or indirectly," Pyle said.
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