Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora was one of 23 Indiana women honored this month with a 2005 Torchbearer award from the State of Indiana for her dedication to higher education.
The Torchbearer award, created by the Indiana Commission for Women, is presented to women throughout the state who have overcome barriers to equality, made significant contributions to the community and worked to make Indiana a better place to work and raise a family, Sharon Langlotz, executive director of the commission, said.
"We were looking for somebody who has had an impact on women, and Dr. Gora has even before she came to the university," Langlotz said. "She's had an impact on women and students."
Gora did not return several phone calls or e-mails asking for comment.
During the second annual Indiana's Salute to Women ceremonies last week in Indianapolis, the commission honored Gora and women from several other fields including public safety, health and medicine, journalism, law and engineering.
"This is the only thing where the State of Indiana actually honors women," Langlotz said, "so that makes it a very special award."
Melissa Proffitt Reese, an attorney and managing partner for Indianapolis-based legal firm Ice Miller, nominated Gora for the Torchbearer award in the education category. Reese met Gora during a trip to Japan as part of the governor's trade delegation in early August and was impressed by her accomplishments, she said.
Reese said she admired Gora's $12 million capital campaign to renovate and expand Ball State's football stadium, her work to boost the Building Better Communities initiative to improve local economies, as well as her dedication to cutting-edge technology at Ball State, leading to the university's ranking as the number one wireless campus in a recent survey by the Intel Corp.
"She has really, in the last 20 to 25 years of her career, broken down barriers for women and is just really an excellent role model for women in the education world as well as outside of the education world," Reese said. "She is a great role model for women."
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