Ball State recently added a new feature to its east side.
Along with Kinghorn Hall and the new medians, sidewalks and vegetation on Neely Avenue, Ball State has installed a new set of entrance signs at the corner of Neely and New York avenues.
Greg Graham, interim director of Facilities Planning, was in charge of overseeing the construction firm who placed the entrance signs.
"You're getting your brand, your name out there." Graham said. "More importantly it's an aesthetic improvement to students and faculty. Something you can say, ‘Hey, that looks nice.' It's a world of difference between a few years ago as asphalt strip [and now]."
Graham, who oversaw the construction of three of the current gateways, gave a rough timeline of their development.
The oldest gateway on campus is on the west side at University and Tillotson avenues next to Christy Woods and the new Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass. It is approximately 10 years old.
The second oldest entrance, which Graham said is approximately 4 years old, greets those on the north side of campus at the intersection of Bethel and McKinley avenues.
Graham said a sign on the northwest side of campus, just outside Scheumann Stadium at the corner of Tillotson Avenue and McGalliard Road, was installed about the same time renovations on Scheumann Stadium were completed.
Only the south side doesn't have a gateway.
"[The signs] are paid for by alumni," Graham said.
New construction of this kind is normally done through class-based fundraising. Alumni are informed of the need and asked to donate as a class to fund the projects.
Graham said he estimated the costs for the signs have averaged $30,000 to $40,000 each, "with some costing a little more."
The Neely Avenue signage and street design was the work of Rundell Ernstberger Associates. A Muncie-based design firm, REA has worked extensively with Ball State on its most recent plans and buildings.
Junior urban planning major Taylor Simpson said the entrance made the street more noticeable.
"It identifies to someone who might not be able to recognize the difference between campus and the rest of town where the campus starts," Simpson said.
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