Newly announced president and CEO of the Ball State University Foundation, Cheri O'Neill, said she plans to use students' well being as a driving force in her fundraising efforts next year.
O'Neill said she hopes to continue the recent successes of the foundation, which last year celebrated its largest fundraising campaign in its 60 years of existence - Ball State Bold.
As current executive director of the national women's fraternity Alpha Chi Omega, O'Neill has experience with history-worthy campaigns: she helped lead the largest fundraiser in the fraternity's history and knows what it takes to bring in donations to a foundation.
"A big piece of the foundation is working with the donors and being a good steward of the funds," O'Neill said. "It's making sure the donors are thanked appropriately, and they know how it's helping Ball State."
Making sure those donations are used to the students' benefit is a goal O'Neill has made clear as one of her top priorities. Having received her bachelor's degree from Ball State in 1989, O'Neill said she is excited to return to her alma mater and help have an impact on campus.
"I feel very lucky going back to Ball State," O'Neill said. "The foundation board is amazing. We have such an incredible talent pool. But really, it's about focusing on you, the student. It's about making a difference in the lives of students of higher education."
Though she will be a new face to the Ball State Foundation, O'Neill is no stranger to higher education. Seventeen of her 23 years of experience took place at Indiana University, where O'Neill held multiple directorial titles, including director of alumni programs and associate director of the undergraduate program for the Kelley School of Business.
David Bahlmann, current president and CEO of the foundation, will step down after 22 years, and O'Neill will assume the title on Jan. 1. But O'Neill said she does not plan on changing too much once she takes over.
"David and I are similar in the fact that it's all about Ball State," O'Neill said. "I'm feeling extremely blessed and lucky to be taking over for such a man as David. It's not about fixing anything that's broken, but about continuing the legacy."
While O'Neill will continue her role with Alpha Chi Omega through the current year, she hopes to visit Ball State during the Fall Semester when she is able.
"I'm hoping to see the students," O'Neill said. "That's why I'm here. That's the passion behind the work I do - to drive those resources to serve you."
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