The Ball Brothers Foundation’s Board of Directors approved grants in October to start two endowments for the director of public education and CEO position at Muncie Community Schools (MCS), according to a press release from the foundation.
The foundation's board approved a $100,000 grant for the position and a $50,000 award for the position's occupant to jointly serve as a clinical professor of educational leadership and innovation with Ball State’s Teachers College, according to the press release.
Lee Ann Kwiatkowski has been serving as the director of public education and CEO of MCS since July this year.
The first grant is administered by the Community Foundation of Muncie & Delaware County and the latter by the Ball State University Foundation.
With this approach, the MCS director and CEO will be participating in Teachers College committees and will meet with the faculty and dean of the college regularly, the press release states.
The role, it states, may range from presenting the MCS-Ball State partnership story at national meetings of professional societies, to sharing expertise and insights in graduate-level courses for future administrators.
The press release states the district will have access to stable fund to enhance the position's salary because endowments provide perpetual funding. It also states that this a perk that will improve recruitment and retention efforts to ensure the district has "a first-rate leader for years to come."
“This academic appointment to the university carries with it a certain level of prestige,” said Jud Fisher, president and COO of the foundation, in the release. “Individuals in this role will benefit both personally and professionally from the camaraderie, professional development and continued learning made possible through the position of Clinical Professor of Educational Leadership and Innovation at Ball State.”
In addition to the endowments, the foundation announced a $350,000 grant to MCS which, among other strategic initiatives, will aid in:
- creating a K–12 Career Exploration Curriculum
- developing a Pre-Engineering and Industrial Automation Program in collaboration with Purdue Polytechnic Institute in Anderson, Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College and local manufacturers
- hiring a Work-Based Learning Coordinator to help with job placement for seniors in the Graduation Academy andMuncie Central Online programs
- improving branding at the Muncie Fieldhouse
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