Ball State’s Board of Trustees held its routine committee meeting May 2 inside the university’s L.A. Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall A.
Audit and Compliance Committee
Sue Hodges Moore, the interim vice president for business affairs and interim treasurer began the meeting with a disclosure statement to the board for textbook royalties that was swiftly approved and segwayed into Chifundo Biliwita, the director of internal audit and advisory services, “clean annual federal audit report” where he proposed a 2026 annual audit and advisory plan for the upcoming fiscal year with 15 aduits university-wide, which the audit and compliance committee approved. The plan is “flexible,” and “no indication that something is wrong,” Biliwita said.
Employee Development and Wellbeing Committee
Ball State’s Director of Student Conduct, Michael Gillilan, was honored with the board’s approval for emeritus status, just ahead of his retirement after 15 years of service to the university.
“Dr. Gilliland came to Ball State with a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to contribute to student learning and support the mission of our university,” Mark Liebling, the interim AVP for People and Culture, said.
Coming January 2026, Ball State will adopt WorkDay, “[an] HR information system which includes the recruiting system, payroll benefits, student hiring and graduate assistant hiring systems,” Liebling said.
The university’s implementation partnership with Alchemy and daily meetings with consultants has helped the process run smoothly along the desired timeframe.
The platform aims to “help managers foster a culture of ongoing engagement within their teams,” Liebling said, by establishing “a culture of best practices.
Finance, Facilities, and Planning Committee
Ball State’s Vice President for Marketing and Communications, Deedie Dowdle, provided the board with an update to the university’s licensing and trademark policy, highlighting the institution’s “top loyalty producer,” video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) Sports.
Dowdle also said Barnes and Noble is one of the university’s top 10 retailers.
As a Mid-American Conference division one school, Ball State’s target in merchandise sales is $500,000.00 annually, Dowdle said. Recent efforts by the marketing and communications department, including catalogs and magazines that target alumni, have made that not just a target, but a reality.
In keeping with the university’s good financial standing, Scott Stachler, the associate vice president and chief budget officer, confirmed Ball State will be debt free by 2040, if no new debt is issued.
The board also approved to refund the bonds that were used to renovate the Schmidt Wilson and Johnson residence halls in 2016. The bonds had a call date of July 1, 2025.
Jeff Mitchell, Ball State’s athletic director then provided the board with an update regarding the upcoming baseball and softball locker rooms and clubhouses.
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The initiative, financed by the Shebeck family who will bear the namesake of Shebeck Stadium, is expected to be about 6,000 square feet per facility, complete with restrooms and showers, Mitchell said, detailing that construction is expected to begin this fall with a target completion date of next summer.
“[It’ll be a] pretty aggressive schedule for us,” Mitchell said.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee
Jason Rivera, the vice provost for student success and dean of university college provided an update on the student success program to round out the 2024-2025 academic year. Rivera highlighted the continued utilization of the Navigate 360 app as a tool for all across campus.
The board’s approval of a provost report from Anand Marri officially implemented a 15 instructional week academic calendar that promotes academic, financial and career readiness for our students, Marri said.
The one extra week at the beginning of each semester also allows for greater faculty development workshops to strengthen their curriculum and “relationship-rich practices” across the university, Marri said.
All resolutions were approved. The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held June 13.
Contact Katherine Hill via email at katherine.hill@bsu.edu.
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