Since its founding in 1994, the Ball State Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development has identified, promoted, and developed giftedness. With the help of an advisory committee, the center endeavors to fulfill its mission by meeting the needs of gifted and talented students, their teachers, their schools and administrators, their parents, and their larger communities through enrichment programming, professional development, parent seminars, and research activities designed to improve educational programs and create a better understanding of the needs of gifted and talented individuals.

As one of Ball State University’s sixteen Knowledge Units, the Center has achieved national recognition for its work. Read the History of the Center Magazine for a detailed report of the Center’s first 15 years.

Our Educational Partners

The center sits at the nexus of several recognized educational programs serving gifted and talented students on Ball State’s campus.

The center brings together networks of stakeholders, including departments within Teachers College, interdisciplinary departments across Ball State University, the Indiana Department of Education, and teachers, parents, and gifted students across Indiana and the U.S.

The Staff

  • Krista Stith, Director, Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development
  • Sarah Ashcraft, Graduate Assistant

Center Stakeholders and Partners

  • Roy Weaver, Dean, Teachers College, Ball State University
  • Jerrell Cassady, Chairperson of the Department of Educational Psychology and Professor of Psychology, Ball State University
  • Kristie Speirs Neumeister, Professor of Educational Psychology, Director of Graduate Programs in Gifted and Talented Education, Ball State University
  • Ginny Burney, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Ball State University
  • Lisa Rubenstein, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Ball State University
  • Maria Hernandez Finch, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology (School Psychology), Director of Masters and Specialist Programs in School Psychology
  • Renae Mayes, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and School Counseling
  • Vickie Barton, Executive Director, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
  • Jeff Smith, Director of Academic Affairs, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
  • Dawn Miller, Principal, Burris Laboratory School
  • Elise Chupp, High Ability Coordinator and Guidance Counselor, Burris Laboratory School
  • Rebecca Pierce, Associate Professor, Mathematical Sciences, Ball State University

Grants

Since its inception, the center has received millions of dollars of federal and state grants. These projects include:

  • Project GATE in partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program)
  • Ester Katz Rosen Grant (American Psychological Foundation)
  • Project CLUE (Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program)
  • Project CLUE Plus (Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program)
  • Shared Information Services (Indiana Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners)
  • Discovery Group grant to establish an undergraduate concentration in gifted education
  • Partial Tuition Reimbursement for High Ability Licensure (Indiana Department of Education, Office of High Ability)
  • Immersive Learning Grant to develop a mobile app for twice-exceptional student self-regulation (Ball State University Provost)
  • Ball State Academic Excellence Grant (Ball State University)

Additional Resources