Topics: Alumni, Emerging Media

November 5, 2008

The Ball State University Alumni Association is exploring new "virtual" endeavors.

Through Second Life, an online three-dimensional world created by its users, alumni now are interacting with one another at the Ball State University Island. The island is a re-creation of campus with Beneficence, Shafer Tower, the Music Instruction Building and Bracken Library.

"Holding events with Second Life has allowed us to reach many alumni whom we have struggled to reach in the past," said Steve Fulton, director of new media for the Alumni Association. "Ultimately, it is our goal to get our alumni back to campus physically, but getting them back virtually is the next best thing."

The Alumni Association has hosted several events at Ball State Island, with alumni participating from seven different states and three countries. Multiple universities have contacted the Alumni Association and followed the interactions closely. The association's Second Life activities also were featured in the October 2008 issue of Currents magazine, a publication of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

For more information about upcoming Second Life events, visit www.bsu.edu/alumni/socialmedia or contact Steve Fulton.

By Chanel Richards