Topic: President
September 8, 2017
Ball State University President Geoffrey S. Mearns told the audience at his installation today that he is taking personal responsibility for helping transform the Muncie community by creating and funding college scholarships for local high school students.
President Mearns and his wife, Jennifer, are committing $100,000 to establish the Mearns/Proud Family Scholarship to benefit Muncie Central graduates who are first-generation college students. President and Mrs. Mearns have named this scholarship in honor and memory of their parents.
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Board of Trustees is committing an additional $150,000 from the savings of not having an extravagant installation. The Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors and the Ball State Board of Trustees are personally contributing more than $30,000 to the scholarship—bringing the total amount to more than $280,000.
Rick Hall, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, noted that President Mearns’ father was the first in his family to earn a college degree.
“The University will continue to chart a course that is uniquely ours,” Hall said. “And along the way, we will demonstrate our values through our actions — through the opportunities we provide, the communities we improve, and the lives we change.
“In Geoff Mearns, Ball State has the right leader for that journey and to move us boldly into our next 100 years.”
He also pointed out President Mearns will continue to get to know Ball State University and community better in the coming months. In September and October, the university has scheduled public forums, where Mearns will be joined by campus and community leaders to listen to the community about how to enhance Ball State’s partnership with Muncie.