The Ball State Foundation is honoring the organization’s longtime legal counsel Jon Moll and his late wife through contributions to the Jon and Barbara Moll Scholarship, initiated by legal firm Defur Voran of Muncie.
Current and former members of the Foundation board of directors, Trustees, Ball State alumni, community members, and friends of Jon and Barbara Moll, as well as Defur Voran, collectively contributed $250,000 to the scholarship, which will support student success, providing funding for generations of Ball State undergraduates. Established as part of the George and Frances Ball Scholars Matching Gift Program, the fund will total $500,000.
Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said Jon and Barbara Moll served Ball State and the local community as loyal benefactors, friends, advisors, and educators.
“We are better as a University and a community for Jon’s work and service,” Mearns said. “I am grateful to say I’ve been Jon’s client, neighbor, and friend.”
Moll, who joined DeFur Voran in 1971 and retired in December 2020, has dutifully served the Foundation as legal counsel for three decades. The firm contributed $100,000 to create the scholarship fund to recognize Moll’s dedication to DeFur Voran and the community.
Jean Crosby, President of Ball State Foundation and Vice President of University Advancement, said Foundation leadership has relied on Moll’s extensive expertise on a broad range of legal matters, including advising on contracts, grants, business operations, organizational policies, governance, and regulatory compliance. His counsel and guidance were essential when the Foundation underwent unification in 2015.
“Ball State and the Foundation have been a key part of my life since we arrived in Muncie,” Moll said. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with 10 Ball State presidents over the years and they have been some of my closest friends.”
Barbara Moll, who was an accomplished quilt artist, lectured and taught extensively in continuing education classes at Ball State and at quilt symposia from coast to coast and internationally.
Throughout her life as an artist, she dedicated herself to teaching, always encouraging her students to innovate and take risks. Her influence on them—as a teacher, inspiration, and friend—spanned decades and reached around the world, Crosby said.
“We thank the Molls for their many years of service and support to Ball State University and the Foundation,’ she said. “This scholarship will continue their legacy at Ball State.”