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Seven faculty members at Ball State University have been selected as honorees for this year’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) Indiana Faculty Awards.

Ball State University has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, totaling more than $1.3 million over three years, for its project, Civic Renewal through Education for Agency, or CREATE. In cooperation with Muncie Community Schools (MCS), Ball State will develop the project as an innovative approach to instruction, student learning, and professional development in civics that will integrate American history, geography, government, and media literacy.

A Ball State University graduate who became a pioneering Black educator and champion of civil rights in Indiana has received one of the University’s highest honors. Annie Burns-Hicks received the President’s Medal of Distinction from Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns in recognition of her historic legal battle to become the first Black school teacher in Hammond, Indiana.

Ball State University Spring 2021 graduate Karleigh Conner, of Maineville, Ohio, has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in recognition of her accomplishments in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, and community service.

Arts Place, Inc., an arts- and education-based organization with programming in Jay, Blackford, and Adams counties, has been announced as the inaugural recipient of the Ball State University Community Engagement for the Arts Grant.

Ball State University has formed a partnership with Gen.G Global Academy—a high-caliber international esports organization with competitive teams in South Korea, China, and the United States.