Education

By Michelle Kinsey— MUNCIE, IN – The East Central Indiana Talent Collaborative (ECITC) welcomes Ashley Surpas as the new associate director for Regional Initiatives at Ball State University. In this role, Ms. Surpas will oversee the university’s role as the backbone organization for the ECITC, a collective-impact initiative advancing talent attraction, talent development, and talent connection across Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Henry, Jay, Randolph, Rush, and Wayne counties. Since joining Ball State’s Office of Community Engagement on Oct. 3, Ms. Surpas…

By Sheryl Swingley— MUNCIE, IN—The Muncie Central High School Alumni Association’s Memorabilia Room will be open to people attending Central home boys basketball games through February 2023. The Memorabilia Room will open 30 minutes ahead of each boys varsity game and will close after halftime. The room will be open on Friday, Jan. 6; Friday, Jan. 13; and Friday, Jan. 20; Jan. 28; Saturday, Feb. 8; and Tuesday, Feb. 14. Graduation classes organizing reunions and interested in including a visit…

By BSU Marketing and Communications—  MUNCIE, IN—The Entrepreneurship Center at Ball State University has provided seven students with funding to develop and advance their entrepreneurial ventures. Twice a year, all enrolled students at Ball State are invited to apply for pre-seed grants of up to $2,500 per student, per semester for venture development. This fund was established to help students take their new or established business concepts to the next stage. Funding has historically been used to conduct market surveys,…

By Lesley Devoss— MUNCIE, Ind. – Difference makers are those who step up and support the community through their active participation in and with the community they serve.  The 2022 Ivy Tech Difference Makers are Pastor Andre Mitchell, Joseph Anderson, Wayne Johnson, Duane Clemens Sr., and Bright Afriyie.  Pastor Andre Mitchell serves as the Senior Pastor of Deliverance Temple, Material Handler for GM, and Campus Board of Trustee member for Ivy Tech Community College Muncie-Henry County. He was born and raised in…

By Jennifer Hashem— Ivy Tech Community College’s Achieve Your Degree Program provides state employees with upfront tuition assistance INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The State of Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College today announced a new partnership that will offer state employees an affordable education with no upfront tuition costs. “This is an investment in our state employees that provide them with more flexibility to pursue education opportunities that ultimately contribute to a stronger workforce,” said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. “We are grateful…

By Juli Metzger— Read to your kids this holiday season INDIANAPOLIS—For LaVar Burton, his earliest memory of reading came from his mother, an English teacher. “You were going to engage with a book,” Burton told youth workers at last month’s Kids Count Conference in Indianapolis. “You either would read one or be slammed upside the head with one; but you would engage.” It was a parent’s insistence that set the course for young Burton, who by age 19, landed the…

By Sheryl Swingley— MUNCIE, IN—The Muncie Central High School Alumni Association recognized a 1956 Central graduate as its 2022 distinguished alumnus at its annual meeting in November. The honoree was Raymond O. White Jr., a Native American who was a lifelong resident of Muncie and was chosen by his tribe for its highest honor – chief of the Miami Nation of Indians of the State of Indiana. White served as chief for eight years and was involved in tribal operations…