Articles by Mike Rhodes

Muncie Campus on Cowan Road.

Education January 28, 2019

Ivy Tech Community College To Offer Express Enrollment Registration Events In Muncie

By: Shawn Carmichael— Muncie, Indiana – Ivy Tech Community College will be offering several Express Enrollment events on January 31, February 7, 13, 14, 21, and 28 at their Muncie Cowan Road location. Express Enrollment offers prospective students a “one-stop” experience in the enrollment process and does not require an appointment. Muncie Campus Express Enrollment Center January 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. February 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. February 13 from 9:00 a.m….

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Steve Bell is pictured during a Muncie Journal interview in 2017. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

Education January 27, 2019

Ball State Mourns The Passing Of Veteran Journalist And Professor Steve Bell

By: Ball State Marketing and Communications— Muncie, Indiana – Ball State University and the Muncie community is mourning the passing of Steve Bell, a veteran national broadcast journalist and a longtime telecommunications professor. Bell, 83, who taught at Ball State from 1992 to 2007, died Friday. During his long and storied career in journalism for ABC News, he was on the front lines of several major historical events, including the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s, and…

James R. Williams is a partner at Defur Voran law firm in Muncie, and president of the

Education, Opinion January 27, 2019

Opinion: Cradle To Career—Mobilizing A Community Approach To Public Education

By: James R. Williams— Horace Mann founded the common school movement that formed the basis for universal American public education. When Mann’s work started in the 1840s, the Industrial Revolution was underway. Americans were educating students to work in an agrarian, mercantile, and light industrial economy. “Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men [and women], and the balance wheel of social machinery.”—Horace Mann   Public schools adapted as we…

Attendees from Ontario Systems include (from left to right) -- Jeff Spires, Director, Software Engineering; Troy Sanders, Facilities Specialist; Stephen Hunter, Sr. Technical Project Manager; Darla Brown, Director, Talent Acquisition; Bob Mattax, Manager, Software Engineering; Jenny Johnson, HR Generalist; Joani Scott, Director, Corporate Services; and Jason Harrington, President. Photo by: Ontario Systems

Business January 25, 2019

Ontario Systems and Anderson University Have Partnered to Create an Immersive Career-Prep Program for Tech Students

By: Sean Rogers— Muncie, IN– When business and academia converge, it’s good news for students, employers, and the greater community. East Central Indiana received some good news of its own when Muncie-based Ontario Systems and neighboring Anderson University introduced “The Cube,” an on-campus tech talent incubator designed to prepare students at the School of Science and Engineering for future careers. “We are genuinely excited about this partnership with Anderson University,” said Jason Harrington, President of Ontario Systems. “This is a great opportunity…

Remember toilets way back in the good old days? Photo by: Nancy Carlson

Carlson January 25, 2019

John Carlson: ‘Raise The Lid, Dude.’

By: John Carlson— The other day while reading about the latest advancements in household technology, this came up. Smart toilets. It shouldn’t have surprised me, I guess. Everything else is smart these days. Smart phones. Smart cars. Smart whatever.  If I wait long enough, maybe there will be smart golf balls that make their way unerringly into the cup, no matter how bad you suck at golf. As a person who has actually teed off on holes where my golf…

The Young Artist Exhibition will take place on Thursday, March 14, 2019. Photo provided.

Non-Profit January 24, 2019

Cornerstone Center for the Arts and PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union Young Artist Exhibition Announced

By: Sarah Shaffer— Muncie, IN—Cornerstone Center for the Arts, in partnership with PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union, will host the Young Artist Exhibition on Thursday, March 14 for school-age children in Delaware County. The show will feature the artwork of students in kindergarten through twelfth grades who reside in or attend school in Delaware County. The public reception on March 14 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. will take place in the Colonnade Room at Cornerstone Center for the Arts with awards being announced…

Photo provided

Education January 24, 2019

Representative For ICPE to Address Status of Education at AAUW Meeting

By: Sheryl Swingley— Muncie, IN—A representative of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education will be the guest speaker for the next American Association of University Women, Muncie Branch, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 26, at Motivate Our Minds, 2023 E. Highland Ave. The topic of the discussion will be “The State of Public Education in Indiana.” The meeting is open to the public. The ICPE speaker is Tim Skinner, a former three-term member of the Indiana Senate from…

Ball State University Campus. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

We Fly January 23, 2019

3 Ball State Programs Earn Top 25 Rankings In U.S. News & World Report

By: Marc Ransford— Muncie, IN—Three Ball State University online programs finished in the top 25 in national rankings released recently by U.S. News & World Report. Since U.S. News started ranking online programs six years ago, Ball State has always had degrees in the top 25. Those recognized in the 2019 “Best Online Programs” are: 13th – Master of Business Administration (MBA) 13th – Graduate nursing 25th – Bachelor’s degrees Each program improved from its 2018 ranking. The MBA climbed…

Gene Policinski

We Fly January 23, 2019

First Amendment Expert To Speak at Ball State on January 23

By: Sheryl Swingley— Muncie, IN—Veteran journalist Gene Policinski, who is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C., will speak at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, in Cardinal Hall of the Student Center at Ball State University. The title of Policinski’s presentation is “The Real Threats to a Free Press: Bodies, Bytes and Benign Neglect.” Policinski’s presentation is part of Ball State University’s Department of Journalism’s 50th anniversary celebration and the university’s 100th anniversary. Ball…

Pictured L-R: Jeff Mantock, Monte Brown, Steve Kern, Chris Cook, Chad Zaucha. Not pictured Jeffrey Heavilon. Photo provided.

Non-Profit January 21, 2019

YMCA of Muncie Honors Board of Directors For Their Service

By: Kristen McConnell— Muncie, IN— At the November meeting of the YMCA of Muncie’s Board of Directors, five members were honored for their service to the YMCA and our community. Monte Brown has served as a volunteer at the Y since 1988. He has been a continual member of the Camp Crosley Board of Advisors with stints on the Corporate Board. His years of service include a number of accomplishments that have boosted the Y and Camp Crosley to where they…