NEWS

Acting BSU president dispels rumors

Seth Slabaugh
The Star Press
Terry King

MUNCIE — Paul Ferguson discarded and never replaced Jo Ann Gora's "Education Redefined" tagline when he succeeded her as president of Ball State University.

Provost Terry King, who was named acting president on Monday after Ferguson's mysterious and possibly forced resignation, is employing an unofficial tagline that could sum up Ball State's identity for the next four to six months — "keeping the momentum going."

He used it in an electronic "Dear Colleague" letter he sent to BSU employees on Wednesday and again in an interview with The Star Press during which he dispelled some rumors, said the university was operating smoothly and showed a sense of humor.

"The way I look at this is the university right now has tremendous momentum," King said in a telephone interview from the president's office into which he partially has moved. "There are a lot of great things happening on campus. My first priority is to ensure that this great momentum continues. The faculty are doing wonderful work, the students are engaged and excited and we have good relationships with the community. So that's where I'm going to put my attention for the next week or so and make sure things move smoothly."

Was Ferguson terminated without cause?

The university board of trustees' unwillingness to say why Ferguson left has fueled speculation of a looming budgetary/monetary/enrollment crisis and that Julie Hopwood, the senior adviser Ferguson brought with him to Ball State from the University of Maine, will be the next to go.

"Absolutely not" true is King's response to those rumors and conjecture that the university is operating in crisis mode. "As I said, the faculty are doing a wonderful job, the students are engaged, as long as they go to class, that is, and our partnerships with the community are quite strong, So everything is moving along smoothly. I'm looking out my window right now at students going to class."

"As you will hear on Friday when the trustees meet and hear a report from our enrollment folks, it's up, applications are up, admits are up, and the confirmeds are up," King said of fall 2016 enrollment. "Right now is obviously very early in the cycle, but I'm optimistic."

Hopwood is scheduled to present updated enrollment data to the trustees at a meeting on Friday.

Ball State president Ferguson resigns

King noted that the university's bond rating was recently rated at "a very high level" by Moody's and Standard & Poor's and he sees no reason that will change.

This is the second time King has been named acting president at BSU, although the first time, in the summer of 2014, between Gora's departure and Ferguson's arrival, "was for a little less than two months and that was a very planned period of time and also a period of time during the summer when the activity level is low."

A typical search for a new president takes four to six months, according to King, a process that schools don't want to rush. "The whole point of a search is we want the very best possible candidates possible so you take the time that is needed to get the president for the university."

King doesn't anticipate any cabinet shakeups or departures in the meantime, "except I hear that the provost has shifted to a different office," he said of his former job as provost, BSU's senior academic administrator. "Yeah, I have to appoint an acting provost to backstop that area while I'm in this office. That's a full-time job as well. I'm confident we will get through that. We have a lot of strong leaders on campus."

"I'm operating right now sitting in the president's office," he said. "All my other gear is in my provost's office, but I plan to move at least partially into this office because as you know the role of president is pretty much full time, maybe time and a half. So I'll be spending most of my time over here."

The offices for King's former position, as well as his current one, are both in the university's Administration Building.

A former chemical engineer, King was a researcher at Exxon Chemical Co. before teaching, researching and chairing in the chemical engineering department at Iowa State University. Before coming to Ball State as provost 10 years ago, he spent nine years as dean of the engineering college at Kansas State University.

In his "Dear Colleague" letter this week, King wrote: "I want to assure you that Ball State University is on solid footing and is moving forward with the positive initiatives that began over the course of the last three semesters. And we're committed to keeping the momentum going."

Students react to Ferguson resignation

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.