Second-year BSU president refreshing

MUNCIE -- If you were to create a slogan to convey the most important attribute of Ball State University's second-year president, one choice should be, "Paul Ferguson — The President who Refreshes."

But Ferguson isn't a big fan of taglines in higher education. He has disposed of the "Education Redefined" tagline established by his predecessor, Jo Ann Gora, and says the catchphrase probably won't be replaced.

During his first sit-down interview with The Star Press in more than a year, Ferguson discussed the university's refreshed brand, refreshed vision, the $25-million hotel/conference center that was proposed several years ago, research, his first big initiatives, enrollment, administrative reorganization, and a renewed emphasis on sustainability.

He also displayed his sense of humor.

On May 22, 2014, Indianapolis attorney Rick Hall, chairman of the board of trustees, said he expected Ferguson to be an "evolutionary" president, not a "revolutionary" one. "Jo Ann Gora left us a really strong foundation," Hall said at the announcement. "But he's not just going to mind the store. He's a leader. He will bring fresh ideas. He will take us to the next level and help us further get the message out about the impact of Ball State on Indiana's economy."

Sixteen months later, Ferguson says he remains an evolutionist.

"I think I've been very evolutionary," he told The Star Press. "I think that really is the heart of where the Centennial Commitment (18 by '18) came from. When we spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people, 55 departments, alums, constituencies from the Legislature, donors and friends, it was really building on the legacy of Ball State University. We developed …this vision from where beneficence meets the spirit of entrepreneurship …We have used the term refreshed as a real, I think, good characteristic of evolving …"

The Centennial Commitment established 18 major goals for the university to accomplish by 2018, the University’s 100th Anniversary.

The refreshed brand will continue to include "Benny," the 1937 Beneficence statue that serves as a reminder of the generosity of the Ball family, and a refreshed Cardinal head. If you look at the university's website, you will see the beginnings of a redesign that includes different colors, fonts, photographs and videos celebrating the vibrancy and diversity of the campus. You also will notice it on street banners, promotional materials, upcoming television commercials and more.

"We used to have people coming here and say, "Wow, it's gorgeous here,' " said BSU spokeswoman Joan Todd, who joined the interview. "… we don't want people to say 'I had no idea.' They need to look at how we are representing the campus and want to be here because of what they see."

The new brand reflects a bottom-up approach.

During Ferguson's "listening tour," or his visits to 55 BSU departments, "one of the primary concerns was they needed and wanted a voice and had felt as though they didn't have a voice in development of the (previous) brand," said Ferguson's senior adviser, Julie Hopwood, who also joined the interview. There was "the feeling of perhaps a removal from the development of that."

The Ball State Daily News quoted Shaheen Borna, a marketing professor, as saying Gora spent more than $100,000 on the “Education Redefined" tagline.

"In January, you will see student-produced commercials instead of an external agency," Hopwood said. "You will see an involved community in the creation of their brand."

Do you mean TV commercials immersively learning produced?

"Entrepreneurial-learning produced," Hopwood and Todd answered in unison. Immersive learning was the phrase used by Gora's administration to describe real-world learning and production of real-world solutions by faculty-directed student teams.

The value of higher-education taglines like "Education Redefined" has been questioned by some experts.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, which last month arranged 88 college taglines, including Ball State's, into a poem, called the slogans "marketing rhetoric that is lofty, predictable, and numbing at a certain dosage."

The poem began, "Change Your Life. Start Here," "Life's Calling," and "It's Your Life." Other lines included "Education for a World Stage," "Education for an Inspired Life," "Education Redefined," "Education on Your Terms," and "Your Education. Your Way." The last line was, "You're One of a Kind. So Are We."

In 2013, Gora told the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee, “We believe what Indiana needs is ... an institution like Miami of Ohio or William & Mary in Virginia, both of which are public institutions, which we aspire to be like."

Does Ferguson agree? "I don't know if any one university does it best," he said in the interview. Certainly Ball State can learn from the best practices of others, but "this is a great campus in sustainability," and "entrepreneurship" is "so in depth and ingrained and pervasive" at Ball State that "I think that is truly where we become the model to others …It is Ball State, not a copy of somebody else. It's Ball State … Sometimes it's connecting the dots … we have great sustainability efforts but they need to be really focused and integrated as a university identity."

In the Centennial Commitment, BSU "aspires to be the model of the most student-centered and community-engaged of the 21st century public research universities, transforming entrepreneurial learners into impactful leaders — committed to improving the quality of life for all."

A year ago, Ferguson said it was premature to start talking about his legacy. Now he's starting to talk about it. A month after his arrival, he named a task force whose efforts resulted in the recent creation of a College of Health, the first new college on campus since 1996-97. He also secured $62.5 million from the state Legislature to construct a building for the new college.

"You combine education, clinical services and biomedical research, that will be a transforming initiative to Ball State University," said Ferguson, a toxicologist and the first scientist to lead Ball State. "The $62.5 million health sciences building … is the largest state-funded building that Ball State will have received."

He calls Ball State's new Indiana Communities Institute another "huge example" of "how to help communities in Indiana with the Ball State touch." The institute will bring together many of Ball State's top research and outreach activities to help communities improve their quality of life, which would help attract and retain talented workers.

Ferguson is creating a long-term enrollment management strategic plan as on-campus enrollment dropped for the fourth consecutive year this fall, though online enrollment is increasing, The school has 16,602 on-campus students this fall, down from 18,241 in the fall of 2011. Tuition is the major source of revenue for Ball State. Over the years, state appropriations continue to make up less and less of the budget.

"How do we make sure our enrollment is the right size for Ball State University?" Ferguson said. "We are definitely involved in that discussion. Do we have the right mix of on-campus, online and graduate education? That is the challenge for us as we move forward in the Centennial Commitment to have that full discussion. We're kind of primed to do that."

The president also has reorganized the administrative offices. "It will be much better on best practices and certainly more productive," he says.

Will Ball State's proposed $25-million hotel, residence hall and conference center be constructed during Ferguson's tenure? That's unknown.

"It's still being studied," he said. "It's kind of on hold right now. We are taking a hard look at that, kind of re-looking at the plan."

Are you still planning to proceed …?

"We're still looking at the plan."

It's not anything that's going to happen soon?

"We're still looking at the plan."

At the plan? You mean the plan to do it?

"Yeah."

His office includes a Jim Davis/Garfield cartoon about the dog-eat-dog world of entrepreneurship; a BSU marching band hat; a BSU football helmet; his doctoral diploma; a Bozo the Clown figure given to him by a cabinet member; a framed quote from Teddy Roosevelt; and a circa 1920 John Ottis Adams oil-on-canvas painting titled "Landscape with Cypress Trees."

"This is a wonderful piece of work from the (David Owsley) Museum (of Art)," Ferguson said. "I wanted to have something from the Hoosier artist era, and I just particularly love that forest look. That is an example of the kinds of treasures we have over in the museum."

His desk faces the wall on which the painting hangs. He joked that he "can't see the forest for the trees."

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.