Ball State University

Main article: History of Ball State University Predecessor schools The location of today's Ball State University had its start in 1899 as a private university called the Eastern Indiana Normal School . The entire school, including classrooms, a library, and the president's residence were housed in what is today's Frank A. Bracken Administration Building. The one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed due to lack of funding. In 1902, the school reopened as Palmer University for the next three years when Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker, gave the school $100,000 as an endowment . [ citation needed ] Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College . It had two divisions, the Normal School for educating teachers and the College of Applied Sciences. The school had an average enrollment of about 200 students. Due to diminishing enrollment and lack of funding, the school closed at the end of the 1906–1907 school year. In 1912, a group of local investors led by Michael Kelly reopened the school as the Indiana Normal Institute. To pay for updated materials and refurbishing the once-abandoned Administration Building, the school operated under a mortgage from the Muncie Trust Company. Although the school had its largest student body with a peak enrollment of 806, officials could not maintain mortgage payments, and the school was forced to close once again in June 1917 when the Muncie Trust Company initiated foreclosure proceedings. [ citation needed ]

Main campus Shafer Tower looking southward on McKinley Avenue with the Art & Journalism building in the background Ball State's main campus spans 731 acres (296 ha) and includes 109 buildings at 7,203,801 square feet (669,255.0 m 2 ) [ 18 ] centered mostly on three main quadrangles. The university also manages just over 400 acres (160 ha) of research property. The main campus is situated about 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of downtown Muncie. McKinley Ave. is a two-lane, primary north–south street through the Ball State campus. Streetscape features include landscaped medians, granite curbing, limestone bollards and planters, bus turn-outs, and brick crosswalks. [ 19 ] A pedestrian scramble is located at the intersection of Riverside and McKinley avenues. [ 20 ] Old Quad, the university's historic quadrangle , anchors the south end of Ball State's campus. Distinctive features include its mature tree canopy and Collegiate Gothic architecture. It is bounded by McKinley Ave. (east), University Ave. (south), Christy Woods (west), and Riverside Ave. (north). The residential Westwood Historic District is situated immediately across Riverside Ave. to the north. Old Quad landmarks include Beneficence and the Fine Arts Building, home to the David Owsley Museum of Art . The museum contains some 11,000 works valued at more than $40 million. [ 21 ] The Fine Arts Terrace, overlooking the Old Quad, hosts the annual spring commencement ceremonies. [ 22 ] Ball State's central campus area first began to develop in the 1960s. It is generally bounded by New York Ave. (east), Riverside Ave. (south), the Westwood Historic District (west), and Neely Ave./Petty Rd. (north). Distinctive features include its mix of academic buildings, residential and dining halls, and performing arts venues. Notable landmarks include Bracken Library , Emens Auditorium , and the Frog Baby Fountain on University Green.

Located in the median of McKinley Ave., Shafer Tower is a 150-foot-tall (46 m) free-standing bell tower with a 48-bell carillon . [ 23 ] East Quad, the newest quadrangle, sits east of the Old Quad and south of the central campus. It is bounded by Dicks St. (east), Ashland Ave. (south), McKinley Ave. (west), and Riverside Ave. (north). [ 24 ] East Quad is situated immediately north of The Village commercial district. The North Residential Neighborhood was completed in 2022 and comprises Botsford/Swinford Halls, Jack Beyerl Hall, North Dining Hall, North West Hall, and Schmidt/Wilson Halls. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] York Prairie Creek , also known as Cardinal Creek, is an intra-campus creek that begins at the pond outside Park Hall, winding northwest and connecting to the Duck Pond before heading west toward the White River . The campus includes nearly 8,000 trees of about 625 species. [ 27 ]

Ball State provides a free shuttle service each semester. Shuttles buses run on red, orange, green, and blue loops every five to ten minutes. [ 28 ] The university also provides a late-night pickup service, Charlie's Charter. Upon request, Charlie's Charter will transport students throughout the campus. [ 29 ] Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) also provides local fixed-route bus service free to students. Routes 1, 2, 14, and 16 run through campus.