Ball State Honors House will have expanded look this fall

The Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Honors House will be redone by Fall 2025. An addition of a new wing will allow for more classrooms and offices for the students and faculty to utilize in the space.

James Buss, dean of the Honors College, said one of the changes students can expect is new study spaces that can be used at any time.

Built in 1979, Ball State’s Honors College is the oldest one in Indiana, according to Ball State Magazine. The discussion regarding renovations initially began in 2008 and started with renovations turning the old garage into a classroom. Conversations about further expansions then reignited in 2016, but the college received a donation to start the renovations only recently in Spring 2023.

Some of the benefits that come with the new structure include having a bigger space to help foster community amongst the students and faculty.

“It’s been really difficult to bring [the honors] community together because we don’t have enough space here for everyone to gather,” Buss said.

Academically, Buss said the new addition will bring the honors students back together so they aren’t spread across multiple buildings on campus, and he hears through the grapevine that everyone is “looking forward to being under the same roof.”

Beyond the campus community, Buss believes the new renovations will also be important to maintain good relationships with alumni through the university’s various alumni programs, including Cardinal Classics Book Club.

“It’s not about donors and money. It’s about those connections,” Buss said

While in the process of constructing the new wing, he said the honors faculty meets with the construction crew every other week to discuss progress and an opening date for the new wing. Their goal is to have classes and faculty back in that wing by August 2025.

Buss acknowledged that the yard and exterior work may not be done by that time but hoped to have some type of “major event” in September or October 2025 to signify the opening of the new facility with the donors in attendance.

Some of the new landscaping expected includes a labyrinth patio, gardens and multiple sidewalks leading to the backyard.

“That will open the honors house and the property around it to make it feel more connected…Not just for honors students, but students and faculty around campus,” Buss said.

The honors college population has grown consistently since 2014. At that time Buss said there were 1,000 students in the college, and he expects a range of anywhere between 1,500-1,600 students in the incoming class of freshmen.

Buss also said by Fall 2026, the honors curriculum will be changing, in an effort to make it more accessible to other majors and help all Ball State students further their academic career. The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships, which helps all university students apply for scholarships, will also be included in the new wing.

During the remodeling, honors college faculty wanted to keep the house’s originality. To achieve this, they are keeping the same architectural patterns, trees and do not see any more expansions in the near future.

“We tried not to destroy all the landscape and history,” Buss said.

According to the Ball State Honors College website, “Expanding the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball home will allow these offices to develop new activities and events as well as enhance existing connections with the university and community.”

Frank Diaz Morales, an honors college peer mentor for the first-year mentor program, voiced his excitement for the new changes and the benefits they will have on students.

“The expansion of the honors house is going to allow so many new opportunities within our programs that will enhance our immersive learning and experience,” he said, explaining that the house hosts many events and traditions and this expansion will allow more events to be hosted there to celebrate the students.

Morales believes the changes are “very much needed” for the honors house and echoed Buss’ sentiments about rising student enrollment.

“Furthermore, this expansion serves as a tangible representation of the important role the Honors College plays in the spirit of Ball State University,” Morales said.

Another person who is excited about the changes is Director of Student Success and Honors First-Year Programs Ashanti Figures. She said the new wing will allow the honors faculty to work closer together, which will allow students the chance to work close to the staff there.

“The additional space will allow for students to engage with programming put on by the honors college as well as honors student clubs and organizations,” Figures said.

Figures also thinks having this new structure will allow for more community in the college by having additional classrooms for student use.

“[The] connection to the Honors College is meant to last a lifetime,” Figures said.

By having these connections with donors and past cardinals, the new renovations allow the college to elevate and celebrate the current students.

Figures expressed her gratitude for the donors who made the remodeling possible.

“We are very grateful for everything our alumni and donors do, and have done, for the honors college,” she said.

Reporter Gracie Parkhurst contributed to this story.

Contact Shelby Anderson via email at  [email protected].