MUNCIE, IN
EDUCATION
'We Fly,' in Indiana
It's time to judge colleges by their contributions to the economic and civic life of their communities. Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, passes the test brilliantly.
EDUCATION
‘When Gown Embraces Town’: Two Stories from Indiana
What is happening in the 'Middletown' of Muncie, and why it matters.
Economic & Business Development
The University of Dayton Is Reinventing Town-Gown Relations
Archway Entrance for the University of Dayton, in Ohio. “The city is in our name,” says the university’s president. “It’s our future.” (Courtesy of the University of Dayton) It’s time for another report on Dayton, Ohio, subject of this introduction last month. A century ago, Dayton was known mainly for the things it created, from the Wright Brothers’ […]
Arts
How Art Can Renew a Community
Children at an event put on by the Big Car Collaborative in Indianapolis Courtesy of Jensen Productions and New America This is No. 2 in a series of three videos from our friends at New America about the realities of community revitalization and economic recovery in the much-discussed Industrial Heartland of America. It’s based on an Indiana tour […]
Economic & Business Development
Building Your Future in Indiana
Michael Brannon, a carpenter apprentice and graduate of the Build Your Future program in Indiana Courtesy of Jensen Productions Inc. and New America This spring, Deb Fallows and I made a trip through Indiana for a series of events and meetings co-organized by New America Indianapolis and Indiana Humanities. We were in Muncie, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and the small […]
Education
The Power of a Community College
Readers weigh in
Economic & Business Development
‘Unknown Outside Indiana’
The previous four “Our Towns” posts have been about Indiana: One about Angola and the importance of its relationship with Trine University; one about Fort Wayne and its ambitious reconstruction of a cavernous abandoned GE works; and two about Muncie, first about sustainability programs and then about a virtually unique approach to the long-troubled public schools. They had a common theme: how surprising it was […]
Education
An Unusual Way to Bridge the Town-Gown Divide
This post is about a development that few people outside the state of Indiana have ever heard or read about, but that has implications for the country as a whole. It’s about a highly unusual approach to a highly familiar problem: the economic challenges of public schools. This news comes from America’s original “Middletown,” the […]
Economic & Business Development
What We Saw in Muncie
How a university is helping a town move forward