Over the last two semesters, students from a variety of majors and disciplines came together in order to rebrand and rename Beneficence Family Scholars. BFS is a comprehensive resource for single parents who are striving to achieve higher education. They advocate for their clients and attempt to break down barriers to education such as childcare, transportation, and housing.

Students compiled research and data to recommend fresh names to the board of directors and then used the new name as inspiration for a new and clean brand. We took community feedback from the program participants, citizens of Muncie, and from students and faculty at Ball State University to create a name and brand that is close to the heart of our community. To enhance the relaunch of the organization, students also worked to create social media content and promotional videos.

CS4MS+

Partnering with local schools, the Computer Science for Muncie (and Surrounding) Schools (CS4MS+) project team researched, developed, curated, and delivered instructional resources which incorporate Computer Science (CS) into educational offerings, with a focus on the Indiana CS academic standards, and worked to advance teachers’ understanding of CS and/or interacted with their students as a teaching assistant. Although CS student focused, an interdisciplinary project team was sought, with another project focus being to expose underrepresented minorities and females to CS. When Indiana introduced CS into their academic standatrds, CS4MS+ was created to support local teachers in this endeavor. To learn more, please click on the "Computer Science for Muncie (and Surrounding) Schools (CS4MS+)" title above, then use the links provided to the right when the new page appears.

Students:

• Please review the participant page for a list of all BSU students involved with this project over the semesters.

Community Partners:

• Northside Middle School, Muncie, Delaware County, IN.
• Muncie Central High School, Muncie, Delaware County, IN.
• Burris Laboratory School, Muncie, Delaware County, IN.
• Daleville Jr./Sr. High School, Daleville, Delaware County, IN.

College:

• Sciences and Humanities

Contact:

• cs4ms@bsu.edu

"The CS4MS+ project was a great and unique experience for me. I always had a passion to teach others about Computer Science and this was a fun opportunity to do so. It left me feeling that I had actually impacted the future of the students and teachers that we interacted with." ~Participating student

Project Indy: Infill Reimagined was a Spring 2021 immersive learning project where undergraduate architecture students in the ARCH 400 Comprehensive Design Studio worked with community partner Englewood Community Development Corporation in Indianapolis on a housing proposal for the 2021 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge student competition. Faculty Advisors for the project are Dr. Tom Collins and Walter Grondzik. The goal of the project was for collaborative student teams to work with a partner to design a net-zero energy, single-family house for a small urban site. Through graphics, writing, and oral presentations, student teams demonstrate that the proposal is cost effective to build, low environmental impact, comfortable for occupants, inexpensive to maintain, and buildable using existing technology. The two stage competition culminates in a virtual event where teams present to a jury of industry experts. The Project Indy Team won a 3rd place prize at the event for their housing division.

The team chose an infill parcel at 225 North Oxford St. in Indianapolis’ Englewood Neighborhood because it allowed their housing design to fill a vacant lot and to repair the fabric of an older residential street. It also has good proximity to public transit, a library, a daycare, schools, and other amenities. The long narrow lot allowed the team to design a main house facing the street and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) facing the alley. The ADU provides rental income for the owner and additional housing options in the neighborhood. The main house is designed to allow residents to live in the house throughout the stages of their adult lives and to age in place. The design provides a ground floor bedroom, amenities, and no entry stairs for accessibility and mobility. The home is designed to be super insulated for energy efficiency and occupant comfort. It also uses an innovative mass timber and cross laminated timber (CLT) structural system for low environmental impact. Plentiful daylighting and a double height living space with loft overlook give the small home a spacious feel. A front porch allows socialization with neighbors and a back patio provides secluded outdoor space to be shared between the main house and ADU. State of the art efficient mechanical systems provide heating, cooling, and exceptional indoor air quality. A rooftop solar PV array makes more energy than the houses uses on an annual basis. Project Indy sets a new standard for affordable, high-performance housing in an inner city neighborhood undergoing revitalization.

The student team consisted of Kolton Behrent, Cheyenne Kalb, Alexandra Lawburg, Noah Gibson, Andy Jackson, Darrin Shedrow, Grace Lehmann, Samantha Felling, and Evan Johnson. Additional industry partners included ASHRAE Central Indiana and Jefferson Electric.