Ball State University Office of Alumni Programs records

Ball State's Alumni Association was founded when the first class of the fledgling normal school graduated in 1919. This group functioned until 1926 when a more formal organization, with R. Nelson Snider, 1922, as its president, was established. The Association evolved from its informal beginning to a dues-paying organization in 1939, to its current structure, which since 1954 has effectively incorporated an annual alumni fund into its structure, replacing the dues-paying system.

The Alumni Association has been a national leader in its involvement with student campus leaders. With a strong history of Homecoming undergraduate participation, the Association has successfully sponsored homecomings to include an array of activities that annually involves over 400 student volunteers. In 1965, the Association sponsored the founding of the Ball State Student Foundation and in 1985 organized the Student Alumni Relations Team (St.A.R.T.).

To date, there have been 62 presidents serving the Association as well as five executive directors. Edwin D. Shipley, 1968, MA 1971, current executive director, has served since 1980, while Robert E. Linson, 1947 MA 1948, was in charge from 1955-1980.Other full-time executive directors served between 1947 and 1955 and included David Hartley, 1933; Leroy Hull, 1948; and Reese Williams, 1948.