Indiana Normal School and College of Applied Science records

After the closing of Palmer University in 1905, a group of Muncie citizens persuaded a state senator to introduce a bill in the Indiana General Assembly requesting the state take over the university campus and open a tuition-free normal school. Though the bill was voted down in the Senate, it attracted the attention of Francis M. Igler, dean and vice president of the Indianapolis College of Law, and James McCormick, a real estate salesman. Ingler and McCormick convinced the Univeristy Association to allow them to form a corporation and operate a school financed through stock sales. In the fall of 1905, the campus reopened as Indiana Normal School and College of Applied Science.

Igler took on the role of president of the new school. Unfortunately, various frustrations caused him to resign during his second year. In an attempt to keep the school running, trustees George McCulloch and Frank C. Ball brought in former faculty member Lemuel A. Pittenger to replace Igler. McCulloch and Ball also made an offer to the trustees of Taylor University in an attempt to convince them to relocate their university faculty and resources to Muncie. The Taylor trustees declined the offer. The Indiana Normal School and College of Applied Science was forced to close in the summer of 1907 due to a lack of funds, faculty, and students.

In order to keep up the insurance, the University Association allowed a local farming family to use the univeristy building and grounds. In 1909, a group of Muncie citizens once again petitioned the state to take over the property and open a state-funded normal school. Though the vote was close, the proposal failed once again. The campus would eventually reopen in 1912 as the Muncie Normal Institute. The original university building is still standing and is currently the Administration Building on the campus of Ball State University.