Julie Griffith, appointed to the Ball State Board of Directors by Gov. Eric Holcomb in November 2021, attended her first meeting as a director Jan. 28. The board voted to create a new Employee Wellness Development Committee within the Board of Trustees, which will examine inclusive excellence and faculty retention.
Current Board committees include Academic and Student Affairs, Audit and Compliance, and Finance, Facilities and Planning.
Renae Conley, chair of the board, said the establishment of a committee that focuses solely on the mental health and general well-being of employees was a good addition to what the board is doing. has already committed because “[employees] are so critical to our future.
Alan Finn, vice president of business affairs and treasurer, proposed the creation of the committee, which he said board members began discussing in 2021.
“I commend all of you for the foresight to develop a committee that is going to focus on the most valuable resource we have at Ball State – our people,” Finn said. “Without talented and committed faculty and staff, we will not fulfill our mission and we will not achieve our strategic priorities.”
While Finn said he’s not sure what the employee wellbeing development committee will look like, he will be looking at the strategic imperatives of inclusive excellence, professional development and wellbeing, resourcing policies human resources and employee reward and recognition. The new committee will also work with other board committees to achieve its goals, including working with the finance, facilities and planning committee to review changes to employee salaries and benefits.
New board member Julie Griffith speaks with student administrator Amy Wyse after the board meeting on Jan. 28, 2022, at the LA Pittenger Student Center. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb appointed Wyse to the board in June 2021 and Griffith to the board in November 2021. Hannah Amos, DN
The Board also voted to reappoint three members to their leadership positions: Conley as Chair, Mike McDaniel as Secretary, and Brian Gallagher as Assistant Secretary. Rick Hall was elected as vice-president.
The leadership of each committee includes:
Academic and Student Affairs
President: Matt Momper
Members: Renae Conley, Amy Wyse, Brian Gallagher
Audit and Compliance
President: Mark Hardwick
Members: Renae Conley, Matt Momper, Julie Griffith
Finances, facilities and planning
President: Rick Hall
Members: Henry Hall, Mike McDaniel, Renae Conley
Employee Wellness Development Committee
President: Brian Gallagher
Members: Henry Hall, Julie Griffith, Renae Conley
Conley previously worked with Griffith at PSI Energy. Griffith is the current Executive Vice President of Strategy, Partnerships and Outreach at the Indiana Innovation Institute. She graduated from Ball State with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science in 1979 and served on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the Dean’s Advisory Council for the university’s College of Science and Humanities.
“I had the honor of knowing Julie for many years,” Conley said. “He’s a bright, funny, kind, level-headed person who has a high level of integrity and the kind of person you want to be a Ball State trustee and has a tremendous amount of love for the university.”
The Ball State Board of Directors will meet again on March 25.
Contact Grace McCormick with comments at [email protected] or on Twitter @graceMc564. Contact Jamie Strouts with comments at [email protected].