Money for Ball State inauguration goes to creating new scholarships

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ball State University's president has decided she does not need a glitzy inauguration ceremony, instead putting the $150,000 that it would cost toward student scholarships.\nJo Ann Gora set up the Inauguration Scholarship Fund that will award $20,000 scholarships to 15 Indiana freshmen who enroll at Ball State this fall.\n"More important for us than filling a hall for a ceremony of this occasion is our obligation to help students fulfill their dreams," Gora said during a press conference at the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday.\nEleven benefactors have pledged "medallion" gifts to add to the money by giving $10,000 each to the fund. The gifts are named after the medallion a president receives at an inaugural ceremony.\nFour more gifts and the university would reach its initial goal of $300,000 for the fund, Gora said.\nGora's decision to forgo an inauguration was an imaginative way to use public money, said Gov. Mitch Daniels.\nGora, who was named Ball State's 14th president last May, said the state's budget crunch influenced much of her decision because she understands the cost of college is increasing.\nDaniels officially will install Gora as Ball State's president during a small inaugural ceremony in April. Scholarship recipients will be announced then.