Ball State to cut ribbon on entrepreneurship facility

MUNCIE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Ball State University will Monday cut the ribbon on the new Menard Training Facility at its Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute. The university says the facility will help produce the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.

The Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute is located just north of the Muncie campus. The university says the Menard Facility includes the Launch Pad, described as a “true hub for innovation and creation that provides an environment for facilitating innovation sessions, sketching out ideas, building scrappy prototypes using a variety of materials, modeling using Lego and prototyping using 3D printers.”

Ball State says the institute and Menard facility were made possible by a $5 million grant from the Menard family, as well as a $1.5 million gift from the Charles Koch Foundation. 

Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns will join other university and community leaders for the ribbon cutting, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, followed by an open house at the institute.