Dr. Louis Ingelhart, founder of Ball State Journalism Workshops.
Our History
Dr. Louis Ingelhart, founding chair of the Ball State University School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, brought the summer workshops to life in 1966. After sending a survey to high school newspaper advisers and journalism teachers, Ingelhart was moved to create the workshops as a unique experience for high school students.
159 students from across Indiana and Kentucky attended the first workshops held at Ball State University in the summer of 1966.
The program gained traction throughout the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, reaching countless students from Indiana and beyond. By 1970, over a thousand students attended Ball State’s Summer Journalism Workshops regularly.
A Blast From the Past
Check out this audio from one of Ball State’s first annual Journalism Days, hosted in 1966 in Emens Auditorium.
The event features a speech from keynote speaker Mell Lazarus, as well as an award ceremony for contests. Our founder, Dr. Louis Ingelhart, is the host for the event.
Flash Forward
The journalism landscape has drastically changed since Ball State first offered an on-campus summer workshop. But Ball State’s CCIM Summer Workshops still prepares students to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape by teaching foundational journalistic storytelling skills paired with cutting-edge technology, multimedia production and traditional communication skills.
Now housed in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building, CCIM Outreach provides students with state-of-the-art facilities, technology and collaborative spaces. Classes such as writing, editing, design, sports production, digital photography, public speaking and broadcast news help students take their skills to the next level.