Reimagining Beneficence Through the Eyes of the Women: When Biographical Projects Reshape Higher Education

• In Event: 47.059 - Pioneering Women

Abstract

Critical biography projects have the potential to elevate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge. They also have the power to contribute to social justice projects. This educational biography was designed to investigate the lives and unique contributions of the women of the Ball family, of Ball State University, with a particular focus on the period from 1822-1926. As the university engages in its centennial celebration a re-examination of significant public and private archival collections and related secondary literature was undertaken. This project contributes to the larger literature about women and higher education and the role they have played in shaping higher education through thoughtful and strategic philanthropy.

Author

• Thalia Mulvihill, Ball State University