You are invited to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Warren Vander Hill, a former distinguished leader and cherished member of the Ball State University community, during a special Celebration of Life event:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Ball Honors House
1709 Riverside Avenue
Muncie, IN 47306
Parking is available in the McKinley Avenue Parking Garage. Due to construction, the garage can be accessed by turning from University Avenue onto North Calvert Street.
If you are planning to attend, please reply to the Office of the President by emailing rsvp@bsu.edu or calling 765-285-5555.
For those who cannot attend in person, you are invited to join virtually. Click here to participate online.
Dr. Vander Hill began his remarkable career at Ball State University in 1967 as an assistant professor in the Department of History. He quickly rose to prominence, becoming the director of the Ball State Honors Program in 1970. By 1979, he founded Indiana’s first Honors College at Ball State, where he also established key programs such as the Whitinger Scholars and the Honors Undergraduate Fellows programs. The Whitinger Scholarship, founded in 1976, remains the University's most prestigious award for incoming first-year students.
In 1986, Dr. Vander Hill was named provost and vice president for academic affairs, where he continued to impact the Honors College and also contributed to the Center for Middletown Studies. After serving as provost, he became the distinguished professor of environmental studies, a position he held until his retirement in 2004, capping off an extraordinary 37-year career at Ball State.
His legacy continues through the C. Warren Vander Hill Award for Outstanding Honors Faculty, annually awarded by students to the most exceptional Honors College professor. In 2024, alumni from the first class of Whitinger Scholars announced the creation of the Warren Vander Hill Honors College Student Opportunity Grant, an endowed fund supporting student internships, research, and other experiential opportunities.
For more information, including Dr. Vander Hill's obituary, click here.