Latest News
Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship Grants
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
The Lilly Endowment recently released the list of the 2026 Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship grant recipients. This program provides $15,000 grants to K-12 educators in Indiana to engage in educator renewal projects. We are excited to announce that grants were awarded to two Indiana Academy faculty/staff.
Chris Buczek – “Elements of Discovery: A Personal Odyssey to Chemistry’s Historic Heartlands for Educational Renewal” – travel to Europe to explore chemistry through history’s greatest scientists (Curie, Rutherford, and Copernicus) and discover how historical context transforms scientific understanding.
Dain Kavars – “Recapturing Wonder: How Minor League Baseball Can Transform Educational Vision” – attend minor league and semi-pro baseball games across America to better understand how to sustain community, inspire achievement, and bring people together.
Indiana Academy faculty/staff have been awarded eight Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship grants in just the last four years!
Indiana Academy Resumes Normal Operations January 27
Monday, January 26, 2026
Dear Indiana Academy Students and Families:
The Indiana Academy will follow the same operating schedule as Ball State University, with normal operations resuming on Tuesday, January 27th.
Students, please monitor your email closely for any individual course changes. Your teachers will notify you of any changes in their courses.
The safety of our students, families, and faculty/staff is a top priority. If the road conditions in your area are unsafe to travel to the Academy on Tuesday, please call the Attendance Office (765-285-8110) to report your student’s absence. Students unable to travel to the Academy due to weather will be excused. Please note that the call must come from a parent/guardian. Students who are absent are responsible for contacting their teachers to review expectations for class materials.
Dain Kavars, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Monday, January 26 Classes Will Be Online
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Dear Indiana Academy Students and Families:
Ball State University has announced that all classes tomorrow, Monday, January 26, 2026, including Indiana Academy and Burris classes, will be held online. Students, please monitor your email closely for your teachers’ instructions. In-person classes will resume on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. All dining facilities will remain operational tomorrow.
Please take extra care and be safe if you go outside.
Sincerely,
Dain Kavars, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Academy DECA Members Qualify for State Competition
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Students from the Indiana Academy competed alongside Yorktown High School and Union City Jr./Sr. High School at the DECA District Competition held on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Six students represented the Academy, participating in both individual and team events. Their results are listed below:
Elva Gu – Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series (1st Place)
Leo Kim and Doris Li – Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making (1st Place)
Jeevisha Dhanda – Marketing Communications Series (1st Place)
Zaria Yin and Cynthia Shen – Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making (2nd Place)
All participating students qualified for the State DECA Competition, which will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown from March 1-3, 2026.
Congratulations!
Indiana Academy and Inspire Academy Working Together Around Student Success
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Students from the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities and Inspire Academy this semester are coming together through tutoring to accelerate student success for the benefit of both institutions. “Through a conversation with the Executive Director of Inspire Academy, Leslie Draper, in late 2025, it occurred to me that the Indiana Academy and Inspire Academy have several goals in common and that an intentional partnership between our two schools carries the potential of accelerating overall student success,” remarks Dr. Joel Olufowote, Director of Academic Affairs at the Indiana Academy. “We agreed that while Academy students can serve as tutors in strategic curricular areas for Inspire elementary and middle schoolers, Academy students are mutually enriched and better prepared to deliver upon our school mission of pursuing the Common Good during and after their high school years through the intentional immersion into communities like Inspire Academy with similar values and a likeminded institutional vision.”
The first group of Academy tutors consisted of members from the Indiana Academy Student Government and Black Student Union.
Chemistry Teaching Position Available
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
The Indiana Academy currently has an opening for Assistant Lecturer or Assistant Teaching Professor of Chemistry, with an application deadline of February 4, 2026. Details about the position can be found at the link below.
Assistant Lecturer / Assistant Teaching Professor of Chemistry
Fall 2025 Directors Lists
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Congratulations to the 103 Indiana Academy students who have earned recognition for outstanding performance across all classes for the fall 2025 semester!
Several Academy Students Selected to Present Original Research
Monday, January 5, 2026
Six Academy students have been selected to present research at the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference this April. Congratulations to Seniors Keegan Brogdon, Neela Cormier-Marri, John Eenigenburg, Rori Haley, Jack Roberts, and lone junior, Shashu Sabapathy, on this incredible accomplishment.
Primarily reserved for established scholars, practitioners, early career professionals and graduate students, MPSA is a national, nonpartisan organization devoted to the study of teaching, and research in political science by primarily publishing journals like the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS), and hosting a large annual conference in Chicago every year since 1939. “I was a trembling 2nd year graduate student the first time I had research accepted to propose at MPSA,” remarks Dr. Joel Olufowote, Director of Academic Affairs. “For several of our students to have accepted proposals at this point of their academic journey is simply remarkable and provides another positive data point on how, as an institution, we leverage the power of original research to distinguish ourselves from the traditional high school experience.”
Keegan Brogdon’s research explores the role of religion, specifically Catholicism, in the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Neela Cormier-Marri’s research focuses on factors that promote institutional development through the Unified Growth Perspective.
John Eenigenberg’s first research proposal focuses on political satire and political participation and a second proposal focuses on Supreme Court legitimacy and judicial authority.
Rori Haley’s research takes a case-study approach to the understanding of modern colonialism.
Jack Roberts’s research explores how political polarization in the United States has increased since the death of Charlie Kirk.
Shashu Sabapathy’s research offers preliminary insight into how prominent social media platforms dissuade and/or perpetuate political tension between ideological values.
While at the conference, Dr. Olufowote will serve as Chair of the “African Politics” session and Discussant on the “Research on Teaching & Learning” session.
Indiana Academy Closing for Winter Break
Monday, December 22, 2025
Indiana Academy offices will be closed beginning at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Wagoner Hall reopens to students on Sunday, January 4, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern) and offices will open at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern) on Monday, January 05, 2026.
Indiana Academy Students Receive Congressional Nomination
Friday, December 12, 2025
Admission to the country’s prestigious military academies typically requires a nomination from an elected member of the U.S. Congress. This year, two Indiana Academy students received nominations from U.S. Congressman Jefferson Shreve (Indiana’s 6th District).
Academy senior Desmond Bex received nominations to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.
Academy senior Benjamin Walker received nominations to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.
Desmond and Benjamin were two of just nineteen students nominated by Congressman Shreve this year. Congratulations!