People and Culture, Not Just Policy

Starting a new chapter and moving to Indiana from his home state of Florida in the dead of Winter may seem unconventional, but that is how much Darrell Clark believes in Ball State and its mission. In January, Ball State Human Resources welcomed him into the fold with the newly formed title of Associate Vice President for People and Culture.

Ball State, too, has embarked on a new chapter. As with many organizations and institutions across the country, the University is making a shift in focus from merely human resources to people and culture. This shift acknowledges the organizational policies and procedures and their development, but also the investment in its people.

Led by Mr. Clark and his team, the University is committed to a transformation of its human resources into an area devoted to a “best practices” model of people and culture enhancement. The goal is to focus on employee relations and build a culture that promotes growth, productivity, and innovation. The area plays a critical role in attracting, developing, and retaining employees that embrace the Ball State strategic vision and develop practices that improve the employee experience.

“Ball State is right in step. Many companies are now making that transition,” Mr. Clark said. “People and Culture as a title makes sense because when you have a company or educational institution, you have vital business components to attend to, but you have to take care of employees, their pay, their benefits, their wellbeing, etc.

“Often, people forget that the greatest investment that you make is in your people. So, you invest in your people, their wellbeing, and make sure that you’re providing them a positive work environment.”

As East Central Indiana’s largest employer with more than 3,000 faculty, professional, service, and staff employees, Ball State has already proven to be on the right path. Recently, Forbes, the popular business magazine, recognized the University as the fourth-best midsized employer—and the only recognized educational institution—in Indiana.

“Now that we know how the industry sees us, it gives us some type of barometer and measurement to work off of,” Mr. Clark said. “One of the objectives of our strategic plan is to be an employer of choice, and we would like to have applicants prefer Ball State over other employers. That’s my priority.”