Three Ball State Alumni Help Shape Their Hoosier Communities
Throughout the Midwest and across the nation, alumni from Ball State University’s R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (ECAP) are shaping the future of cities and towns.
At the heart of every bustling city is a carefully orchestrated system of spaces and structures. As these cities and towns grow and change, so too must the infrastructure that holds everything in place. In collaboration with civic leaders, land developers, and public officials, urban planners are the visionaries and strategists behind these changes.
New Shelbyville Town Center
At Ball State, the University’s Urban Planning program “prepares students to excel in their careers and as community leaders,” according to Dr. John West, department chair of the Department of Urban Planning.
“They learn to engage communities in public meetings, and then how to take community input, and combine it with research and analysis to understand urban places,” Dr. West said. “They hone design skills, enabling them to share effective and compelling visions for the future. Our program prepares them for success in executing these visions.”
With meticulous foresight, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of the interweaving of human behavior, societal needs, and the physical environment, urban planners take on the task of planning cities that meet the current and future needs of residents—while keeping mobility, livability, equity, and sustainability in mind. They can tame the chaos of traffic or breathe new life into a forgotten space. Urban planners can create a park space for families to gather or make a town center more accessible.
“It’s no surprise that our alumni are leading planning efforts right here in Indiana,” Dr. West said. “I am deeply proud of our alumni’s work to guide Indiana and its tapestry of cities, towns, and rural places into the future.”
Get to know three ECAP alumni who are the urban planning experts behind the growth and success of three Indiana cities.
Mike Hollibaugh, ’87, Landscape Architecture
Director of the Department of Community Services, City of Carmel
Q: What has been the most surprising thing to you in your job?
“I was hired in Carmel as a planner and did landscape reviews for new projects. That’s how I started, figuring it would be four or five years, then onto my next career step. But the work and achievements in Carmel are beyond what I could have imagined in 1991. The things that have kept me here for over 32 years are the people, the opportunities, and steady leadership. The many planning and development projects we’ve worked on have gotten more interesting, more complicated, and higher quality each year. To play a part in the city’s growth has been work but also a lot of fun. The development community and the design and construction professionals are smart and creative. Building friendships with them, with elected and appointed officials over the years, has been enjoyable and extremely important. To be successful in what we do, it’s just as much about relationships. The community has to have confidence and trust in the people representing them. When you work with people and leadership over many years, the issues and problems you tackle work out, in part, because of trust and relationships, and that’s just really made the job pretty special.”
Q: How did Ball State ECAP prepare you for your fulfilling career?
“The program taught me so much, but critical thinking, design problem-solving, and decision-making have stuck with me. In jury presentations, those skills helped me to be more confident with design decision-making and projects. The program exposed me to people, places, and ideas, including field study travel, that stretched my understanding and ability. Ball State trained me well.
I’ve worked with so many Ball State ECAP graduates over the years, so much private sector talent bringing forward projects or assisting the city. Most of my professional staff in Carmel are Ball State grads. They’re all great, intelligent, and talented. There have also been many Ball State interns. I’ve been fortunate to keep some in Carmel, but seeing them grow and move on to other places is pretty neat. We are ‘Ball State Proud’ around here.
The quality of the Ball State faculty members and their willingness to listen is something all students need to take advantage of. You can apply what you learn as a designer in virtually any aspect of the world. I was definitely not the best student, but I stuck with it, and the ECAP program worked out well for me. The results do show up.”
Ryan Crum, ’05, Urban Planning
Director of Planning and Building, Town of McCordsville
Q: What are some important points to consider as a town like McCordsville grows and expands?
“Historically, McCordsville has just been a suburb. People tend to get mixed up between us, Fishers, Lawrence, and Fortville. We are right there in the same area. The average person doesn’t know where those municipal boundaries start and end. For us, it’s about creating an identity: a place people will remember and want to settle in. One way we are trying to ensure that is with our Town Center project—McCord Square. We want to entice people there and build a customer base around the town center, which is super important. It’s good to have people there that are there 24/7. In a place like the town center, you’re going to get visitors and people come in, spend the afternoon or the evening, but you need people there all the time, which will really help with the brand identity and experience. We have specifically sought out more density on those projects to get more people within walking distance. This type of development can bring the amenities that many suburbs lack. I think that is what is really important—growing in a manner that adds assets to your community. Creating spaces, places, and amenities that foster positive experiences for your residents.
I think that’s a big part of the job—the growth. It’s going to come, and it’s about managing that growth. Will everything be perfect? No, it’s not all going to be perfect, but you’ve got to embrace it and learn how to craft it and direct it in the way that you want it to make the best out of it and turn it into something valuable to your community.”
Q: What’s your favorite part of your job?
“Starting on a project and then seeing that come alive. You have to be patient, though, because it takes a long time. Some things may not come to fruition for years—maybe decades. So, having a vision and getting the community to embrace that, and then seeing it happen, seeing people you know out and enjoying it.
One example of that is we had completed a Leo’s market eatery. It’s a gas station, a mini market, and a mini grocery store together. They have fresh food, salads, and all the normal gas station items. It was a project that went through the public hearing process. We kind of molded it where we wanted it to be and put it at the corner of an intersection adjacent to three or four neighborhoods. We asked them to connect all the sidewalks, even though they were going across to other properties at the time, and they had to get easements for all that. But finally, it opened. In those first few weeks, I really noticed kids riding their bikes and walking to the gas station to get pop or some candy. I don’t know what it is, if I’m just getting old or what, but seeing kids able to do that without having to cross any major streets, seeing them out on their own and have a little bit of freedom—but doing it safely—was really cool to see.”
Adam Rude, ’16, Urban Planning
Director of Planning and Building, City of Shelbyville
Q: What does your office do?
“Our office oversees all the planning, current and long-range, zoning, building department permitting, inspections, and compliance. People don’t love code enforcement, nuisance complaints, violations, and that sort of thing. Anything to do with a building or property, we probably touch in some way. We work closely with the economic development office. When a company decides to expand or build in Shelbyville, it’s our job to hold their hand from that moment to the ribbon-cutting and move-in. We guide them through all of their compliance, engineering, design, public hearings, approvals, shovels in the ground, moving pipes, and all of that to the finished product. I am lucky to oversee all of that.”
Q: What is one project that you are particularly proud of, and why?
“At the end of December 2021, we finished a multi-year, multi-million-dollar re-investment into downtown Shelbyville. Our downtown was set up like many small communities, with the courthouse at the center and buildings around it. But our courthouse was relocated out of that. So, we had this gigantic public space the size of a courthouse square—but no courthouse on it. For years, it was mostly a parking lot. We spent years gathering public input and planning and finally turned it from asphalt into a beautiful gathering space. We’ve rebuilt every street with attractive streetscapes, plaza spaces, fountains, activity lawns, etc. Now that it’s done, we are finally reaping some of those rewards. After about a year and a half, we are finally seeing some private investment show up wanting to be on this new public square. And we get to help them through development.
You kind of have to pinch yourself and say, ‘This is ours.’ We get to have this every day. This space, this award-winning, amazing public space. And we’ve picked up a lot of private investment— new businesses opening restaurants, expanding shops, opening apartments, and that kind of stuff coming downtown. It’s exciting to see that kind of reward.
When artists create those renderings, they always have kids skipping, playing, and flying kites. Shortly after we opened the square, we gave a tour of the space. They asked jokingly if we’d staged it. There were actually kids flying kites in the square.”
