About the President
Dr. Pitts has announced her final year as president of the University of Indianapolis, a position she has held since July 2005. She will retire in June 2012, capping a distinguished career as a communications scholar and university administrator. As president, she oversees an institution with 5,250 students, including a branch campus in Athens, Greece, and doctoral programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and clinical psychology. The University of Indianapolis is home to more than 3,000 undergraduate students and supports a NCAA Division II athletic program which includes football and men’s and women’s basketball. Before joining the University of Indianapolis, she was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Ball State University where she also served as Acting President.
In addition to her educational career, she has been active as a practicing journalist. She has been a staff writer, researcher, and communications consultant for the National Football League Players Association in Washington, DC. Results of her research with the NFLPA have appeared in more than 50 newspapers and magazines including USA Today, Newsday, Football Digest, and Sports Medicine.
Her teaching and research activities have focused on the news writing process. Her research on the news writing process led to the development of a model that was published in "A Model for the News Writing Process," in 1989. She has published more than 40 articles and a book, The Process of Media Writing.
Awards and fellowships include the Torchbearer Award in Education, Ball State Distinguished Alumni award, the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame award, the National Football League Players Association Award of Excellence, the Anderson University Outstanding Alumni award, an Athena award for education, a Fulbright scholarship to study in Germany, the Ottoway Fellowship, and the American Press Institute Fellowship.
She currently serves on the Education Roundtable, the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning, the Professional Athletes Foundation, United Way of Central Indiana, The Mind Trust Board, Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Community Hospitals of Indiana Board, the Skyline Club, and the advisory board of Indianapolis Woman magazine. She is a former chair of the Indiana Humanities Council and former national president of the National Association for General and Liberal Studies. She also served on the NCAA Division II Presidents Council.
She has a BA from Anderson University and an MA in journalism and a doctorate in higher education with a cognate in journalism from Ball State University.
Education
BA, English, Anderson University, 1968
MA, Journalism, Ball State University, 1971
Ed.D., Higher Education, Ball State University, 1981
Academic History
1977-1980 English instructor, Anderson University
1980-1985 Assistant Professor and Chair, Department of Communication, Anderson University
1985-1990 Associate Professor of Journalism, Ball State University
1991-Present Professor of Journalism, Ball State University
Administrative Positions at Ball State University
1985-1988 Director of Graduate Studies in Journalism
1988-1990 Director of General Studies (university-wide)
1990 Director of Academic Assessment and General Studies
1990-1992 Assistant Provost, Executive Director of Research and Undergraduate Curriculum
Fall 1994 Acting Provost
2000-2001 Acting Supervisor for Information Technology
2001 (April-June) Acting Provost
1993-2002 Associate Provost
2002-Present Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
2004 (January-August) Acting President