Ball State University was founded in 1918 and was originally named the Eastern Indiana Normal School and primarily a teacher’s college. The university was renamed Ball State University in 1965, in honor of the five Ball brothers, who began by manufacturing and selling wooden jacketed tin cans. In 1884, the company introduced the Ball Improved Mason Jar, which became a popular way to preserve food.
The university is home to the Center for Middletown Studies, which conducts research on the social and cultural dynamics of small-town America.