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Academic Metals Directory · program

Ball State University

university art department · Active
last checked 2026-05-29

As archived

Degrees
B.F.A, M.A

Now (checked 2026)

Status
Active

What happened
Continuation with a leadership change. The program was founded in 1961 by Ned Griner. Distinguished Professor Pat Nelson led it for nearly four decades starting in 1979. Jessica Calderwood joined in 2016 and now leads the metals area; Nelson has since retired and was honored with a 2023 "Legacies" retrospective exhibition at Gordy Fine Art & Framing in Muncie. The program remains fully active post-2014, with ongoing thesis exhibitions (2023), a student Metals Guild, and recent projects such as the 2024 Radical Jewelry Makeover (exhibited at IU Bloomington's Grunwald Gallery and Made in Muncie Pottery).

Link
web.archive.org/web/2014/http://www.temple.edu/crafts/metalsdirectorypage/s7.html

People

Faculty
Leslie Leupp ? To ?Robert J. Pum In · 1969

Trained here

Kathy BuszkiewiczPatrice CaseRobert J. (bob) Pum

Sources

https://www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/art/student-gallery/metalshttps://www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/art/about-us/faculty-and-staff/faculty/calderwoodjessicahttps://www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/art/areas-of-study/minor/ceramics-glass-jewelry-and-metalshttps://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2023/04/ball-state-metals-students-prepare-to-graduate-and-showcase-their-theses-gallery-concentration-major-art-seniorshttps://www.gordyframing.com/2023/03/legacies-pat-nelson-and-the-ball-state-metals-jewelry-program/https://blogs.bsu.edu/2024/09/27/crafting-change-with-the-radical-jewelry-makeover-project/

From the original Tyler “Academic Metals Directory” (≈2014), brought current in 2026.

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