MUNCIE, Ind. (AP): Ball State University's Board of Trustees is set to make its pick for a new school president.
 
       The board has a special meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon on the Muncie campus to vote on the appointment. The new president will replace Jo Ann Gora, who is retiring in June after 10 years leading the 18,000-student university.
 
       Urban planning professor Eric Kelly tells The Star Press that Gora's been terrific at raising money for Ball State. Kelly is a former University Senate chairman who says the new president must continue that as his or her main job.
 
       Ball State has seen state funding for its operating budget drop from 65 percent 25 years ago to its current 40 percent. That follows national trends of declining state funding for higher education.