Ball State naming new communication building for alumnus David Letterman

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ball State University will name its new communication building after David Letterman, a 1970 graduate.

Letterman's mother, Dorothy Mengering, was at Monday's announcement by the board of trustees in the talk-show host's hometown of Indianapolis.

Mengering, who lives in the city's northern suburb of Carmel, and Letterman, host of CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," are expected to attend the Sept. 7 dedication.

Ball State has said the $21 million communication and media center on its main campus in Muncie would open at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, and that it will provide much-needed space for the university's emerging digital media content production facilities.

The building brings the Center for Information and Communication Sciences, communication studies, journalism and telecommunications departments under one roof.

The school already has a Letterman Scholarship in the Department of Telecommunications. They are awarded to three students and total more than $18,000 each year, with the top scholarship worth $10,000.