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June 13, 2013

Obituary: Joe M. Ball

ballJoe M. Ball, founding president of the Titusville campus and professor emeritus of speech, died May 27, 2013, in Titusville. He was 93.

Ball received his undergraduate degree in speech and drama from the University of Texas. He did his graduate work at the University of Southern California, where he studied under Lee Edward Travis, one of the founders of the profession of speech-language pathology. At USC, Ball earned a master’s degree in general speech and a PhD in speech pathology and public address.

A decorated Navy veteran, Ball served in World War II with the amphibious forces in the South Pacific.

He joined the Pittsburgh campus speech department as an assistant professor in 1949. Ball was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1953 and rose to the rank of full professor in 1959.

In addition to his service to the University, Ball provided consulting services in organizational communications to major corporations including Bell Telephone, Westinghouse Electric, U.S. Steel and Jones & Laughlin.

In 1963, he became the founding president of the Pitt-Titusville campus. During his 20-year tenure as president, Ball oversaw campus development and expansion that included the conversion of the residence on the L.C. McKinney estate (now McKinney Hall) as well as the purchase of land and construction of the Haskell Memorial Library and the J. Curtis McKinney II Student Union-Gymnasium.

Retired UPT registrar Jean Spence was hired by Ball when the campus opened 50 years ago. She remembered him as a caring, personable, accessible leader whose hands-on style made its mark in the community.

“He had a great responsibility in building this campus,” she said, crediting him with shepherding UPT through times when its existence was threatened. “The campus was fortunate he was our first leader.”

Spence, who joined UPT’s business office at 19, remembers being “in awe of working for someone with a PhD.” Ball, however, never held his education above the everyday people in the mostly blue-collar town, Spence said. “He gave people credit for their intelligence and their ability to do a job regardless of their level of formal education,” she said.

“There was not an arrogant bone in his body,” she added. Regardless of what needed to be done — even folding letters and stuffing envelopes — Ball would lend a hand. “Nothing was beneath him,” she said.

“He cared not only about the campus succeeding, he cared about the individuals succeeding” — students and employees alike.

Ball served as an adviser to some students and personally mentored many, she said.

Spence said Ball made an impact on the community because he was so personable. People joked that “he not only knew everyone, he knew their dogs’ and cats’ names too.”

Pitt-Bradford president emeritus Richard E. McDowell recalled the generosity with advice, help and support Ball demonstrated when McDowell arrived as a young president on the nearby UPB campus. “I saw him as a mentor,” McDowell said. “He was a loyal friend, very generous with his time, and with wisdom I valued.”

McDowell said Ball had great respect for education and its values. “He thought what he was doing in Titusville was very important,” McDowell said. “He was a good educator.”

Ball likewise was an excellent public speaker who worked hard to build his skills.  “He could hold a crowd marvelously,” McDowell said.

McDowell also remembered Ball as a joyous person with a positive attitude. “He had a long, mostly happy life.”

Ball retired from the University in 1983 and remained in Titusville with his wife, Norma, who preceded him in death in 2009. The couple lived several blocks from campus and remained connected with the campus community, said son George “Beau” Ball. “They enjoyed small-town life and they had made great friends there,” he said.

In 1993, a dormitory was renamed the Joe M. Ball Residence Hall in his honor.

Outside his University career, Ball was a talented tennis player. He won numerous tournaments as a boy and played on the varsity team at the University of Texas. He continued to compete as an adult and remained active in the sport in his retirement.

Ball also enjoyed travel and was an accomplished flute player and actor, his son said. Ball’s appreciation for music and theatre arts was reflected in his efforts to foster cultural events, including theatre programs and a classical concert series, on campus.

Ball is survived by sons William and his wife, Rachel; Joe Jr. and his wife, Rosemary, and George and his wife, Gail, and daughter Eda E. Scales and her husband, Kemp. Other survivors include 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Jackie Ball and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family requests memorial gifts to St. James Memorial Episcopal Church, 112 E. Main Street, Titusville 16354; or to The Titusville Promise, a scholarship foundation that aids UPT students, c/o Titusville Alumni Association, 302 E. Walnut St., Titusville 16354.

—Kimberly K. Barlow


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