Just past the edge of campus in Muncie’s historic Westwood Neighborhood lies Bracken House: home to the Bracken family, and a succession of various presidents of Ball State University since its construction in 1937.
This 8,600-square-foot building has a rich reputation for holding special dinners, receptions and events. Though Bracken House has served many purposes over the years, it is considered first and foremost as a home.
Some presidents at Bracken House brought in new furniture or new staff. But the best contributions to the house over the years have been closer to all of our hearts: the presidents’ dogs.
From friendly and docile house pets to loyal hunting companions, each one of these esteemed and entitled pets have their own story.
Cadi
The current president of Ball State University, Geoffrey Mearns, has lived in Bracken House for almost ten years with his wife, Jennifer. Acadia, known affectionately as Cadi, is the couple’s 12–year–old dog who has resided in Bracken House with them through Geoffrey’s entire tenure as president, which started in 2017.
Before moving into Bracken House, the Mearns lived in northern Kentucky. It was here that they took in the rescue mutt. The family never tested Cadi’s DNA to find out her breed, but they’ve had fun guessing over the years. They know for sure that Cadi is a mixed breed, and find charm in her speckled white and gray chest and belly.
Geoffrey said that the dog was a part of an abandoned litter of puppies being sold outside a supermarket near their home, and after some convincing arguments from their kids, Geoffrey and Jennifer adopted the puppy.
The couple named their dog Acadia after Acadia National Park in Maine, a destination the family has visited with their children fondly for more than 30 years. Her nickname, Cadi, came with time.
Geoffrey said Cadi has always been a peaceful pet, noting she rarely barks and refuses to chase squirrels or rabbits around the large presidential yard.
“The only animal that she will get riled up about is cats,” Geoffrey said. “But even then, a ten-pound cat would scare her away.”
Jennifer said that Cadi’s favorite hobby at Bracken House is sunbathing. Her lazy demeanor makes her the perfect house pet, as her main occupation is lounging in her various beds around the house and keeping her favorite people company. The dog is especially partial to cozying up next to one of the three grand fireplaces in the house.
Cadi accompanies Jennifer next to her desk daily while she works. It’s part of their regular schedule together, after Cadi’s morning walk, of course.
“I always think that having a routine with an animal does take your stress down,” Jennifer said. “Also, she wants to be pet. She wants you to pet her all the time. Most of the time, when you’re feeling stressed, every little bit of that sitting and petting the dog does make you feel better.”
Cadi has always been very gentle and polite with guests at home. She is a fan favorite, especially during large events hosted at Bracken House. Geoffrey and Jennifer said people always ask to meet Cadi. The dog has gotten on the caterer’s good side and has a reputation for stealing treats from the large industrial kitchen on Bracken’s first floor.
Geoffrey especially appreciates Cadi for the connections she helps him make with students and faculty alike. For years, he has invited Cadi to welcome picnics for students involved in summer enrichment programs. He said having Cadi around provides a buffer for otherwise intimidating conversations.
“Of course, whenever we’re walking on campus, people will see her, and we’ll stop, and they’ll ask to pet her,” he said. “It’s a way of getting people to have a conversation with me when they might otherwise not [be] inclined to.”
Sierra
Jo Ann Gora served as president of Ball State University from 2004 to 2014. According to Ball State University’s website, Jo Ann introduced the immersive learning initiative throughout the campus. In addition to this, Jo Ann said that she set a new bar for fundraising that allowed the university to build or renovate over 29 buildings in the 10 years she served as president.
Jo Ann’s presidency marked an era of admirable progress and entrepreneurial advancement for the university as a whole, but that wasn’t the only thing she brought to Ball State.
Jo Ann moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Muncie, Indiana, with her husband, Roy Budd. Uprooting their life in Massachusetts meant a lot of change for the couple, but it also opened new doors. For example, moving into Bracken House allowed them to take in a dog.
Frank Bracken, who had grown up in the presidential estate, not only supported Jo Ann and Roy but encouraged them to get a dog while they lived there.
“Frank Bracken loved dogs, I mean loved dogs. You can talk to anybody, they’ll tell you a story about Frank Bracken and dogs,” Jo Ann said. “We wouldn’t have had a dog if Frank Bracken didn’t love dogs and didn’t say to us, ‘You know, Bracken House needs a dog.’”
Jo Ann said that it didn’t take much more convincing for Roy to buy a dog. After growing up in rural Virginia, raising and breeding hunting dogs for most of his childhood, he was overjoyed to revisit something that brought him so much joy.
“As long as he was happy, I was happy,” Jo Ann said.
But they couldn’t take in just any dog. The couple was very particular when it came to selecting their new pup. The young, purebred, championship line English Setter that the couple chose was bred and trained in Iowa before being flown back to Indiana, where she resided for the rest of her life. They named the dog Sierra, after the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Though Sierra lived in Bracken House with the president and her husband, Jo Ann made it very clear that Sierra was anything but tame and said Sierra rarely sat still.
Jo Ann recalled several instances in which Sierra ran wild through their fenced yard. Being a healthy and well-bred English Setter, Sierra had enough power and energy to jump the fence and run far away. Thankfully, her devious tendencies weren’t too common. Although Jo Ann said the dog often threw fits while the couple was away, her worst habit was taking her energy out on some of the furniture, most notably the university’s rugs.
“She was not a house dog,” Jo Ann said. “She was a dog that liked to hunt, and she was a great hunter.”
Sierra’s purpose and role at Bracken House was clear: she was to be Roy’s obedient hunting companion. Roy brought Sierra along on every hunting trip he went on.
Though Jo Ann and Roy moved away after her presidency, Sierra lived out the remainder of her life in Indiana. She was left with a friend of Roy’s, whom he had hunted with for several years while living in Indiana. The couple agreed that Sierra would thrive happily with the attention of the man’s two young daughters.
Jo Ann said that her ten-year term as president ended in her eventual retirement from the world of education. That was only the beginning, however, of her business involving dogs.
“I went from being the CEO of a university to being the CFO of a dog business,” said Jo Ann. While Jo Ann was busy completing her time in office, Roy was working on a start-up for a business in breeding and training beagles. Jo Ann recalled the 54 beagle puppies she raised and weaned during her first three years of retirement.
This article is a part of Ball Bearings Fall 2025 magazine: The Archival Edition. Read more stories online at ballbearingsmag.com and pick up the print edition of the magazine across Ball State’s campus now.
