Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry which are the first graduate and undergraduate programs in puppetry in the United States. Its managing director is John Bell, a former Bread and Puppet Theater company member and an associate professor of Dramatic Arts at UConn's School of Fine Arts. Previously located on UConn's Depot Campus, the Ballard was moved to the newly constructed Storrs Center in 2014. It shares space with Barnes & Noble. UConn is the only institution in the United States that offers a master's degree in puppetry. Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (BIMP) is a public museum