Former names | North-Western Christian University (1855–1877) Butler College (1896–1906) |
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Motto | Education, Research, Service |
Type | Private university |
Established | November 1, 1855 |
Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission |
Academic affiliations | Council of Independent Colleges |
Endowment | $212 million (2020) [1] |
President | James Danko |
Provost | Brooke Barnett |
Academic staff | 372 (2024) [2] |
Students | 5,763 (2024) [2] |
Undergraduates | 4,519 [2] |
Postgraduates | 1,244 [2] |
Location | , , United States 39°50′22″N86°10′17″W / 39.83944°N 86.17139°W |
Campus | Urban: 295 acres (119 ha) [2] |
Colors | Blue and white [3] |
Nickname | Bulldogs |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division I Big East, Pioneer League (football) |
Mascot | Butler Blue IV Hink |
Website | butler |
Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communication, education, liberal arts and the sciences, and health sciences. It enrolls approximately 5,700 undergraduate and graduate students. Its 295-acre (119 ha) campus is approximately five miles (8.0 km) northwest of downtown Indianapolis.
On January 15, 1850, the Indiana General Assembly adopted Ovid Butler's proposed charter for a new Christian university in Indianapolis. After five years in development, the school opened on November 1, 1855, as North-Western Christian University at 13th Street and College Avenue on Indianapolis's near northside at the eastern edge of the present-day Old Northside Historic District. Attorney and university founder Ovid Butler provided the property. [4] [5] [6] The university was founded by members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), although it was never controlled by that church. The university's charter called for "a non-sectarian institution free from the taint of slavery, offering instruction in every branch of liberal and professional education". [4] The university was the second in Indiana and the third in the United States to admit both men and women. [4]
The university established the first professorship in English literature and the first Department of English in the state of Indiana. In 1869, Ovid Butler endowed the Demia Butler Chair of English Literature in honor of his daughter, who was the first woman to graduate from the Classical course at the university and had died in 1867. The chair was the first endowed position at an American university designated for a female professor. [4] [7] Catharine Merrill, was the first to occupy the chair in 1869. Merrill was just the second female university professor in the country. [8] Today the Demia Butler Chair of English Literature is occupied by Susan Neville.
The university moved to a new 25-acre (10 ha) campus in the community of Irvington on the east side of Indianapolis in 1875, and changed its name to Butler University in 1877. [9] [10] The university was renamed for Ovid Butler "in recognition of Ovid Butler's inspirational vision, determined leadership, and financial support". The campus consisted of several buildings, including an observatory, most of which were demolished in 1939. The Bona Thompson Library at the intersection of Downey and University avenues, designed by architects Henry H. Dupont and Jesse T. Johnson, is the only remaining building, although several buildings that housed faculty remain, including the Benton House. [4] [5]
In 1896, Butler joined with two private professional schools, the Medical College of Indiana and the Indiana Law School, to form the University of Indianapolis (U of I), an institution unrelated to the modern university of that name. [11] The Indiana Dental College later joined in 1904. Renamed as Butler College, the school constituted the undergraduate and liberal arts organ of the new university. [12] Butler left U of I in 1906 after the Medical College of Indiana joined with Purdue University's medical school in 1905 (itself later merging with the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1908).
In 1930, Butler merged with the Teachers College of Indianapolis, founded by Eliza Cooper Blaker, creating the university's second college. The third college, the College of Business Administration, was established in 1937, and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences was established in 1945, following a merger that absorbed the Indianapolis College of Pharmacy. The Jordan College of Fine Arts, the university's fifth college, was established in 1951, following a merger with the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music.
The university's department of religion became a separate Christian Church seminary and "college of applied Christianity" in 1924; it was variously called the School of Religion and the College of Religion. [13] The school became independent in 1958 and is currently known as the Christian Theological Seminary. [5]
Enrollment at Butler increased following the end of World War I, prompting the administration to examine the need for a larger campus. The new and current campus, designed in part by architect George Sheridan, was formed on the site of Fairview Park, a former amusement park on the city's northwest side. [4] [5] Classes began on the campus in 1928. [2]
The first building on the Fairview campus was Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall, designed by Robert Frost Daggett and Thomas Hibben. The structure's Collegiate Gothic style of architecture, also used in the original William Tinsley-designed 13th Street and College Avenue building, set the tone for subsequent buildings erected on the campus over the next three decades. [4] [5] Also, in 1928, the Butler Fieldhouse (later renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse) was completed after being designed by architect Fermor Spencer Cannon. The building remained the largest indoor sports facility in the state until the mid-1960s. The Religion Building and Sweeney Chapel were completed in 1942. These structures, designed by Burns and James, were remodeled into Robertson Hall in 1966. [4] [5]
Following World War II, construction began on the student center, Atherton Union (designed by McGuire and Shook). McGuire and Shook also designed the dormitories called Ross Hall and Schwitzer Hall. Art Lindbergh, with help from Daggett, designed the Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium, which was dedicated in 1955. [4] [5]
Acclaimed architect Minoru Yamasaki designed Irwin Library, which opened in 1963. Also, in the early 1960s, Lilly Hall and Clowes Memorial Hall were constructed following the move of the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music to the campus. Clowes Hall, which opened in 1963, was co-designed by Indianapolis architect Evans Woollen III and John M. Johansen (of New Canaan, Connecticut). Ten years following the construction of Clowes Hall and Irwin Library, the science complex of Gallahue Hall and the Holcomb Research Institute (now Holcomb Building) were built, completing the U-shaped complex of academic buildings. [4] [5] [14]
The Residential College, designed by James and Associates and completed in 1990, was the university's last major construction project of the twentieth century. [4] [5] In 2001, the Fairbanks Center for Communication and Technology was opened. Early 2004 saw the addition of the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall onto Robertson Hall; it seats 140. [15]
On May 8, 2008, Butler broke ground on a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2), four-story addition to the Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building. [16] In 2013, the Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts opened.
Academic rankings | |
---|---|
Master's | |
Washington Monthly [17] | 163 |
Regional | |
U.S. News & World Report [18] | 1 |
National | |
Forbes [19] | 216 |
WSJ/College Pulse [20] | 165 |
The university is organized into the following schools and colleges:
Over 60 major academic fields of study, 8 pre-professional programs, and 19 graduate programs are offered across the six academic colleges. Butler ranks first among Midwest Regional Universities in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 Best Colleges. The publication also ranked the university first in the Midwest for both innovation and undergraduate teaching. Nationally, the publication ranked Butler 16th for first-year experiences and 28th for study abroad opportunities.
The university emphasizes the practicality of knowledge and offers individual attention to its students with its small class size and no teaching assistants. Butler University increased its focus on faculty and student research with the Butler Institute for Research and Scholarship (BIRS), bolstered by a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment. [21] The university also provides student research opportunities, such as the Butler Summer Institute, a 10-week program in which Butler students are granted funding to perform independent research with a faculty member. [22]
Race and ethnicity [23] | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|
White | 83% | ||
Hispanic | 6% | ||
Black | 4% | ||
Other [lower-alpha 1] | 4% | ||
Asian | 3% | ||
Foreign national | 1% | ||
Economic diversity | |||
Low-income [lower-alpha 2] | 14% | ||
Affluent [lower-alpha 3] | 86% |
Students at Butler University participate in more than 150 student organizations and dozens of club and intramural sports, and many multi-cultural programs and services. More than 94 percent of students are involved in campus activities. [24]
Greek life is a popular option at Butler with over 35 percent of undergraduates becoming members of social fraternities or sororities. [24] Fraternities and sororities have long been a part of student life at Butler, with the first fraternity established in 1859, and the first sorority established in 1874. [25]
In 1922, Sigma Gamma Rho was founded at Butler University. The sorority had its beginnings on the Irvington campus of Butler University. [26]
Butler's athletic teams, known as the Butler Bulldogs, compete in Division I of the NCAA. On July 1, 2012, the Bulldogs left the Horizon League, their conference home since 1979, for the Atlantic 10 Conference. [27] [28] Since the A-10 does not sponsor football, the Butler football team plays in the FCS's Pioneer League. The women's golf team at Butler joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, as the A-10 sponsors the sport only for men. Butler left the Atlantic 10 Conference and became a founding member of the reconfigured Big East Conference on July 1, 2013. [29] [30]
In the past decade, Butler teams have captured 26 conference championships (in four different leagues). The Bulldogs have made appearances in NCAA National Championship Tournaments in men's and women's basketball, men's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country, lacrosse, and baseball. Butler won the James J. McCafferty trophy, awarded annually by the Horizon League for all-sports excellence based on conference championship points, seven times, including three-straight from 1996–97 to 1998–99 and back-to-back years in 2001–02 and 2002–03, 2006–07, and 2009–10. [31]
The Butler program was one of the most successful "mid-major" basketball programs from 2000 to 2011, having won at least 20 games and reached postseason play eight of the last ten seasons, including six NCAA tournament appearances. [32] Butler also holds two national championships in men's basketball from the pre-tournament era: one from 1924 (earned via the AAU national tournament), and one from 1929 (selected by the Veteran Athletes of Philadelphia). [33]
In 2010 and 2011, Butler qualified for consecutive national championship games. The 2010 Butler team, led by star player Gordon Hayward, advanced to the national championship game where they lost a close game to Duke. With a total enrollment of only 4,500 students, Butler is the smallest school to play for a national championship since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In 2011, the Bulldogs advanced to the championship game but finished as runners-up again, this time losing to Connecticut.
Butler has the best winning percentage and most wins of all Division I men's basketball programs in the state of Indiana over the last decade (21.6 wins per year through 2006). Until the 2015 Round of 32 loss in overtime to the Irish, Butler had won the previous six meetings with in-state rival Notre Dame and two of the last four against Indiana. [34] [35] Butler defeated both Notre Dame and Indiana during 2006–07 regular season, while also defeating in-state rival Purdue to move to 2–0 against the Boilermakers this decade. Butler has also been the defending champion of the Hoosier Classic men's basketball tournament since the 2001–02 season, [36] [37] and has advanced to postseason play nine of the last eleven years (7 NCAAs, 2 NITs). Butler has been to 15 NCAA Tournaments and three NITs since 1997.
The Hoosier Helmet Trophy was established as the trophy helmet for the rivalry football game played between Butler and Valparaiso University. The Hoosier Helmet was created prior to the 2006 season to commemorate the football rivalry that has existed since 1921. The helmet trophy was created to further intensify the rivalry between these two teams. A group of Butler players, along with their head coach, Jeff Voris, came up with the idea. After Valparaiso head coach Stacey Adams agreed to play for the helmet, Butler equipment manager John Harding put the trophy together.
This section should include a summary of List of Butler University alumni.(September 2023) |
Hoosier hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan defeated Muncie Central to win the state title.
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and its largest campus with over 40,000 students. Established as the state's seminary in 1820, the name was changed to "Indiana College" in 1829 and to "Indiana University" in 1838.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region and in part of the Southern United States.
Marian University is a private Catholic university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1851 by the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, Indiana, the college moved to Indianapolis in 1937. Marian was known as Marian College from 1936 until 2009.
Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 1952.
Catharine Merrill was an American educator, writer, and American Civil War nurse from Indiana who became the second female university professor in the United States. She is best remembered as a talented educator and admired for her modesty and kindness. In 1869 Merrill accepted the appointment as the first Demia Butler Chair of English Literature at North Western Christian University, now known as Butler University, and began her fourteen-year career as a university professor during the 1869–70 academic year. Merrill resigned the professorship in 1883, but continued to offer private instruction at her home until shortly before her death. In addition to becoming a teacher, Merrill was a published author, although it was not her primary goal. Articles describing her travels in Europe from 1859 to 1861 were published in Indiana newspapers. She also anonymously wrote The Soldier of Indiana in the War for the Union. The Man Shakespeare and Other Essays (1902) was published posthumously. Merrill is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletic administrator. He attended the University of Chicago, where he won varsity letters in three sports. Hinkle captained the Chicago Maroons basketball team for two seasons was twice selected as an All-American, in 1919 and 1920. After graduating from the University of Chicago, Hinkle moved on to Butler University as a coach. There, over the course of nearly 50 years, he served as the head football coach, head basketball coach, and head baseball coach. Hinkle was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 1965. Butler's home basketball arena was renamed as Hinkle Fieldhouse in the coach's honor in 1966.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in early 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States until 1950. The facility was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966 in honor of Butler's longtime coach and athletic director, Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. It is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in use. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse is sometimes referred to as "Indiana's Basketball Cathedral."
The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 season, nearly all teams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The football team is a founding member of the non-scholarship Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)-level Pioneer League. On March 20, 2013, the Butler administration announced that the school would join the Big East, and moved to the new league July 1, 2013.
The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school's team currently competes in the Big East Conference. They play their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
New Castle High School is a public high school in New Castle, Indiana whose name is commonly abbreviated to NCHS. It is part of the New Castle Community School Corporation and has an enrollment of approximately 900 students. NCHS is the largest high school in Henry County.
Clowes Memorial Hall, officially known as Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, is a performance hall located on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened October 18, 1963, it hosts numerous significant concerts, orchestras, musicals, plays, and guest speakers. Clowes Hall anchors the Butler Arts and Events Center, which includes the Schrott Center for the Arts, Shelton Auditorium, the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, and the Lilly Hall Studio Theatre.
Education in Indiana covers public and private schools, and higher education, from the territorial period to the present.
Woollen, Molzan and Partners (WMP) is a U.S.-based second-generation architecture, interior design, and planning firm that Evans Woollen III founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955. The firm was previously known as Evans Woollen and Associates and Woollen Associates. It remained in business for more than fifty-five years before closing its doors in 2011. Woollen began by designing mid-century modern residences, but the firm's design projects expanded to include a diverse portfolio of designs for libraries, worship facilities, museums, performing arts centers, private residences, public housing, and correctional facilities, among other projects.
The Indiana Intercollegiate Conference (IIC) was an American college athletic conference formed in 1922 to govern intercollegiate competition in male sports in the state of Indiana.
The Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Indiana University Bloomington. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I. The Hoosiers play home basketball games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the university campus in Bloomington, Indiana.
Butler Blue IV, the current iteration of Butler Blue, is the Official Mascot of Butler University. Blue is a red fawn and white, male, AKC-registered English Bulldog and can be easily recognised by the marking above his right eyebrow. There have been four bulldogs to bear the name, with the most recent, who assumed the name in January 2020, taking over as mascot in the 2020–21 school year.
The Crossroads Classic was a four-team college basketball tournament held annually at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It featured Indiana's four most accomplished men's NCAA Division I basketball schools each year - being the Butler Bulldogs, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Purdue Boilermakers. In odd numbered years, Notre Dame played Indiana while Butler played Purdue. In even numbered years, Notre Dame played Purdue while Butler played Indiana. Purdue and Indiana did not play each other in the Classic, as they are Big Ten conference rivals.
The 2011 Indiana vs. Kentucky men's basketball game was a college basketball game between the Hoosiers of Indiana University Bloomington and Wildcats of the University of Kentucky who was ranked number 1 in the nation. A rivalry game between the two schools, this game was held at Assembly Hall on Indiana's campus. In an upset victory that was considered a turning point for the Hoosiers program, unranked Indiana defeated top-ranked Kentucky 73–72 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Christian Watford, which was nicknamed the "Watshot".
Katharine Merrill Graydon was an American classical scholar who specialised in teaching Greek and Latin literature, as well as a professor of English Literature.