Butler Magazine Fall 2021

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FALL FALL2021 2021

THE CAMPAIGN for BUTLER UNIVERSITY

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“At its core, Indianapolis is a community built on servant leadership and Butler epitomizes this quality.”

—Butler Trustee Chris Gahl ’00 addressing the incoming class of 2021

“To the obvious pleasure of townspeople and collegiates alike, the annual homecoming pageant wends its way down Meridian, fronted by the Butler marching band. The winning Sigma Nu float is pictured in the foreground.”

—The Drift, 1953

2 FROM THE PRESIDENT

A basketball tournament lifts Butler to the national stage once again

4 HOME FOR THE MADNESS

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

6

THE MAYOR OF MARCH

9

BETTER THAN IMAGINED

10

UNSEEN CONNECTIONS

12

A NEW STAGE IS SET

14

SUSTAINABLE SUSTENANCE

16

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

17

GOOD TIMING

19

CORE VALUES

22

CATCHING A GLIMPSE

26

SOCIAL ADVOCACY

30

MAKING EXPERIENCE MATTER

31

IT TAKES ALL OF US

Butler Blue IV reports from the field as an Indy ambassador Coach Scott Drew ’93 lives out his dream—and then some

The superpower of Judith B. Thomas ’90

Butler-led Indy Shakes christens a revived landmark

The CUES works to improve food availability in the community College of Communication students focus on social responsibility John Elliott, MBA ’11 leads Gleaners Food Bank through an unimaginable time The Indianapolis Community Requirement instills a commitment to service

Indy Wildlife Watch keeps an eye on the city’s other population A Butler internship sets Allison Luthe ’97 on a new course

BlueWork provides real work experience in short timeframes Pharmacy students do their part to protect the community BUTLER BEYOND 24

THE BUTLER GIVING CIRCLE

28

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

33

CLASS ACTS

40

BLUE’S VIEWS

Created to make a difference

Butler reaches beyond today’s limits

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Photo by Caitlin Sullivan

FROM

THE PRESIDENT It doesn’t seem possible that this past August marked 10 years of my presidency at Butler University. It is a tremendous honor to serve in this role, and my enthusiasm for Butler’s mission and my appreciation for the people who shape our great University has only grown with each passing year.

Since joining the Butler community in 2011, I have often spoken of the interdependence between every great city and its great private university. And as Indianapolis and Butler have made great strides in advancing their respective national profiles in recent years, we are now positioned to build upon that foundation to serve both communities even more effectively. Because Butler’s future is intertwined with Indy’s, we actively pursue opportunities to partner with employers, nonprofits, and government agencies that share our interest in strengthening the community at-large.

These collaborations expand upon those we already have in place—such as the Indianapolis Community Requirement, whereby every Butler student must take a course that involves active engagement with our local community. They also affirm the commitment to social responsibility and community leadership that Butler encourages in its students, both inside and outside the classroom. This issue of Butler Magazine highlights many such examples of Butler/Indianapolis interconnectedness.

For example, Judith B. Thomas ’90, who served as president of the Black Student Union during her time on campus, is now the Indianapolis Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement. Allison Luthe ’97, who found her calling serving others while interning with Child Advocates during her sophomore year at Butler, now leads Indy’s MLK Center.

Several Butler alumni, students, and faculty are addressing local food insecurity and injustice. John Elliott, MBA ’11 is currently serving as President and CEO of Gleaners Food Bank, and our Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) is working with more than 20 community partners to get more food to our residents and create social change that will eliminate the need to do so. The Farm at Butler, a one-acre space on the west end of our campus, is integral to these efforts.

The University has been strengthening its partnerships with corporations and other entities, as well—the most prominent of which was our collaboration with the NCAA®, Indiana Sports Corp, and Visit Indy. Hosting 16 games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was no small feat, but was so successful that media from across the country dubbed Hinkle Fieldhouse the Cinderella of the Big Dance®. That exposure will likely pay dividends—not only for Butler, but for our city and the Hoosier State—for many years to come.

I hope you enjoy reading these and other stories in this edition of Butler Magazine.

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As our nation began to emerge from the pandemic in early March, the eyes of the

world were on Indianapolis. After a year of cancelations, quarantine bubbles, and sporting events held without spectators, the NCAA® selected Indy to host its Men’s Basketball Tournament—canceled just a year earlier as one of the first major events lost to COVID-19.

The NCAA’s plan to host every game of the 68-team tournament in Indy over three weekends in front of the largest, yet still limited, crowds gathered since the beginning of the pandemic was a milestone in our “return to normalcy.”

When Butler University was first approached by the NCAA and City of Indianapolis about using Hinkle Fieldhouse as a venue for the tournament, there were naturally hesitations.

The campus had essentially been on lockdown since the beginning of the academic year to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Classes that were held in-person had limited capacities, most campus events had been canceled or held remotely, limitations were placed on campus visitors, and students were undergoing regular surveillance testing.

The policies and protocols were working: The percentages of students, faculty, and staff testing positive for COVID-19 were consistently lower than the positivity rates for Marion County and the state of Indiana. University officials were well aware that bringing the NCAA Tournament to Hinkle Fieldhouse could expose the Butler community to thousands of student-athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, and spectators, and could possibly undo all that had been accomplished to that point.

HOME FOR THE

MADNESS

By Mark Apple

After multiple conversations with the NCAA, City of Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corp, Visit Indy, and other host venues, Butler’s leadership team felt assured that Hinkle Fieldhouse could safely serve as a host venue with minimal risk to the health of the campus community. With the decision made to move forward as a host site, Butler’s Department of Athletics, Butler Arts and Events Center, the Office of Marketing and Communications, and other Butler stakeholders had less than two months to prepare for hosting 16 tournament games over two weekends—all while leveraging Butler’s participation in the tournament to maximize brand exposure to campus visitors and an international television audience.

With thousands of national reporters expected to descend upon the city despite the fact that only a couple dozen would be allowed to attend games due to capacity restrictions, the Marketing team recognized that those reporters would be hungry for content. A media outreach plan was developed, with a goal of generating positive impressions for Butler throughout the month. The media push kicked off March 1, when Butler Blue IV declared himself the Mayor of March. Acting as part host, part ambassador, part reporter, and part college hoops fanatic, Blue launched a media tour that dominated the local media’s tournament coverage leading up to Selection Sunday. Blue’s mayoral duties continued throughout the month, and his appearances at tree plantings, outside of arenas, and at parties downtown on Georgia Street continued to generate media attention and social media engagement. (Read more about Blue’s adventures on page 6.)

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To help solidify the connection with national reporters, Butler established a media hub on campus just a few hundred yards south of Hinkle Fieldhouse. Reporters from cities that had schools playing at Hinkle, as well as those without Hinkle credentials, were invited to the media hub to watch games, work on their stories, conduct live shots with Hinkle Fieldhouse in the background, and mingle with other reporters. While in the hub, Butler’s media relations team pitched stories about the history of Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler’s growth since our back-to-back Final Four appearances, and, of course, the Mayor of March. The effort resulted in significant national coverage of the University, including stories in Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, and a full-page story on the front of The New York Times Sunday sports section, with the headline “Hinkle Fieldhouse Is Still Ready for Its Close-Up.” Over the course of the month, Butler’s proactive media outreach directly resulted in hundreds of media hits and millions of online views, for an advertising equivalency of more than $6 million.

The exposure to prospective students, relationships with local and national reporters, and pride instilled in Butler alumni is immeasurable.

When legends connect—

Aware that legendary CBS sports commentator Jim Nantz’s bucket list included calling a game in Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Butler Athletics and Marketing teams worked together to give him an unforgettable Hinkle experience. On March 19, right before Nantz’s first game in Hinkle, the Butler team arranged for basketball legend Bobby Plump ’58 to greet Nantz and present him with a basketball signed by the members of the 1954 Milan High School state championship team, which served as the basis for the story of the movie Hoosiers. Nantz was literally brought to tears by the gesture, which was filmed and photographed by the Butler social media team. Nantz and his broadcast partner Bill Raftery spoke about the encounter during multiple broadcasts, and praised Butler President Jim Danko for his leadership of the institution that epitomized Hoosier Hospitality throughout March.

Joe Ziemer ’05

Photo by Ben Hider

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My Time as Mayor

By Butler Blue IV

There are certain opportunities that a Dawg just cannot pass up. You know, things like a dropped piece of cheese from the dinner table or spilled popcorn in the concourse at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

So when I heard the news that the entire NCAA® Men’s Basketball Tournament would be played in my state, my city, and even on my campus, well, I jumped all over it like a bulldog on a pork chop!

I quickly declared myself to be the Mayor of March and claimed ownership of the entire thing as if I was protecting a rawhide bone from Trip. I’ll admit, it was a bold move, especially since our Dawgs weren’t in the fight, but I just could not ignore my instincts.

It was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.

Let me tell you about my time as Mayor.

The Scoop

Like any good Mayor, I had many hats to wear. I played the roles of host, reporter, and lead volunteer.

Indy was about to be on full display, so to kick things off, I partnered with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and a whole pack of Butler students to clean up the streets and roads around the venues.

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Once the city was looking spotless, I turned into the host with the most to welcome the busloads of fans, teams, and reporters who would call our great city home for the tournament games.

But not everyone could enjoy the tournament with their paws on the ground like I did. So I did what a Butler Bulldog does best and chronicled all of the happenings around town for the whole world to see.

A Dawg of the People

My responsibilities kept me busy, but after having a year of limited work due to COVID-19, it was a challenge that I was up for. Still, to make sure all my bases were covered, I called in a little help, pulling Butler Blue III (Trip) out of retirement and appointing him my Deputy Mayor. Between the two of us, we greeted more than 73,000 visitors, attended 53 events, and passed out 22,500 pieces of Butler swag.

PICTURE OF BLUE AND SISTER JEAN

Hangin’ with Sister Jean of Loyola University

Cleanin’ up with Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett ’87 and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.

And we did this by traversing all across the city with our friends at Visit Indy and Indiana Sports Corp, visiting Indianapolis International Airport, making the rounds on Georgia Street, and holding court in front of all the venues.

Of course, we weren’t the only ones hard at work— there was a whole team on campus showcasing The Butler Way to the world. Our campus hosted 4,000 visitors over the course of 16 games during a sixday period. Hinkle Fieldhouse spoke for itself, with many announcers, fans, and players commenting on what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it was for them to be in its hallowed halls.

Cheerin’ at Lucas Oil Stadium

Tournament Darlings

I am so proud of the extra hard work, effort, and time that our Bulldogs put into hosting our part of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. It was more than worth it as we displayed yet again what makes Butler and Indianapolis so Dawg-gone special.

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CLOWES MEMORIAL HALL NEW LOBBY ENTRANCE – September 2021 8

“I’m so thrilled to play this...this is about as pretty as anything I’ve seen.”

—Entertainer Bob Hope On the occasion of Clowes Hall opening night, October 18, 1963

BUTLER MAGAZINE

Photo

Better Than Imagined Coach Scott Drew ’93 lives out his dream— and then some

Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images 1992-1993 Butler Basketball Team

Photo

By Marc D. Allan, MFA ’18

So, what’s it like winning the 2021 NCAA® Men’s Basketball Championship, Scott Drew ’93?

“You always plan for success. You game plan to win, but once it happens, you don’t know what to expect,” the Baylor Bears’ head coach says. “That night after the game, you get back and there’s about a thousand text messages— you’re not ready for that. And then you get home and see the welcome-home parade, and it’s better than you even thought it might be.”

Drew had been building to this moment for years—18 at Baylor, 10 at Valparaiso (nine as an assistant to his father, Homer, and one as head coach), and two (1991–1993) as student manager for the Butler Men’s Basketball team, where his acumen and energy impressed everyone.

“His work ethic and servant attitude were obvious, as our managers were volunteers,” then-Coach, now-Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier ’76 says.

“On top of executing his manager duties, he was a student of the game.”

“You could see that he had something extra in the tank, something special,” says Darin Archbold ’93, one of the stars of the men’s basketball team during Drew’s years.

“He was one of those guys you could see that the future could be great for. And look what he’s done now.”

Drew credits his mentors.

“Everybody who’s in leadership has had mentors and people who have helped develop their leadership style,” he says. “And that’s how you organize a program, how you interact. The culture, the professionalism. Everything from how you dress to how you hold staff meetings. My

dad, obviously, was a big component of that. Coach Dale Brown—my dad worked for him—helped me a lot when I first got to Baylor because he had built the program at Louisiana State University. And Coach Collier built the program at Butler. Those are three outstanding coaches who laid the foundation for their school’s success.”

He also credits his Butler experience. “There are great universities everywhere, but there’s something special about going to a family-atmosphere school like Butler or Baylor.”

Although this year’s tournament was played entirely in Indiana, and Baylor beat Wisconsin and Villanova in Hinkle Fieldhouse, Drew says COVID-19 restrictions limited him from visiting with people or exploring campus.

His team didn’t even get to shoot around before the games.

Still, he was glad to be back at Butler.

“It was amazing to see how the campus had expanded,” he says. “I’m so proud as an alum. Obviously, the success in basketball and what they’ve been able to do and the attention they’ve been able to draw in a positive light makes all of us Butler alums proud.”

Months after the championship game, Drew says he’ll occasionally have a moment when he thinks the celebration has finally died down. Then he’ll get a reminder that, no, it hasn’t.

“When you show up in the airport and there’s a Baylor fan so excited, and they’re still celebrating the success, it rejuvenates you and excites you,” he says. “You coach to see other people reach their goals and dreams, have success, have joy in their lives. To be able to see the people who’ve had that and have been touched by this team, that makes it all worth it.”

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Photo by Caitlin Sullivan

The Superpower of Judith B. Thomas ’90

Unseen Connections

BUTLER MAGAZINE

By Cindy Dashnaw Steve Jobs famously once said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” He might have based his definition on Indianapolis Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement Judith B. Thomas ’90.

Nearly a year in, Thomas still sounds surprised at being chosen for the position.

“I got a call right before Christmas: ‘Can you see the mayor at 2:00 tomorrow?’ My heart dropped. It was like somebody said, ‘Judith, you can take Oprah’s job.’”

Mayor Joe Hogsett ’87 knew what he was doing. The city needed someone who could address hyper-local social issues, such as food insecurity and mental health, and knew what the city had to offer. Thomas had spent her life championing Indianapolis and underserved groups.

And it all began at Butler.

From Student Union President to Deputy Mayor Thomas says she got her first taste of community work as a Bulldog. She volunteered, served as President of the Black Student Union, joined the Student Foundation Board, and spent hours at the Diversity Center.

“The Center exposed me to what I’m doing now. They brought in great speakers, and I went to every lecture.

That got me ready for a lot of things I’ve faced in my career.”

That career has included more than 15 years in the city’s convention and tourism sector and nearly two years leading the Madam Walker Legacy Center.

She started her own firm in 2020, Judith & Co., to “build robust relationships through listening and understanding,” she writes on LinkedIn. “I was creating ideas for people, helping them build something new. For example, I was going to a range of city leaders to talk about the history of what’s happened to people of color and how we can change it,” she says.

Since Butler, Thomas has been building what now seems to be an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Indianapolis entities.

“I’m in alphabet soup with all the acronyms,” she laughs.

“But when someone says they have a need, something triggers in my head. Yesterday, we came up with three or four ways to take a project to the next level. We just needed to connect the person who identified the need with a police department commander and a person who’s creating a community to serve certain people within a neighborhood.”

She spends much of her time out in those neighborhoods, meeting people and hearing their stories.

“Haughville is the closest neighborhood to downtown that’s not developed as it should, and it’s because it hasn’t gotten the resources the residents deserve,” she says. “All they want are paved streets and safety. Why can’t they have the basics? It breaks my heart.”

An inclusive Indy is a safer Indy

The root of many neighborhood challenges is clear to Thomas.

“It’s always been about race. We saw that in 2020 with the pandemic, but those of us of color have always known that. It’s the frustration of maybe not having a job, not having opportunity, not having access to education—when you see violent crime, it’s people who are frustrated,” she says. “If we can connect folks, we can reduce the frustration.”

Thomas’ goals rely on people getting to know one another. Making connections.

“Safety for everyone. Neighborhoods getting what they need. Connecting citizens to services and funders and grassroots organizations. Celebrating everybody and getting services to those who need them.

“I’m learning and meeting people and trying to have some influence. That’s my thing: connecting people for collaborating and partnering. The city doesn’t have a bunch of money to give out. But I can connect you to funders or another program you can partner with.”

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A NEW

STAGE

IS SET

By Dana Lee ’19

The anticipation came in waves, but the excitement was constant. For six nights at the end of July, the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream could look out past the stage and see an audience gathered on the lawn of the Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre, which opened for the first time this summer.

Originally dedicated in 1931, the Thomas Taggart Memorial was in ruins before a $9.24 million grant from the Lilly Endowment restored the structure.

Now it is the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company’s home.

“It’s amazing that we had the golden opportunity to christen Taggart with its first performance,” says Diane Timmerman, Executive Artistic Director at the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company (Indy Shakes) and Chair of the Butler Theatre department. “We have such a talented group of artists on this production that I knew we were invincible. I actually knew we would be great. And we were!”

Since 2008, Indy Shakes has offered free Shakespeare in the Park productions with the goal of providing accessible theatre. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the company’s first live performance since the pandemic, transformed into a festival atmosphere, with pre-show bands, food trucks, and vendors.

“Some people feel you have to be a certain status or education level to enjoy or understand Shakespeare, but we’re trying to let people know this isn’t the case,” says Emma Littau, a Butler junior and an Indy Shakes stage management intern. “Anyone is welcome to enjoy it.”

Every year, Butler has several students who intern with Indy Shakes, whether it is in theatre, marketing, or public relations.

Littau, who ensures everything backstage runs smoothly during a performance, says the connections she’s made through her internship will help throughout her career.

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Butler is one of the few undergraduate programs in the country that has a partnership with a professional equity theatre.

Equity theatres participate in the Actors’ Equity Association, the union for stage professionals.

“Our students get to work with professionals who help them not only on the job, but help them network, help them grow their careers,” Timmerman says. “Whether it’s allowing us to use space for rehearsals or auditions, or just helping us promote our work, Butler has been right there saying, ‘Great, this sounds like a wonderful idea. Please go for it.’ That is key to the success of this partnership.”

“ Theatre is the most

human of the art forms.

It’s about people and their lives and their experiences and their interactions. You’re right there with the performers. You feel it in a way that you don’t with other mediums.

It’s life-changing.”

—Diane Timmerman

Photo Credit: Wildstyle Paschall

Like Timmerman, several staff members at Butler are also connected to Indy Shakes—LaKisha Cooper, Rob Koharchik, and Wendy Meaden among them. The network works both ways. Indy Shakes company member Constance Macy directed Butler’s production of The Living, and Guy Clark designed costumes both for The Living and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Two of the actors in A Midsummer Night’s Dream were Butler graduates; one understudy was a current student.

Recently, through the Marion County surplus sale to nonprofits, Indy Shakes purchased property five minutes away from Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre with plans to

build Shakes House, which will provide job and housing opportunities in addition to being a creative space where the community can gather and share a love for theatre. After performing at the White River State Park for years, Indy Shakes has planted its roots in the Near Northwest neighborhood and immersed itself within the community.

“Theatre is the most human of the art forms,” Timmerman says. “It’s about people and their lives and their experiences and their interactions. You’re right there with the performers. You feel it in a way that you don’t with other mediums. It’s life-changing.”

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By Cindy Dashnaw Many organizations are striving to find answers for the more than 200,000 people in Indianapolis who do not have easy access to food. Butler University is one of the largest. Its Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) is working with over 20 community partners to do more than simply get more food to more people.

They want to create the social change necessary to eliminate the need.

“We’re trying to look at problems facing the campus and Indianapolis and bring together the expertise needed to solve those problems,” said CUES Director Dr. Julia Angstmann.

Indianapolis is one of the worst food deserts in the country, she says.

“We don’t have enough grocery stores, or people in neighborhoods don’t have transportation to get to them.

Families have to buy groceries at convenience stores.”

Most people are unaware of the situation, Angstmann says.

That’s why the CUES is taking the three-pronged approach reflected in its mission: “To research, educate, and empower change to inform and inspire a more sustainable future.”

Like food, it all starts on a farm.

Teaching through a food lens Nestled in the curve of West Campus Drive is The Farm at Butler. This one-acre space is the heart of the CUES’ efforts to solve the city’s nutrition problems.

The Farm is where the CUES begins the “research” and “educate” parts of its mission with Butler students—a rather rare thing, it turns out.

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“Most college farms are used in co-curricular ways: The farms sell or donate to the community, but they aren’t integrated into the curriculum,” Angstmann says.

The Farm at Butler is much more. Yes, it has been a source of food to the community and campus, but it’s also an educational site and a significant component of curriculum and community partnerships.

“Using a campus farm as a ‘place’ is relatively new in the experiential learning arena, so we’re getting a lot of interest from other universities,” Angstmann says. “We’ve been able to bring in about a million dollars in funding from the National Science Foundation to innovate curriculum using The Farm as a contextual place. We are in classes all over campus, and community partnerships are woven into all of this.”

The Farm pops up in some unexpected classes—for example, Senior Lecturer Brent Hege’s Religious Studies class.

“Brent and I had a great discussion. How do you teach religious studies through the lens of food? We reimagined the course through food and farming, and he sent his students out to urban farm spaces where they wrote about urban and industrial farming through a loving eye vs. an arrogant eye,” Angstmann says.

The CUES is also part of classes in Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communication, Education, Environmental Studies, and Pharmacy.

A new minor is now available from the Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies program: Applied Local Food Systems. This minor aims to create a cross-disciplinary program where students, instructors, community members, and intern host sites will learn together.

“As humans, we’re viscerally connected to food, so it lends itself to being tied to individual values and ethics in many disciplines,” Angstmann says. “A lot of people ask why Butler has a farm when we don’t have an agricultural program.

Our answer is that we support classes you’d never expect us to support, and it has connected the University to more community partners in the past decade.”

Food security through collaboration

to those in need. We couldn’t because we weren’t already registered,” Angstmann says. “The Kheprw Institute helped us by purchasing our product, then distributing it through their Community Controlled Food Initiative and with donations to the Near Northside Food Pantry.”

A true partner, Kheprw was then part of the CUES’ decision earlier this year to begin selling all of The Farm’s yield to Butler’s new dining provider, Bon Appetít. Now, The Farm

One of the most enduring of those community partnerships is with the nonprofit Kheprw Institute. The partnership began about six years ago with an elementary-school student.

“I heard they had an aquaponics system designed by a 10-year-old and started meeting with them,” Angstmann laughs.

Kheprw nurtures young people to be critical thinkers, active in working with marginalized communities to bring about change. They teach that people are a community’s most valuable asset.

“They’re all about raising capacity through can “knock on the back door with three cases of something fresh, and they’ll figure out how to use it,” Angstmann says.

“Our goal has been to make food a centerpiece on campus. That’s starting to happen,” she says. “We wanted to get The Farm integrated into curriculum, and we wanted to provide local farmers with support. We’re doing those things now.”

Social issues impede hunger solutions

The other piece of the CUES mission is “empower.”

For Angstmann, it’s impossible to help the city create sustainable food systems without taking a hard look at the social issues surrounding them and determining how to empower residents to be resilient.

education,” Angstmann says. “Kheprw has so much social capital—we truly support each other. It’s been a really good relationship.”

Kheprw became a lifeline during COVID-19. A closed University meant no on-campus sales for The Farm. They had to find another way to distribute their food.

“Our strategic plan is very focused on social justice.

We’re looking at everything we do from a social justice lens and asking ourselves what we can do,” she says.

“Social justice is being addressed in many areas on campus. We hope people see our Center as a partner in those efforts. It’s part of our mission. And we’re really committed to work with Indianapolis partners and help combine resources in order to change the way people look at food.”

“Other local farms worked with the Marion County Health Department and Gleaners [Food Bank] to provide food

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FOOD FOR

projects with students in the past, and she was excited about the opportunity to help students serve the Indianapolis community while learning more about Butler’s on-campus farm and other CUES resources.

Professor and Students See Local Need and Find Ways to Meet It

By Kamy Mitchell ’21

THOUGHT The ORG358 course within Butler University’s College of Communication (CCOM) is dedicated to broadening students’ awareness of food and agricultural injustice, both on a global scale and locally in Indianapolis. Focused on communication and social responsibility, students create culture-centered solutions for improving food access for underserved communities through collaboration with local non-profit organizations.

“The students are the ones out there doing the work, but a passion of mine for a long time has been to think about food justice and how we can help solve some of these problems,” says Lindsay Ems, the Assistant Professor of Communication & Media Studies who teaches ORG358. “I’m happy that I get to use my job and my platform as a professor to make an impact.”

As a course that satisfies Butler’s Indianapolis Community Requirement, ORG358 has always been dedicated to connecting with the Indianapolis community. But the content hasn’t always been about food. That focus began to emerge in 2018, when Julia Angstmann, director of the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) at Butler, reached out to Ems as part of an initiative to connect the CUES with social science and humanities classes.

Ems had partnered with the CUES for

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Now, the course is focused solely on food security and food justice in Indianapolis. Ems divides students into teams, and each group partners with a local nonprofit, such as Flanner House, Growing Places Indy, the Indy Food Council, Indy Urban Acres, or Soul Food Project Indy. The students then serve as consultants for these organizations, helping with any communication-based challenge they are facing. One group utilized social media to create TikToks and other content for Growing Place Indy, promoting their new night market, which highlights African American culture and creates an entertaining social atmosphere. Another group made a food matching game for kids to play at Flanner House as a way to learn about healthy fruits and vegetables.

Students give their final presentations on the last day of class, showcasing the work they’ve completed over the course of the semester. Ems says the community partners are always blown away by the amazing work each group has accomplished.

Students in the class enjoy getting hands-on experience and putting what they have learned into practice, actively improving lives in the world around them. And Ems never has difficulty finding community partners to participate, as the organizations know they will be working with dedicated and talented students.

“We are so grateful that our students have the opportunity to partner with these leaders in the community,” Ems says.

Read more about the Indianapolis Community Requirement

“The work these groups are accomplishing in Indy is truly admirable, and through collaborating with them in support of their goals, our students are learning to understand and combat the food insecurity that many communities face.”

GOOD

TIMING

John Elliott, MBA ’11 leads Gleaners Food Bank through an unimaginable time Photo by Caitlin Sullivan

By Cindy Dashnaw Gleaners Food Bank provided 35 million meals to hungry Hoosiers in 2019. One year later, that number soared to 73 million.

It was good timing for a bad situation. John Elliott, MBA ’11 took over as President and CEO in 2016 to move Gleaners away from “working more solo,” as he says they’d been known, to working with intentional community partners and a staff empowered as decision-makers.

If he hadn’t, many more people might have gone hungry when COVID-19 hit.

Prepared by life ... and Butler A decade earlier, Elliott earned an MBA at Butler University.

After having been a US diplomat, a corporate manager, and a college executive director, he’d become Media Spokesperson/ Public Affairs Manager for The Kroger Co. and decided his experience, while vast, wasn’t enough.

“I was being assigned more and more complex responsibilities and didn’t feel I had some of the necessary foundational knowledge,” he says. “If Butler hadn’t been so flexible, I couldn’t have completed the program. There were so many instances where faculty made accommodations for me.”

He kept in touch with those faculty, using Butler students on Kroger-sponsored capstone projects and now as Gleaners volunteers.

Elliott himself began as a Gleaners volunteer—until the board realized they needed him at the helm. His first step: Create a solid strategic plan with deliberate partners. Within five work groups, more than half of those involved were subject matter experts from outside the organization.

Supply chain opportunities The plan they developed reflects how this Butler MBA graduate views partners and funders: as investors.

“When I got here, we were doing things like a small nonprofit.

Now, every decision balances compassionate service with efficiency and cost-effectiveness. We’ve got to think like a midsized supply-chain company as well as a nonprofit.”

He has identified plenty of opportunities for efficiencies and partnerships in that supply chain.

“To close the meal gap* in 2020 would have meant doing twoand-a-half times the food distribution we did in 2019. We couldn’t go to our donors and ask for two-and-a-half times as much as they gave the year before,” Elliott says. “Instead, we had to do everything we possibly could to produce more meals for the same dollars. In 2016, Gleaners spent 41 cents per meal.

We finished 2020 at 17 cents.”

More thoughtful partnerships are helping Gleaners find new sources for hard-to-get food, such as fresh produce, and identify people who need help but haven’t been asking.

“Why do we talk casually about someone missing a meal? This country produces more food than any other on the planet. We waste 40 percent of it. We don’t have a food shortage,” Elliott says. “Solutions are in getting the right food in the right place at the right time.”

Here for the long haul In 2017, Gleaners became one of only six food banks in the Feeding America network to operate a regional co-op. It went from receiving zero pounds of produce from farms to more than 39 million pounds—food that would’ve rotted in the field.

Elliott and Gleaners will keep looking for such solutions with the support of its partners.

“We’re not through this pandemic. For the families we serve, we’re in a multi-year recovery. But we have a great team and dozens of new partnerships. Gleaners employees have been here every day and will continue to be.” *The number of meals Hoosiers need vs. the number of meals the charitable sector can provide.

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Photo by Caitlin Sullivan

CORE

VALUES The Indianapolis Community Requirement instills a commitment to service their commitment to service. Though students provide valuable service to Indianapolis communities through ICR classes, what students learn about themselves in relation to community is what Dr. Donald Braid, Director of Butler’s Center for Citizenship and Community, wants students to keep in mind.

By Hailey Radakovitz ’21 Generations of Butler students have come to know and embrace the University’s dedication to serving the Indianapolis community. Through neighborhood cleaning initiatives, fundraising events, and more, Butler and its students have always been committed to making an impact.

The Indianapolis Community Requirement (ICR), which integrates community involvement into Butler’s Core Curriculum, has been a key part of this mission. Since its establishment as a requirement for all students in 2010, ICR courses have been the source of many formative moments for students and Indy community members, alike.

The initial idea behind the ICR was to implement servicelearning for Butler students. In the early 2000s, the Center for Citizenship and Community encouraged the University to embrace an interactive experience in which students and community partners learn from one another, through projects like creating marketing campaigns for nonprofits or caring for residents of assisted living facilities. During a revamp of the Core Curriculum in 2004, this course concept was approved and added as a Butler requirement.

Regardless of discipline, the learning objectives for all ICR courses are the same: Each student is encouraged to integrate academic knowledge with community service, explore their relationship with the Indianapolis community, and further

“These courses are really more about reciprocal learning,” Braid says. “Students are doing something of value requested by the community and interacting with community members while learning a great deal at the same time.” This concept of a mutual exchange is one of the most important takeaways for students to reflect on.

Braid says ICR students often tell him they’re getting more than they’re giving. But this is where the idea of reciprocity comes in: Students may know and understand what they feel when serving, but it can be hard to comprehend just what they’re giving to other individuals. Braid explains that service can simultaneously have a profound impact on the recipients of that service, while also helping students learn more about others and broaden their worldview.

Currently, ICRs are offered in nearly all fields of study. Some popular ICR courses include Service-Learning in Spanish, in which students mentor and learn with underserved, Spanishspeaking students in IPS classrooms, and Health Disparities, where students work to better understand how socioeconomic and environmental factors affect individuals in the healthcare system.

Braid hopes these courses provide meaningful learning opportunities and lessons students will carry into the rest of their lives. “Students in ICRs learn that the more they give, the more they learn,” he says. “There’s an exchange that happens, and it’s part of what it means to be human—it’s part of caring about other human beings. It can change the way you think and live your life.”

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MUSIC IS THE

MESSAGE

By Meredith Sauter ’12

Sophomore and Indy native Tim Reed has always known that he wanted to be a music teacher.

An active participant in his high school’s show choir, Butler first appeared on his radar when he met a representative from the Jordan College of the Arts (JCA) School of Music at a show choir competition. Then, during his junior year of high school, his school hired Butler grad Kelly Cassady ’13 as the new choir teacher, who also encouraged Reed to learn more about the University.

“My high school choir teacher raved about the School of Music and about the community at Butler,” he says. “She knew I was interested in Music Education, which was also her major, so she highly recommended that I learn more about Butler and seriously consider pursuing the program.”

Reed did just that. He spent hours perfecting his audition repertoire for admission into JCA, and was ecstatic when he learned of his acceptance, both to the University and into the Music Education program. The only thing holding him back from accepting his offer of admission was the cost of tuition.

“Coming to Butler was my dream, but financially, my family and I were questioning whether it was really the best choice for me.”

Thankfully, Reed was a contender for the Butler Tuition Guarantee, a program that provides full-tuition scholarships each academic year for students in Marion County who show significant financial need. He interviewed for the

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scholarship during Butler Blue Scholars’ Day, and found out a few weeks later that he received it.

“Finding out that I received the scholarship was one of the best days ever,” he says. “Knowing that all of my tuition would be paid for was such a huge gift. If I hadn’t received the scholarship, I wouldn’t have come to Butler.”

He started college in fall 2020, and while he acknowledges that COVID-19 put a bit of a damper on his first year, he says that he and his fellow first-year students forged an even stronger bond due to the challenges the pandemic presented.

In addition to his Music Education coursework, Reed is also the President of Butler’s chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, where he leads the group in planning meetings and professional development opportunities for his fellow Music Education majors. He also shadowed the Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, a premiere children’s choir that rehearses on Butler’s campus, and works part time at the Health and Recreation Complex.

After graduation, Reed hopes to be both a high school choir teacher and direct a show choir. He also has ambitions to earn both his master’s degree and his doctorate in Music Education so he can one day teach at the University level, preparing the next generation of music educators.

LONG-TIME DREAM

REALIZED

By Meredith Sauter ’12

Senior and Indianapolis native Raziya Hillery wanted to come to Butler University since she was in third grade, when her student teacher (who went to Butler) gifted her with tickets to a basketball game.

Over the following years, she visited campus multiple times, beginning with her first official visit as an eighth grader and then almost every year after. “I probably visited Butler four or five times,” she says. “Way, way more than any other University I was considering.”

During her visits as a prospective student, she not only got a feel for campus, but was also able to interact with faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Before she had even applied to the University, she’d had in-depth conversations with two different faculty members in the majors she was considering: Dr. Margaret Brabant with Political Science and Dr. Elise Edwards with Anthropology.

“The fact that professors were so willing to talk to me and be such a helpful resource even before I was a student told me that Butler was a place where I could have those personal relationships. It was the place I wanted to be.”

Although it was her dream to come to Butler, making that dream a reality—financially—was a massive hurdle.

“Butler’s tuition was going to be a challenge for me and my family,” Hillery says. “I knew that I would need substantial scholarships and financial aid in order to attend.”

During her senior year of high school, after being admitted

to the University, she was invited to campus to interview for the Butler Tuition Guarantee, a full-tuition scholarship available for students in Marion County who show a high financial need. She ultimately received the scholarship, and happily accepted her offer of admission.

Now a senior at Butler, Hillery is a triple major, studying Political Science, International Studies, and Spanish. She’s the President of the Black Student Union, is a multicultural mentor for the Diversity Center, and the Co-Team Director for Delight College Ministries. She’s also completed three internships, participated in the Rangel International Affairs Program, and is in New York City this semester, where she will intern with the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations. She hopes to one day work for either the United Nations or the Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer.

“Coming from the far East Side of Indianapolis, a lot of students think that Butler is just not attainable for them.

I used to think that, too,” she says. “I just want to tell those students to reach high and apply. If this is somewhere you really see yourself, you can make it here. Butler is here to support you.”

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CATCHING A

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Caitlin Sullivan Photography

By Katie Grieze Strolling through the Central Canal, a great blue heron looks for its lunch. Foxes prowl along Pogue’s Run creek, just a few miles from Monument Circle. And on Butler’s South Campus, nestled beneath a concrete wall, seven coyote pups climb from their den.

All through Indianapolis, humans and wildlife live together in urban spaces. Most city dwellers probably don’t know the creatures are there. But at Butler University, a research project called Indy Wildlife Watch is helping the community be more mindful of its furred and feathered neighbors.

For the last five years, faculty from Butler’s Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability (CUES) have been placing motion-triggered cameras at nearly 50 sites across Indianapolis to catch the animals in action. Locations range from parks to golf courses, cemeteries to schools, and they are spread from the heart of downtown up through Indy’s northern suburbs. As creatures pass by, the photos capture data about which species are present. It’s all part of a national project called the Urban Wildlife Information Network, which collects and compares wildlife data from more than 30 cities.

@indywildwatch profile on Instagram has been sharing these images—often featuring coyotes, foxes, deer, or large birds— since the research began.

“This community outreach lets people know about the wildlife that’s in the city,” Ryan explains. “Their participation helps us, but it’s also educational for them. This helps raise awareness that humans are not the only residents in the city.”

Now with five years of data (or, more than 400,000 photos from Indy alone), researchers have been able to start looking for patterns.

One study published late last year found that raccoons prefer environments with lower housing density. On the other hand, while coyotes stick to the outskirts of urban areas, they are more likely to be found in densely populated cities. Another current study looks at how virus-related lockdowns affected the outdoor activity of both humans and wildlife.

“The world is only becoming more urban, so we need to understand what works and what doesn’t in our coexistence with wildlife in cities.”

“There is more wildlife in cities than we might expect,” says Travis Ryan, Professor of Biological Sciences. Other faculty involved with the project include Biological Science Professor Carmen Salsbury, CUES Director Julia Angstmann, and Rasitha Jayasekare, Associate Professor of Statistics and Actuarial Science.

Across the nation, all the network’s participants place their cameras for one month at a time, during the same months each year: April, July, October, and January. In Indianapolis alone, the cameras take tens of thousands of photos during each stay at their sites, so identifying the animals in all those images is one of the project’s most challenging tasks. Now, Hoosiers across Indy can lend a hand.

A new website hosted through Zooniverse invites community members to help tag the photos. Users are given an image and a list of animals to choose from. If they aren’t sure what’s pictured, a library of creature characteristics (color, pattern, tail type, and so on) offers some clues.

Website users also have the chance to help choose which photos should be shared on the Indy Wildlife Watch social media accounts by highlighting those they think are spectacular shots, or that feature uncommon species. The

Ryan has begun to notice some trends specific to the Circle City. For one, there are a lot of squirrels.

“We have fox squirrels everywhere—the kind you would typically see on Butler’s campus or in your backyard,” —Travis Ryan he says. “There are also grey squirrels and red squirrels, and we even have a couple images of flying squirrels—in addition to the ground squirrels, which are chipmunks and groundhogs.”

Raccoons are far more common in Indianapolis than in the network’s other cities. There are also quite a few opossums, cottontail rabbits, and deer. Red squirrels show up in patches, and water-loving critters like mink and beaver stick to areas near Fall Creek or the White River.

One day a few years ago, Ryan was flipping through the pictures and had to do a double-take. He contacted other network members, and everyone confirmed: yes, that was a badger. When Ryan called the Indiana DNR, they said it was only the second or third badger sighting for Marion County in half a century. And it was just a couple miles from downtown.

Moving forward, researchers hope to ask more questions about how wildlife activity is changing over time. “The nature of the city isn’t static,” Ryan explains. “By having a project that goes on for several years, we will be able to document how changes in infrastructure, land use, and development may have an impact on wildlife.” Researchers hope this information will help leaders plan greener, healthier cities for all the species that call those places home.

To learn more about how Butler students are involved in the Indy Wildlife Watch project, visit butler.edu/magazine. And to view project photos and help identify animals, go to zooniverse.org/projects and search for “Indy Wildlife Watch.”

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BUTLER GIVING CIRCLE—

THE

By Jen Gunnels

CREATED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Each fall, Loren Snyder ’08 starts planning his New Year’s resolution for the following year. It’s a tradition, his way of looking to the past while thinking about the future. In 2015, Snyder found himself thinking a lot about philanthropy.

“I was planning my 2016 resolution, and my first idea was that I wanted to get a group of my friends together to give back to the community,” he says. “I feel like my generation isn’t as engaged in philanthropic giving. When I started brainstorming the names of people who might contribute, I realized: all the people were Butler community members,

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and I thought we could do something bigger with the University and the alumni community.”

That idea became the basis for the Butler Giving Circle, a philanthropic community of alumni donors dedicated to supporting two mission-critical elements of Butler University’s vision for the future–student access and success and community partnerships.

With an annual gift of $500, any member of the Butler alumni community can become a shareholder in the Butler Giving Circle. After shareholder funds are pooled,

20 percent are used to fund experiential learning opportunities for Butler students with Project 44, the Giving Circle’s priority partner; 40 percent of the funds are directed to the Butler Fund for Student Scholarship; and 40 percent are granted to an Indianapolis community partner with an existing affiliation to Butler.

In July 2020, the first of these grants was awarded to the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University to support local nonviolence training workshops in partnership with the Martin Luther King Community Center (MLK Center). With the help of the $10,596 grant, all MLK Center employees, 10 Butler students, and one Peace Lab faculty member were able to complete the two-day training in the practices and principles of nonviolence. The workshops are being conducted using a “train the trainer” model, equipping participants with the skills to train successive cohorts in the nonviolence principles at both the MLK Center and Butler.

“One important goal of the trainings is making connections and creating a network of people from different backgrounds who have a shared commitment to the idea of nonviolence as a means of solving problems,” says Siobhan McEvoy-Levy, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab. “The other goal is to begin to have a cohort of people on campus and in the community who can help to create a culture of nonviolence and can be prepared to mediate conflicts as they arise.”

This fall, the MLK Center will begin offering the workshop to members of the community on a monthly basis with the intention of making it a regular part of onboarding for new staff, volunteers, and community partners. Last summer, 40 teens from the MLK Center’s Tarkington Work Crew, a summer teen job program, completed the workshop as the inaugural group of community participants. Allison Luthe ’97, Executive Director of the MLK Center, says the workshops have provided a shared starting point and set of values when conflicts arise among those who have completed the training.

of just modifying a behavior,” Luthe says. “It gives them a chance to think about how they want to show up and conduct themselves in the world because nonviolence is a new way of thinking and a new way of life. And, we’re practicing these principles together. That’s why we want to have as many people as possible go through this training, so that we can hold each other accountable.”

McEvoy-Levy says the grant was particularly meaningful not only because it funded a program that will live on and can continue growing as past participants become trainers themselves, but also because it came about through a spirit of true collaboration between Butler students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community. With the help of alumni funding from the Butler Giving Circle, meaningful community WE’RE engagement initiatives like these can flourish.

BUTLER GIVING CIRCLE ALL IN

“I don’t want to pretend that it’s easy because partnerships take a long time to develop,” McEvoy-Levy says.

“It takes a lot of trust-building and confidencebuilding and being true to your word. But we live in the neighborhood and our students and members of our community interact, and it has all of these different ramifications, so it’s important that we’re doing this together.”

“With the kids, these principles give us common tools and practices that we’re wanting to remind them of instead

To register or learn more about the MLK Center’s nonviolence training workshops, visit mlkcenterindy.org/nonviolence. To join or learn more about the Butler Giving Circle, visit butler.edu/givingcircle.

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SOCIAL

ADVOCACY A Butler internship sets Allison Luthe ’97 on a new course

By Hailey Radakovitz ’21 Allison Luthe ’97 knew from the start of her college career that she wanted to have an impact on her community. As an English major with a Gender Studies minor, Luthe first came to Butler University hoping to pursue a profession in the legal field. “At first, I really was just passing through Butler to get to law school,” Luthe says.

But a sophomore-year internship experience changed Luthe’s career trajectory. As an intern with the nonprofit Child Advocates, she began learning about social work and the child welfare system in Indianapolis. This sparked an interest that would lead to a career of supporting the city’s underserved communities.

After graduating, Luthe joined Americorps and began working with children across the nation. She primarily assisted children who had experienced abuse, helping them access the resources they needed to flourish.

This experience helped Luthe realize she wanted to be on the forefront of lasting change. “I didn’t want to just put a Band-Aid on things,” she says. “I knew I wanted to get to the root cause of inequalities and injustice.”

While completing her master’s degree in Social Work at Indiana University, Luthe learned more about how she might accomplish that goal. “I took a course called ‘Organizing for Social Change,’ and that’s where the light bulb went off,” she remembers. “It made me realize I

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really do care about social justice—not just in the legal aspect, but also in a systemic way.”

Luthe carried this passion to an advocacy role with Central Indiana Jobs With Justice, where she saw firsthand how economic and racial injustices affect certain Indiana communities. Then, as she sought to advance her career and her passion through leadership, Luthe soon discovered an open role with the Martin Luther King Community Center (MLK Center).

The MLK Center is an Indianapolis-based organization that works to educate communities on the teachings and philosophies of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Center aims to help Indianapolis residents peacefully confront injustices, while also leading them to find success and stability in their everyday lives. This mission resonated with Luthe, and she joined the team as Executive Director in June 2015.

Since joining the MLK Center, Luthe has helped the organization grow strategically and further develop its programs and mission. She has led the creation of necessary resources for local families, including the formation of a full after-school enrichment program.

Some of her favorite work, however, has been with the

ALUMNI PROFILES Thank you to our credit union partner, Elements Financial, for their support.

organization’s Tarkington Teen Work Crew. This is a summer employment program that aims to empower local teens, and it also helps to demonstrate the positive impact that strong community relations can provide.

Going forward, Luthe hopes her work with the MLK Center can help create an environment that welcomes the diverse perspectives and ideas that individuals bring to the Indianapolis community. She also hopes these programs will help empower local families while creating dialogue around the systemic injustices that some Indianapolis communities face.

“We want to normalize these hard conversations,” she says. “In fact, we want people to seek them out. We hope to teach people to manage conflict, and to accept that tension is an okay thing.

Using MLK’s principles every single day with our peers and in our community is ideal to help people be the best versions of themselves.”

To support this mission, the MLK Center has partnered with Butler through the creation of nonviolence training workshops that are available to all students. This program teaches students about how to have difficult conversations while also putting into practice the nonviolence principles established by Martin Luther King Jr. “We want to help empower others to transform their communities into a place where everyone is welcome,” Luthe says. “Our goal with this program is to encourage conversations confronting injustices while making sure this can be accomplished safely and productively.”

For students interested in going a step further to address social injustices, Luthe points to Butler’s Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement, which is under the leadership of Dr. Terri Jett. “It’s the perfect example of Butler putting words into action,” she says. Similar to the MLK Center, the Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement aims to elevate Black voices within Butler’s community while dismantling systemic racism and building a more inclusive campus environment.

“We want to help empower others to transform their communities into a place where everyone is welcome. Our goal with this program is to encourage conversations confronting injustices while making sure this can be accomplished safely and productively.”

—Allison Luthe ’97

To learn more about Butler’s partnership with the MLK Center and the Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement, visit butler.edu/blackaffairshub.

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Photo by Caitlin Sullivan

Looking to the

FUTURE

By Jen Gunnels Since launching the Butler Beyond strategic direction in October 2019, considerable progress has been made in actualizing this vision through new strategic programs and initiatives designed to extend Butler’s reach beyond today’s students and beyond the current borders of campus. The Butler Beyond vision statement provides a guiding blueprint for how and why Butler is pursuing these strategic efforts: BUTLER UNIVERSITY IS AT THE CROSSROADS of tradition and transformation. Our founding ideals of educational equity and academic excellence compel us to boldly innovate and expansively educate—thereby strengthening the positive impact we make on the learners and communities we serve.

With the help of committed community partners, this vision is coming to life through a number of new programs and collaborative initiatives.

“These programs and partnerships are examples of our strategic efforts to take Butler Beyond by co-creating in-demand programs and experiences and expanding the way we think about the future of education.”

Tra

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THE UNITEDHEALTHCARE ACADEMY AT BUTLER UNIVERSITY Earlier this year, Butler teamed up with UnitedHealthcare to create the UnitedHealthcare Academy at Butler University. The program is designed to provide a career pathway for students looking to begin a profession in health insurance. Through the multi-year program, students gain the foundational knowledge, skills, and experience that will prepare them for consideration for a full-time position with UnitedHealthcare upon completion of the program and graduation from Butler.

Open to any first-year student, the program includes full-time paid internship-based experiences in the summer and part-time work-based experiences with UnitedHealthcare during the academic year. Participants who complete the program will earn a degree in Marketing with a focus in Risk Management and Insurance from the Lacy School of Business.

SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCY RESEARCH WITH CONEXUS INDIANA Beginning in fall 2020, students and faculty in the Lacy School of Business collaborated with Conexus Indiana on a research project to examine the supply chain networks of Indiana manufacturers. The goal of the research was to analyze the resiliency of the supply chains by gaining insights into all of a manufacturer’s various tiers of suppliers, identifying potential weak spots in the chain.

With the help of the research, Indiana manufacturers will be able to strengthen their supply chains by addressing identified weak spots and reducing the impacts of unexpected disruptions such as those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent global weather events.

“This collaborative research project will have real-world impact on manufacturers and consumers throughout

the state and beyond,” Jane Siegler, Assistant Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management says. “Our initial research focused on 40 Indiana companies that represented 20+ industries with presence in 11 different countries, generating about $1.07 trillion dollars and 2.3 million jobs worldwide, 115,000 of which were in the state of Indiana. We were able to uncover more than 20,000 supply network relationships and identify the top critical suppliers, and this is just the beginning. Any time we can put the expertise of our students and faculty to work for the benefit of our community, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

ONLINE MASTERS IN DATA ANALYTICS Earlier this year, Butler announced the launch of two new online master’s degree programs that will begin in January 2022, and the relaunch of a third, in partnership with Noodle, the country’s fastest-growing online learning network. Along with an online MBA program and a Master of Science in Strategic Communication, Butler is also offering a Master of Science degree in Data Analytics, which is available in three different concentrations: Business Analytics, Healthcare Analytics, and Bioinformatics.

The Healthcare Analytics and Bioinformatics tracks in particular were developed with input from several of the nation’s leading health and pharmaceutical companies in Indianapolis, including Eli Lilly and Roche, in an effort to ensure the programs are preparing learners with the technical and soft skills employers need in one of the state’s fastest-growing job markets.

“This new online degree option offers students an exciting pathway to a career or upskilling in a growing industry,” says Bob Soltis ’87, Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “We are especially pleased to partner with future employers when developing this program to ensure our graduates have the skills they need to succeed.”

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MAKING EXPERIENCE

MATTER

By Grace Gordon ’23

Through a new platform called BlueWork, Butler University students now have the opportunity to connect with employers and gain real work experiences as early as their first year on campus. Using an algorithm that matches students with short-term projects based on their skills and interests, BlueWork aims to provide experiences from a variety of industries while helping companies fill short-term needs and gain access to a talent pipeline.

“We started BlueWork as the next phase of what the student experience could be,” says Ginger Lippert ’04, MBA ’13, Manager of BlueWork. “Without the time commitment of a full or even part-time internship, students can start applying their skills and growing their networks early on, then continue learning through new projects until graduation. Butler is also excited to offer companies the chance to connect with talented students and receive assistance on short-term, project-based work without the need to hire and supervise an intern or full-time employee.”

In addition to building their resumes, students using the BlueWork platform can cultivate their career interests and discover where their passions can be utilized in the workforce. This exploration begins as soon as students register, with two workshops that provide professional development training focused on professionalism, project management, and consulting.

Compared to internships that typically last an entire semester or year, BlueWork projects are designed to only last a few days or weeks. This gives students more opportunities to discover which endeavors are most fulfilling and explore the gig economy.

BlueWork is available to students within the Lacy School of Business during its pilot phase this semester, and the platform will open to students of all majors by spring 2022. The opportunity for cross-functional project groups to develop across campus will open doors for collaboration and partnership with peers, as well as deliver additional perspectives for the organizations hiring students for projects.

Lippert is excited to see how beneficial this program will be for the future careers of Butler students. And this unique opportunity doesn’t have to end once students graduate: Through a rotational fellowship offered to new Butler graduates, alumni who have participated in BlueWork will spend six months providing guidance to current students in a peer mentor capacity. The remainder of this two-year program is made up of six-month positions at three other companies.

BlueWork utilizes Butler students’ enthusiasm to explore. Companies will be provided high-quality performance while students connect with professionals in their fields, interacting with employers in the community and across the nation.

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IT TAKES

ALL OF US

By Katie Grieze On December 17, 2020, Indianapolis watched as television stations around the city broadcast a small group of healthcare professionals receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. Ascension St. Vincent had selected six staff members to receive some of Indiana’s first doses.

And on the other side of the syringe was Dr. Kacey Carroll ’12, who graduated from Butler University’s PharmD program and now serves as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice for the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS).

“That was the most excited and nervous simultaneously that I have ever been to give a vaccine,” Carroll says about that day. “We were seeing surges in case numbers at the time, so it was exciting to say, ‘Here’s something we can proactively do to help our patients, and to help protect us while we serve our patients.’”

Since those first few doses, COPHS faculty, students, and alumni have continued stepping up to administer vaccines at a variety of hospitals, pharmacies, and other vaccination sites across the city—applying their skills to help the community protect itself from COVID-19.

Some Pharmacy students have administered shots or prepared doses while on rotations, and many others have volunteered their time. While the students already know how to give immunizations before ever touching a syringe of the COVID-19 vaccine, the clinics have provided them with valuable learning opportunities.

“This experience helps students understand how to manage a situation like this in the future,” Carroll says.

“It’s also so important to give students the opportunity to be helpful and to make an impact.”

clinics when they first opened gave her the most hope she had felt since the pandemic hit Indiana in March 2020.

“It filled me with so much joy to know I was partaking in what truly is a community effort,” she says. “It was an incredible experience to utilize the skills I learned in school to serve my neighbors.”

When Butler made doses of the Pfizer vaccine available on campus earlier this year, COPHS students led the way in immunizing fellow Bulldogs. Hundreds of students (and many COPHS alumni) volunteered to help run the Butler vaccine clinics, which were held in the Efroymson Family Gymnasium and the Health and Recreation Complex.

“It was amazing to see everyone work together,” says Dr. Angela Ockerman ’90, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. “Faculty and alumni alongside our students from the various programs within COPHS—all together in service of this institution we love. It was truly heartwarming.”

Mandy McDaniel ’22, a Pharmacy student who helped at the on-campus clinics, says she felt a great sense of relief when she received her vaccine back in January. She loved having the chance to give that hope to others.

“The vaccine clinic was a great opportunity for students to use our certifications to give immunizations,” she says. “These clinics also helped us gain experience and confidence with overall patient care.”

“The biggest lesson I took away from this experience is the importance of community,” says Anis Tai ’22, another Pharmacy student who volunteered. “It takes all of us to help overcome this adversity and keep others safe.”

Kimberly Wray ’21, who graduated from the PharmD program this spring, says working in the St. Vincent FALL 2021

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HOMECOMING ’21

For a recap of the weekend’s events, visit butler.edu/magazine Photos by Zach Bolinger and Miss Cara Photography

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CLASS ACTS THE ’60s Paul Jayson ’68 was inducted into the Fort Lee High School (N.J.) Athletic Hall of Fame. Paul was a Special Education teacher in the Fort Lee School system and coached cross country, winter track, and spring track and field for 104 athletic seasons.

THE ’70s Frank Jozsa ’71 authored a book titled The Making of Modern Baseball: Over 100 Years of Change That Formed America’s Pastime.

Theo Leverenz ’74, after earning postgraduate degrees, established a successful consulting company for small businesses, schools, churches, and nonprofits to help them develop long-range/ strategic plans for their organization as well as project management and team-building, and is now happily retired.

Stan Deweese ’76 has been appointed to the Board of Governors of Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Indiana.

Karen Custer Thurston, MS ’78 launched her rebranding website: TheWomanOnFire.com after serving her Indiana and Arizona clients in Fitness and Dance since 1970.

Bill Ginn ’78 recently celebrated his 36th year in Family Medicine in his hometown of West Milton, Ohio, and was elected to his second term as Coroner of Miami County in Southwest Ohio.

Jeff Stroebel ’79, MS ’84 retired as Head of School of Open Window School in June, having led the Bellevue, Washington, independent school for eight years. Previously, Stroebel served as a Head of School in Illinois and as a teacher and administrator at Sycamore School, Pike, and Brownsburg. He and his wife, Janet ’79, reside in Bellevue.

THE ’80s

Sherry Koerner Compton ’82, a former executive with the Indiana Pacers, recently celebrated her 15th year as Owner and CEO of Row7 Couture, a sports apparel company in Indianapolis.

Kevin Wachtel ’82 was named Chief Strategy Officer and adjunct business professor at Indiana Wesleyan University–National & Global in Marion, Indiana. He has also begun studies at IWU towards a doctorate in Business Administration.

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Deirdre (Moore) Cipolla ’86 was recently promoted to ‘Paired Proctor’ at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Riverdale, New York.

Toph Booher ’87 celebrated 10 years of government service in September 2020. As a PMP and PMI-ACP, he develops, deploys, teaches, and administers a variety of training courses serving “newbie” project leaders at DFAS. Gregory K. Henderson, MBA ’87 of Auburn, Indiana, retired as Vice President of Marketing & Sales from Auburn Gear, LLC after over 31 years.

Angela Dobson Peterson ’87, MM ’93 became owner and operator of Hupp Jewelers in Fishers, Indiana, in 2018 after 20 years of teaching music K-12 and working part-time at Hupp Jewelers.

Mary Slade ’87 joined Pulte Group as Vice President and National Underwriting Counsel of its subsidiaries, PGP Title and Premier Title Insurance Company, on December 7, 2020.

Nathaniel Turner ’88 (1) and his son, Naeem K. Turner-Bandele, published their new children’s book, The Amazing World of STEM, in September. The father-son team of co-authors hope the book will show children of all ages that it’s possible for them to be anything they want to be: A scientist, an engineer, a mathematician–and, most of all, a real-life hero.

John Brandon ’89 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for Child and Youth Care Practice. John is the President and Executive Director of the Marion County Commission on Youth.

Brian Norman ’81 purchased a PDA franchise in 2018, and led the office to a national number five ranking in sales out of 250 other PDA offices during a global pandemic. PDA is the acknowledged leader in independent insurance claims estimating for passenger vehicles, heavy equipment, and property claims while serving national and regional insurance companies.

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THE ’90s Scott Kerin ’91, an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon, was recently awarded the United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his work as co-counsel in prosecuting an international fentanyl distribution ring that operated in China, Canada, and the United States.

Wendy (Rust) Darr ’93 graduated with a master’s degree in Biblical Counseling and was hired as a professor at Grace College and Seminary.

Evan Tanner ’93, of St. Augustine, Florida, was the recipient of the MountainStar Dedication and Commitment Award after five years of service as Director of IT. Troy Weldy ’93 moved to the Hudson Valley to serve as the Columbia Land Conservancy’s president after 23 years with The Nature Conservancy.

Renee Nicholson ’94 wrote Fierce and Delicate: Essays on Dance and Illness, which was published on May 31, 2021 by WVU Press.

Anita Tiemeyer, MM ’95 combined her education in music with her experience as a seven-year military veteran and her long-time enjoyment of history to produce a newly released novel A Brother for Sorrows.

Lucy (Cetin) Dollens ’98 was elected to the Executive Committee of Quarles & Brady, LLP and began her term on December 1, 2020.

Michele “Stubby” (Stubblefield) Long ’98 was named Director of Pharmacy for the new Indianapolis Rehabilitation Hospital in Carmel, Indiana, that opened February 5.

Eric Palm ’98 was recently named the Village Manager for the Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

He had served as Village Administrator for the Village of River Forest, Illinois, since 2010.

Bonny (Sullivan) Rouleau-McCabe ’99 assumed the position of Director, Data Assessment, at Eli Lilly and Co. on March 26, 2021.

THE ’00s Phillip Dawalt ’00, Chief Warrant Officer, took command of USCGC SEA DEVIL (WPB 87368), Silverdale, Washington, on September 3, 2020.

Janai Downs ’02 (2) was named the Director of Family Life and Connections for Eastern Star Church.

Kristen Fry ’02, Purchasing Division Manager, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, was named a Rising Star by Automotive News in 2020.

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Jonathan Manning ’02 was promoted to the position of Senior Information Management officer with the International Monetary Fund on July 1, 2020.

At Butler, Kenneth Russell DeGraff ’03 learned how people with differing perspectives can come together to make the world a better place. For the last decade as a Senior Policy Advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he has been working with both sides of the political aisle to serve the American public.

Read more about DeGraff’s journey at butler.edu/ magazine.

Kiara (Flanders) Kuenzler ’03 is the President and CEO of Jefferson Center for Mental Health, a non-profit mental health and substance use provider in Colorado.

Mary (Gammons) SeRine ’05 was named Executive Director of Advancement Services and Prospect Development at Ball State University Foundation.

Angel Velez ’05 returned to work with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at The Newman Scoring Stage at Fox Studios on March 6 for the first time in almost a year thanks to the support of the LA County Health Department, the American Federation of Musicians, and the strictest safety protocols. This 37-member ensemble recorded the scores of 10 film composers as part of the Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive’s annual workshop.

Vince Alexander, MS ’06 published his first book, a murder mystery called Kick Some Rocks.

Celeste (Guenin) Ballou ’06 was recently featured on an episode of the Leadership is Female podcast and currently serves as the AVP, Digital Marketing, Teams at Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

Bill Grover ’06 was hired as Director of Total Rewards for Heaven Hill Brands, one of the world’s largest family-owned distilleries and spirits companies.

With more than 15 years of experience in organizing programs and events for local organizations, Erin O’Rourke ’06 is a creator of lifelong memories.

The Arts Administration grad is now helping businesses grow as Events and Catering Manager for The AMP at 16 Tech, Indy’s new artisan marketplace and food hall. More about O’Rourke’s ties to Indy can be found at butler.edu/magazine.

Tony Barnes ’07 was promoted to principal in consulting services at Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm with offices around the world. He has been with the firm for more than 13 years and is based out of the Indianapolis north office.

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Matt Braun ’07 joined Walker Information in Indianapolis as a Vice President/CX Consultant.

Molly (Tuper) Chelovich ’07, financial advisor with Merrill in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was named to Working Mother/SHOOK Research’s “Top Wealth Advisor Moms” list, which recognizes the nation’s best financial advisors who have children living at home under the age of 21. This is the second year Molly has been chosen for this honor.

Murielle “Ellie” (Webster) Bright ’07 (3) was elected to serve as Jennings County Circuit Court Judge in the Novemeber 2020 election and took the oath of office on January 1, 2021 at the Jennings County Courthouse in Vernon, Indiana. She resides in North Vernon, Indiana, with her husband, Johnny, and their four sons: William (9), Thaddeus (7), Abraham (3), and Phinehas (1).

Ida Rose Nininger ’09 joined Parlatore Law Group as a Partner, specializing in employment, real estate, civil rights, and disability law.

THE ’10s Chelsie Lanning ’10 earned a real estate license and has joined the FC Tucker Company and would love to work with fellow Bulldogs helping them buy or sell.

Erin (Weybright) Keil ’11 wrote a children’s book along with another Fort Wayne, Indiana, resident who hand painted the water color illustrations. Erin has brought the silly stories of her daughter to print in When Nora Grows Up. Laura (Urrutia) Albares ’12 is pursuing a doctorate of physical therapy at George Washington University after working in DC for five years in development and arts management.

Annette Bochenek ’12, PhD accepted the role of Assistant Professor and Business Information Specialist at Purdue University.

Alaina (Rodriguez) Ploski ’14 was promoted to Organizational Development Manager at Encompass Health, and was selected to participate in Momentum’s Upward program for early career women leaders in Birmingham, Alabama.

Shawn Becker ’17 is a Regulatory Affairs Specialist with The Walt Disney Company, Disney Vacation Development, Inc.

Clark Collier ’17 was promoted to Senior Donor Engagement Officer at Central Indiana Community Foundation. He has been with the Foundation since 2019 and previously served on the development staff at Kiwanis International.

Cristina McNeiley ’17 (4) passed the 2020 Illinois bar exam and began her career as a First Year Litigation Associate in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, becoming the first lawyer in her family. She was also the first person in her family to graduate from college.

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Erin O’Neil ’17, owner of Fishtail Publishing LLC, continues to provide publishing services to authors both new and experienced. She was recently named a 30 Under 30 honoree of the International Literacy Association for her work in publishing and storytelling. One of her most recent authors, Liz Subrin ’16, just published her first children’s book, Marvelous Margaux.

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Nikki Miceli ’18 is now living and working in St. Louis on an in-house marketing team.

THE ’20s Elyse Babb ’20 is beginning her second year of teaching bright, energetic, hectic, creative high schoolers in World History.

Aaron Blades ’20 and his brother opened their business, Blades Fitness and Performance, in Indianapolis in August 2020.

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Jacqueline Murphy ’20 was hired as Level365’s assistant marketing director after two semester-long internships.

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Ken Shiozawa ’20 (5) recently filmed and performed in his first professional ballet production with the Minneosota Ballet.

Marshall Thulani Smith ’20 was hired full time by Borshoff, an award-winning creative and PR agency, as its new Video Editor.

Members of Butler’s class of 2020 were finally able to celebrate together when their long-awaited Commencement Ceremony was held on Saturday, May 9, 2021. Over 330 graduates returned to walk the stage at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

INCLUDE YOUR NEWS IN THE NEXT CLASS ACTS Your fellow alumni are interested in your professional accomplishments, including a job change, a promotion, or retirement; community and volunteer activities; a recent marriage or addition to your family; or any other news you would like to share.

Submit your updates at butler.edu/classacts.

Due to space limitations, submitted photographs and/or Class Acts may not always be published.

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WEDDINGS

NEW ARRIVALS

Gina Williams ’85 and Chip Powers ’85 (1) on June 5, 2021.

Bonny (Sullivan) Rouleau-McCabe ’99 and Steve McCabe; Finnegan Edward McCabe, on Friday, October 30, 2020.

Mary (Garrison) Hensley ’89 and Jim Hensley.

Jonathan Manning ’02 and Brook Lameo on August 25, 2020.

Melanie (Harris) Butz ’04 (2) and Ryan Butz on November 9, 2019 Nichole Freije ’04 and Joe Copple ’90 (3) on June 8, 2019.

Katie Haycock ’11 and Mohammad “Moe” Abumoghli on October 10, 2020.

Laura (Urrutia) Albares ’12 and Mike Albares in June 2019.

Katie (Gordon) Presser ’14 (4) and Matthew Presser on September 28, 2019.

Rebecca (Pokrandt) Tarnowski ’15, CGR ’18, MS ’19 and Phil Tarnowski on August 15, 2020.

Kim Kraska ’15 and Stevan Tomich ’15 (5) in November 2020.

Karina Hamamouche ’14 and Eric Rupenthal ’15 (6) on July 31, 2020.

Anthony Olivero ’14 and Sarah (Stegmeyer) Olivero ’16 on October 5, 2019.

Ashley Jones ’17 and Garrett Charton on July 11, 2020.

Jack Schaub ’16 and Kelly (Davidson) Schaub ’17 (7) on June 29, 2019.

Nicole Henrich ’19 and Natalie Davis on October 18, 2020.

Hannah Glazer ’19 and Colin Hastings ’20 (8) on August 14, 2021 Elyse Babb ’20 and Sam Snider on September 5, 2020.

Linda Heiden ’03 (1) and Zack Joyce; Maximilian Bowie Heiden-Joyce on June 22, 2017, and Otto Finch Heiden-Joyce on April 7, 2020.

Kiara (Flanders) Kuenzler ’03; Niko Bay.

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Jennifer Loh ’03 (2); and William Trattler; Daniel Loh Trattler on December 15, 2018.

Andrew Sowa ’04 (3); Henry and Ella Sowa on December 13, 2020.

Brooke (McMillen) Patz ’05 (4); Audrey Clara on May 9, 2019.

Marcie (Pardieck) Aynes ’07 and Brian Aynes; Beckham Marcus Aynes on October 19, 2020.

Elizabeth (Doss) Doublestein ’07 (5); Talia Jayne Doublestein on December 17, 2019.

Anna (Schmidt) Marr ’07 and Bryan Marr; Goldie Wescott Marr in February 2020.

Amanda (DiMaio) Livarchik ’08 (6) and Daniel Livarchik; Aubrey Theresa Livarchik on September 3, 2020.

Megan (Drudy) Cuvelier ’09 and Josh; Nellie.

Dr. Emily (Newell) Keller ’11 (7) and Benjamin Keller; Manuel Santos Eldon Keller, on February 3, 2021.

Julie (Woodward) Keller ’11 and Adam Keller; Harrison James Keller on July 24, 2020 Taylor Clarkson ’13 and Morgan (Scheid) Clarkson ’14, MS ’18 (8); Peyton Mae Clarkson on December 5, 2019 Jace Tennant ’13 and Linnea (Corey) Tennant ’15 (9); Caroline Hope Tennant on October 30, 2020.

Mollie (Bates) Walton ’14 (10) and Kyle Walton; Charlie Nolan Walton on February 28, 2020.

Kelsie (Mitchell) Miller ’14 and Carl Miller ’13; Mila Everlee Miller.

Caitlin (Holden) Sherrill ’14 and Christopher Sherrill; Elias Sherrill on January 12, 2021.

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IN MEMORIAM Esther (Hoover) Zendt ’36 Margaret (Bade) Charters ’37 Carolyn (Varin) Copeland ’39, MA ’40 Betty Sachs ’39 Mary Bee (Fromhold) Bowman ’41 Nancy Holliman Johnson ’41 Jeanne (Bundy) Duncan ’44 Thomas Broden ’45 Mary Helen (Cain) Courtney ’45 John McCord ’45 Anna (Marley) Pride ’45 Ottie (Mearl) Stuckenbruck ’45 Joyce (Fraze) Yarbrough ’45 Elizabeth (Josey) Johnston ’46 Kathryn (Hill) Meredith ’46, MS ’75 Thomas Stump ’46 Carl Getz ’47 John McNutt ’47 Gloria (Cole) Ryan ’47 Mary (Steffy) Spiegl ’47 Claribel (Martin) Stewart ’47 Mildred Wiese ’47, MS ’75 William Adams ’48 Marjorie (Arthur) Faulconer ’48 Barbara (Andrews) Foust ’48 Margaret (McNeely) Gust ’48 Mary Lynn (McCormick) Guyot ’48 James Valentine ’48 Barbara (Bard) Wilson ’48 Athena (Gianakos) Wright ’48 Harriette (Elder) Aichele ’49, MS ’54 Henrietta (Hurt) Armstrong ’49 Richard Bennett ’49 Martha (Smith) Hays ’49, MS ’65 Eleanor (McClure) Janes John Martin ’49 Fred Blankenhorn ’50 Barbara (Montgomery) Braden ’50 Earl Click ’50 Jean (Pribble) Cook ’50 James Enzor ’50 Kedrick Fisher ’50 Daniel Gates ’50 Jacqueline (Marks) Greenwood ’50 David Hamp ’50 Jane (Spencer) Kersey ’50 Froso (Manolios) McDonald ’50 John Medjeski ’50, MM ’55 George Melloan ’50 Charles Merriman ’50 Robert Meyer ’50, MM ’57 William Nason ’50, MS ’56 Fred Odiet ’50 Maxine (Killen) Rohr ’50 Greta (Petersen) Schwei ’50 Harry Shirk ’50 Nancy (Spencer) Soots ’50 Richard Thompson ’50

Donald Batrich ’51 Donald Beckerich ’51 Paul Bevelhimer ’51, MS ’57 John Despot ’51 Donald Elbert ’51 Donald Jackson ’51, MS ’64 William Jackson ’51, MS ’60 Mary (Turpin) McCoun ’51 Clem Moorman ’51 William Penish ’51 Ralph Pfau ’51 Lila (Cullen) Reely ’51 Robert Therry ’51 Phyllis (Bowles) Thornberry ’51 Harold Allen ’52 Joan (Wade) Baker ’52 Marian Callon, MS ’52 Fred Croner ’52 Mary Louise (Markland) Gallagher ’52 Jane (Miller) Henderson ’52 Joel Marsh ’52 Donald Payne ’52 Keith Pickett ’52 William Saler, MS ’52 Sally (Vertrees) Schlotz ’52 Gordon Traylor, MS ’52 Sally (Bell) Beck ’53 Donald Cassady ’53 Betty (Gish) De Fur ’53 Dorothy (Stonestreet) Dickinson ’53 Carl Doty ’53 David Gaughan ’53 Charles Hewitt ’53 Donna (Thorne) Host ’53 Judy (Clark) Lincks ’53 Meredith Luther ’53 Thomas Rafferty ’53 Patrick Ryan ’53 Robert Simon ’53 Margaret Webb ’53 James Chianakas ’54 Martha (Burbank) Clement ’54 Lloyd Cooper, MS ’54 Delbert Keesee, MA ’54 Marjorie (Cornelius) Kemper ’54 Dale McLaughlin ’54 William Needler ’54 Donna (Van Arendonk) Rogers ’54 Dixie (Scifres) Weaver ’54 Robert Willingham ’54 Duane Aelick ’55 Richard Becker ’55 Raymond Brocker ’55 Tom Charles ’55 John Foutty ’55, MS ’57 Richard Gilaspy ’55 Joseph Leamon ’55 Robert McCallum ’55 Richard Morgan ’55 Marilyn (Wiegand) Pecsok, MS ’55 Lenna (Smith) Ransburg, MS ’55

Richard Sandler ’55 Marvin Shlensky ’55 Joan (Sandberg) Suttles ’55, MA ’66 Janis (Oliver) Brodrick ’56 Donald Day ’56 Alex Ebneth, MS ’56 Audrey (Chleboun) Eisenach ’56 George Faulk ’56 Howard Mangin ’56 David Mathews, MM ’56 Fred Offutt ’56 William Perkins ’56 Joseph Rawlings, MS ’56 Jeanne (Morrison) Smith, MS ’56 Barbara (Stroup) Weaver ’56 Darlene (Whitecotton) Wheeler ’56 Carter Byfield, MS ’57 Joan (Ryan) Cleveland ’57, MS ’67 Henry Foster ’57 Robert Greene ’57 Joanne (Spivey) King ’57 Donald Kramer, MS ’57 Margaret (Schucker) Sabens ’57 James Sleighter, MS ’57 Jean (McCartney) Spinks ’57 Madeline (Wilson) Sweatman, MS ’57 Marilyn (Horton) White ’57 David Whitt ’57 Jacqueline Wiles ’57 Norman Wilson ’57 Joseph Bear ’58 Ralph High, MDIV ’58 Wayne Johnson ’58 Catherine (Ball) Lord ’58, MS ’75 James Mallers ’58 Walter Mason ’58 John Newton ’58 Sandra (Haas) Raines ’58 Ruth (Hunt) Seawall ’58 Janet (Crull) Smashey ’58 Raymond Alexander, MS ’59 Patsy (Brewer) Collins ’59 George Cottrell ’59 Richard Gliwa ’59 Clyde Hochstedler, MS ’59 Adele (Clerkin) Holevas ’59 Robert Irwin, MS ’59 George Miller ’59 Marilyn Noel ’59 Nicholas Rohrman ’59 Donna (Richardson) Sanders ’59 Charles Stalon ’59 Charles Willer ’59, MM ’65 Richard Buck ’60 Gerald Cunningham ’60 William Daniels ’60 Ronald Dodd ’60 Jerry Garrett ’60 Ronald Mayhill ’60 Jerry Oliver, MS ’60 FALL 2021

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Harry Kremer ’64 Jane Lindley ’64 Linda (Hall) Mead ’64 Charles Stanier, MS ’64 Stephen Wheeler ’64 Richard Clark ’65 Sue Hyland, MS ’65 Michael Kelley ’65 Gary Kitchen ’65 Helen Mau ’65 Caryol McColley, MS ’65 Nancy (Glover) Schulenburg ’65 William Smith ’65 Suzan (White) Stoops ’65 Rebecca (Brown) Whitmore ’65, MS ’70 Sandra Beaning, MS ’66 David Cranfill ’66 Betty (Padgett) De Baun, MS ’66 Carol (Rust) Kastner, MS ’66 James Kutschke ’66 Miriam Lawson, MS ’66 Roberta Owen, MM ’66 Stephen Peck ’66 Samuel Ritchey ’66 Priscilla Smith ’66 Sondra (Cornelius) Wellman, MS ’66 Jon Crosley ’67 Robert Horner ’67 John Kanouse, MA ’67 John King ’67 Wray Riggins ’67 Betty (Heckaman) Roose, MS ’67 Donna (Barnett) Ruch ’67 Marvin Singleton ’67 Connie (Kerr) Snapp ’67 Carolyn (Schafer) Bledsoe ’68 Pauline (Slie) Bontrager ’68 Barbara Crose, MS ’68 Betsy (Tinsman) Dustman ’68, MS ’73 Sandra (Schwomeyer) Lamb ’68 Kenneth Liebfried, MS ’68 Ann (Johnston) Swope ’68 Linda (Brownlee) Szewc ’68, MS ’75

Hilda (Ellis) Rolle ’60 Walter Smith ’60 Kenneth Spraetz ’60 Donald Thomas, MS ’60 Donald Wolfe ’60 Verne Chandler, MS ’61 William Helm, MA ’61 Monte Horner ’61 Jim James ’61 Kathleen (Stotts) Kehl ’61, MS ’74 Anna (Argyelan) Markus ’61 Robert Perry ’61 Samuel Rhinesmith, MM ’61 Virginia (Edington) Riggle ’61 Wanda Sieglitz ’61 Richard Witt ’61 James Grasty ’62 Robert Parker ’62, MS ’68 James Sharpe ’62 Joyce (Cripe) Sink ’62 Charlotte (Page) Webb ’62 Edward Wendelburg, MS ’62 Duane Beck ’63 Jean (Tutterrow) Carson ’63 Peter Cullen ’63 Evelyn (Arnold) Everett, MS ’63 Arnold Graves ’63 Robert Gray ’63 Benton Harlan, MBA ’63 Ellen (Breitenbach) Jones ’63 Eleanor Lawless, MS ’63 Patricia (York) McClain, MS ’63 Gaylord Myers ’63 Wilbur Scott ’63 Linda (Huggins) Arnold, MS ’64 Arthur Bishop, MA ’64 Betty Bitler ’64, MS ’69 Mary Cleary, MS ’64 Paul Fouts ’64 Richard Green ’64 George Huckaby ’64 Bill Knoth ’64

Bette (Kremer) Thomas ’68 Ivan Willenberg, MBA ’68 Robert Beck ’69 Harold Black, MM ’69 Beverly (Carpentier) Carter, MS ’69 Mary Caughell, MS ’69 Bonnie (Cook) Elmore, MS ’69 Susan Freese ’69 Judith (Kunz) Guardalabene ’69 Robert Kristensen ’69 Charles Lindstrom ’69 John Newman ’69 Paul Nomellini, MS ’69 Carolyn (Watson) Rankin, MS ’69 Susan (Wolavka) Riggs ’69, MS ’82 David Tousley ’69 Roger Zody ’69 Ralph Coble ’70 Adrian Ford ’70 William Haas, MBA ’70 Audra (Jones) Hansen, MS ’70 Joel Schilling ’70 James Stoops ’70 Patricia (Biggs) Strawbridge, MS ’70 Shirley (Reder) Aprison, MS ’71 Raymond Aspinwall ’71 Carl Brown, MS ’71 Charles Craft, MS ’71 Dorothy (Bowles) Cullinane, MS ’71 Ruth (Carson) Hine ’71 John Homan, MBA ’71 Betty (Porter) Knotts ’71 Roland Litz ’71 Sally (Schrider) McKnight, MS ’71 Frances (Nyers) Miller Frank Velikan, MS ’71 Larry Coan ’72 Nancy (Driskill) Fox, MS ’72 Martin Goldberg ’72

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Your Relationship Manager, KaraManager, Fischer, isKara a dedicated for Butlercontact for Butler Your Relationship Fischer,contact is a dedicated alumni to provide trusted advicetrusted and serve as a financial you. guide for you. alumni to provide advice and serveguide as aforfinancial Here are some of are the concierge services provided virtually or in-person: Here some of the concierge services provided virtually or in-person: One-on-One Credit Report Reviews

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One-on-One Credit Report Reviews Creating a Custom Budget

Debt Management Strategies

Planning for Future Financial Goals Tips to Build Your Savings

Assistance with Loan Applications

Reviewing Current Loans & Rates Exploring Refinance Options

Martha Gooldy ’72 Evelyn (Huff ) Hoskins, MS ’72 Candace (Cox) Putz ’72, MM ’75 Bruce Redmer ’72 Jeanne Simons, MS ’72 Katherine Stewart-Smith ’72 Patricia (Goranson) Baker, MS ’73 Anne (Davis) Billings, MS ’73 Mary Chestnut, MS ’73 Gretchen (Hoerdeman) Coogan, MS ’73 Jolene (Ochsner) Ellis, MS ’73 Jean (Stephenson) Maxwell, MS ’73 Robert McGillem, MS ’73 Gerald Rothauser ’73 Wayne Sturtevant ’73 James Conner ’74 Barbara (Roussey) Hubbs, MS ’74 Christine (Russel) Leverenz ’74 Janette Morgan ’74 Gregory Gossard ’75, MS ’85 Phyllis (Teschmacher) Junker, MS ’75 Stephany (Diblasio) Koenig, MS ’75 Phoebe (Varvayn) Kurzrock ’75 Pamela (Bargholz) Malec ’75 Jean (Browning) Rose, MA ’75 Vera (Espenlaub) Schornhorst ’75 David Hollis, MS ’76 Shirley Lee-Stephens, MS ’76 Richard Pollard, MS ’76 Michael Gasparini ’77 Joan (Ludwig) Schick, MS ’77

Joseph Small ’77 Stephen Stanton ’77 Larry De Boy, MBA ’78

Jane Johnson, who

served as Butler First Lady alongside Former President Jack Johnson from 1978–1988, passed away on March 22, 2021, at the age of 96. The Johnsons have remained connected to Butler in various ways, including through generous support of the Scotlyn Fund Scholarship.

Jan Fowler ’78 Carol McCoy ’78 Kimberly (Knipfel) Howard ’79 Barbara Padgett, MA ’81 Patricia (Grohovsky) Serban, MS ’81 Joseph Cohen, MS ’82 Gertrude (Siegel) Dock, MM ’82 Pamela Doke ’82, MA ’83 Robert Morris ’82 Cynthia (Pearson) Purvis ’82 Ronald Sorrells, MS ’82 Mary (Moodey) Sutherland, MA ’82 Ann Grissom-Wilkins ’83 Warren Harling ’83 Sarah Robyns ’84 Teresa Huckleberry, MS ’85 Ronald Baumgart ’86 Brad Candler, MBA ’86 Jean Cauger-Chipper ’86

Thomas Fitch ’86 Gail Rowe, MA ’86 Joseph Ruda, MBA ’86 Thomas Warner ’86 Spencer Carr ’87 Deirdre Abbott, MM ’88 Joseph Otto, MBA ’88 Terri (Pierle) Brode ’89 Eric Fladeland ’89 James Rodenbeck ’89 Amy Furry, MBA ’90 Robin Lanum-Jordan ’90 Vechelle Rhodes-Sanders ’91 Daina Bohr ’92 Sigmund Schildcrout, MBA ’94 Jeffrey Schilling ’94 Patricia Peck ’95 Jennifer (Milner) Wainscott ’97 Marie (Roth) Henderson, MS ’98 Keith Rehrer ’99 David Burch, MBA ’05 Asmar Muhammad ’05 Rich Andriole, MS ’06 Arlene Coatie, MS ’07 Francis Kelley, MBA ’07 Allison Thune, MM ’08 Delveda Moore ’12 Misty Roseman, MS ’13 FACULTY EMERITI Sally (Bell) Beck ’53 John Beversluis George Hoffmann Stephen Perrill Peter Skadron

Prominent local journalist Jill Ditmire ’87 passed away at the age of 56 on January 31, 2021. Ditmire served Midwest communities for 25 years, hosting WFYI’s Curious Mix, Indiana Outdoors, and The Good Life. She anchored WFYI’s All Things Considered program, authored columns for local publications, and anchored or reported for a variety of other outlets. Ditmire also shared her knowledge with Butler students through teaching newswriting classes at the University.

Murphy Ainsworth ’14 passed away on March 3, 2021, at the age of 28 after suffering a sudden, genetically caused heart attack while out for a morning run. Ainsworth was a registered organ donor: His organs helped save four lives, his corneas provided sight for two people, and his bone and tissue healed injuries for nearly 80 other donation recipients. “On behalf of Donor Alliance, we honor and recognize the amazing gifts Murphy gave through organ, eye, and tissue donation,” says Ainsworth’s Family Support Coordinator. “Murphy’s legacy forever lives on in the lives he helped save and heal. Thank you to the Ainsworth family and loved ones for supporting Murphy’s selfless decision to give the gift of life and healing.” If you would like to register as an organ donor, visit organdonor.gov/sign-up.

Ainsworth’s family has created a scholarship in his name, which will be awarded annually to a Butler-bound student from his high school.

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BLUE’S VIEWS

MAGAZINE

FALL 2021 VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF OF STAFF

Brent Rockwood ’00 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT for MARKETING and COMMUNICATIONS

Stephanie Judge Cripe, MBA ’99 EDITOR

Nancy Lyzun ASSISTANT EDITOR

Katie Grieze EDITORIAL TEAM

Sherry Crabtree Kristi Lafree Chloe Starleaf ’14 Rachel Stotts Courtney Tuell ’99 ART AND DESIGN TEAM

David Downham Phil Eichacker (Art Director) Alisha Luckenbill CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

I may be known as the Butler Bulldog, but as I’ve come to learn in my young mascot career, that doesn’t mean there’s some invisible fence keeping me on campus. One paw off the curb at 46th and Sunset and I’m turning heads—from Broad Ripple to Irvington, from Fountain Square through Mass Ave., around Monument Circle and out to I-465 and beyond.

So, while I may be the mascot for Butler University, I’m also an ambassador for the City of Indianapolis. It’s a badge I wear as proudly as my varsity “B” letter sweater. After all, I—along with all my fellow Bulldogs—take great pride in calling Indianapolis home.

Just take a look around Indy and you’ll find an abundance of Butler students, faculty, staff, and alumni doing great things as shared in this issue of Butler Magazine. Butler Bulldogs have been burying bones all over the community, while opening our campus for our neighbors to come bury bones of their own.

The Butler campus is in the heart of Indy, and Indy will always hold a spot in all Dawgs’ hearts. I’m honored to be mascot at this moment, following along as Bulldogs continue to keep our city moving forward.

Zach Bolinger Caitlin Sullivan CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Marc Allan, MFA ’18 Mark Apple Cindy Dashnaw Grace Gordon ’23 Katie Grieze Jennifer Gunnels Dana Lee ’19 Kamy Mitchell ’21 Hailey Radakovitz ’21 Meredith Sauter ’12 and Butler Blue IV CLASS ACTS

Office of Butler Community Engagement ClassActs@butler.edu Butler Magazine is published for alumni, parents, supporters, and friends of Butler University.

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BUTLER MAGAZINE

“At its core, Indianapolis is a community built on servant leadership and Butler epitomizes this quality.”

—Butler Trustee Chris Gahl ’00 addressing the incoming class of 2021

“To the obvious pleasure of townspeople and collegiates alike, the annual homecoming pageant wends its way down Meridian, fronted by the Butler marching band. The winning Sigma Nu float is pictured in the foreground.”

—The Drift, 1953

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Butler

4600 Sunset Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46208

University

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

FALL FALL2021 2021

THE CAMPAIGN for BUTLER UNIVERSITY

butler.edu/butlerbeyond

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