Butler Community Arts School Adds 3 New Programs

The Butler Community Arts School will introduce three new programs in 2016—youth theater, music composition for high school students, and summer ballet intensive for pre-professional dancers. “We added these new programs for 2016 because the community has been asking,” said Karen Thickstun, Director of the Butler Community Arts School. “We have a strong history of…

Butler Students Head to Asia, Thanks to Freeman Grant

Butler University has been awarded a $339,000 grant from the Freeman Foundation to support undergraduate student internships in East and Southeast Asia in 2016 and 2017. The money will be used to send 20 students to Shanghai in 2016 and 20 to Shanghai, 10 to Beijing, and 10 to Singapore during summer 2017. The grant…

Arick Named a Finalist for CFO of the Year Award

Butler University Chief Financial Officer Bruce Arick was selected as a finalist for the Indianapolis Business Journal’s CFO of the Year honor. In nominating Arick, who has been with Butler for 24 years, the University cited his “solid tenure of stewardship, balanced by his willingness to embrace new endeavors, as was evident with this year’s…

Professor Kercood Receives Grant for Oral Hygiene Training Program

Professor of Special Education Suneeta Kercood has been awarded nearly $25,000 by the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation to develop a video-based training program to teach families of special-needs children about oral healthcare and prepare them for visits to the dentist. “There is a huge disparity in oral health care of children with intellectual/developmental disabilities,” Kercood…

Visiting Writers Series Presents Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman, author of the Magicians trilogy, will speak in the Atherton Union Reilly Room on February 17 at 7:30 PM as part of Butler University’s spring 2016 Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series. Admission is free and open to the public to all events in the series. For more information, call 317-940-9861. Grossman’s Magicians trilogy,…

At Lab School, 22 Chinese Principals Are Students for a Day

When 22 principals from China’s Zhejiang Province wanted to see how American elementary schools operate, they chose to spend a day at the Butler Lab School, which the University operates in partnership with the Indianapolis Public Schools system. The Chinese visitors devoted Friday, December 4, to observing how the elementary school at 34th and Meridian…

Coming Soon to the Sunset Avenue Garage: Pita Pit

Butler University has signed its second retail customer for the Sunset Avenue Parking Garage—a 1,400-square-foot Pita Pit franchise owned by 2003 Butler graduate Travis Sealls. Pita Pit, “a fresh, healthy alternative to fast food,” will open in late February or early March. The restaurant will seat approximately 20 inside and will have an outdoor patio…

Chenoweth Was Here, And Butler Singers Were With Her

When Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth needed choral singers for her November 24 performance with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, she did what a number of superstars have done lately—she turned to Butler University. The result: 10 Butler students sang with Chenoweth on two songs, “Upon This Rock” and “I Was Here,” at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.…

Mel Coryell MFA ’15 Earns Milken Family Foundation Award

Melody Coryell MFA ’15, an English teacher and the coordinator of Shortridge High School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program, has been awarded a $25,000 Milken Family Foundation Educator Award—“the Oscars of Teaching”—for her work bringing IB education to Shortridge and promoting the rigorous curriculum around the state. “I had no idea,” she said after a ceremony…

Realizing the Dream Scholarship Goes to Shandeep Singh ’18

Shandeep Singh is realizing three dreams for the price of one. The first is his parents’, who made it clear that they expected him to go to college. “It was 100 percent I was going to go,” said Singh, a sophomore biology/pre-med and political science double major. “They want to make my life easier, and…

President Danko: All Should Feel Safe, Valued, Celebrated

In light of the situation at the University of Missouri and other campuses, President Danko issued this statement: Dear Butler Community Members, Earlier this year, I spoke out against Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). This act uniquely damaged the spirit and global reputation of the Hoosier State. Its discriminatory agenda directly contradicted Butler’s values…

Visiting Writers Series Presents Poet Dean Young

The Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series concludes its fall 2015 series with poet Dean Young on Monday, November 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the Robertson Hall Johnson Board Room. All events in the series are free and open to the public. For more information, call 317-940-9861. Young, who earned his MFA from Indiana University,…

Think You Need an Antibiotic? Her Poster Says Think Again

The Indiana Department of Health will distribute a poster designed by a Butler University student to warn healthcare providers and their patients about the dangers of overprescribing and overusing antibiotics. The poster, created by senior Pharmacy major Paige Watkins, allows doctors and other pharmaceutical prescribers to post their photo along with a declaration that they…

Freelance Writing Made Easy. Easier, Anyway

As far back as high school, Zachary Petit ’06 had wanted to write for magazines. But he didn’t know how to get started. He looked for an instructional book—a simple A-to-Z primer on how to do it—and found nothing. “So it’s basically one of those clichés—write the book you want to read,” said Petit, author…