Brooke Barnett, PhD, has been selected to serve as the next Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Butler University. She has served as Butler’s Interim Provost since April 1, 2021.
Barnett first joined Butler University in 2019 as the Dean of the College of Communication and Professor of Communication. Prior to her arrival at Butler, she served for nine years on the President’s senior cabinet, as Associate Provost for Academic and Inclusive Excellence, and as chair of the faculty governing body at Elon University.
In her new role, Barnett will lead and advocate for 376 full-time faculty members, while simultaneously serving as a key senior administrator for a complex and thriving university. As the chief academic officer of the University, she will oversee the deans of the six colleges, the Dean of Libraries, and is directly responsible for curriculum and academic excellence, instructional and research programs, and faculty development across Butler University.
“We conducted an exhaustive nationwide search for our next Provost, and involved faculty, staff, students, trustees, as well as academic and administrative leaders in the process,” Butler University President James Danko said. “Sometimes completing such a search affirms that the person currently filling the role is the right person for the job. That happened here.”
“I am honored to continue serving Butler in this role,” Barnett Said. “Butler is thriving and prepared to meet the many challenges higher education faces. We are on the cusp of so many exciting things and I look forward to the next stages of our work together.”
Barnett earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Studies at Georgetown College. She earned her Master of Arts in Journalism and doctorate in Mass Communication with a concentration in Law and Visual Communication at Indiana University-Bloomington.
About Butler University
Butler University is a nationally recognized comprehensive university encompassing six colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Pharmacy & Health Sciences. Approximately 4,500 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students are enrolled at Butler, representing 46 states and 22 countries. More than 75 percent of Butler students will participate in some form of internship, and Butler students have had significant success after graduation, as demonstrated by the University’s 97 percent placement rate within one year of graduation. The University was recently listed as the No. 1 regional university in the Midwest, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings, in addition to being included in The Princeton Review’s annual “best colleges” guidebook.