On Thursday, October 6, 32 Butler University donors whose lifetime giving has reached $100,000 or more were newly inducted into the Carillon Society in recognition of their generosity. In total, this newest class of Carillon Society inductees have collectively contributed more than $2.8 million in support of Butler’s mission. On Friday afternoon, the celebration of philanthropy continued as faculty, staff, students, donors, and members of the Board of Trustees gathered in the atrium of Levinson Family Hall to celebrate the official naming of the new building in the renovated and expanded sciences complex, which was named in honor of a $10 million gift from Frank ʼ75 and Kristin Levinson.
The Thursday evening dinner reception and ceremony also included the unveiling of new plaques on Cornerstone Plaza recognizing donors whose lifetime giving to the University has reached $1 million or more. New Cornerstone Plaza honorees whose plaques were unveiled included Bill ʼ51 and Joanne Dugan, John ʼ62 and Judy Cooke, Keith ʼ71, MBA ʼ78 and Sarah MBA ʼ90 Faller, and Andrew ʼ90 and Deborah Greenlee.
Jo Henn ʼ24, a dance performance major in the Jordan College of the Arts, and a 2022 participant in the Butler Summer Institute, provided a presentation for Carillon Society guests about the research they conducted with help from faculty advisor Assistant Professor David Ingram on muscular bonding in dance.
Butler President James Danko thanked the group for their leadership support in reaching and exceeding the University’s $250 million Butler Beyond comprehensive campaign fundraising goal earlier this year. During the fiscal year that concluded on May 31, 2022, the University documented more than $52.6 million in gifts and future commitments, its best fundraising year on record. Danko expressed gratitude to the donors for their support in expanding access to a Butler education and to the hands-on opportunities that enhance classroom learning such as undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, and service learning.
The Friday afternoon naming ceremony included remarks from College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Jay Howard, Psychology Professor Tara Lineweaver, and Josh Wanninger ʼ24, an astrophysics and astronomy major, among others. Howard, Lineweaver, and Wanninger shared the ways Levinson Family Hall has expanded opportunities for research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and expansion of the science curriculum at Butler.
“I was able to secure a NASA internship after completing my first research project in this building,” Wanninger said. “These experiences are invaluable to students seeking full-time employment or graduate studies in their field following their four years at Butler.”
Frank Levinson was in attendance at the ceremony and expressed his satisfaction in seeing the growth of the sciences curriculum at Butler over the past few decades and credited Butler faculty for their passion and innovative ideas, which have inspired much of the Levinson family’s philanthropic giving to Butler. Many faculty members were in attendance to express their gratitude for Levinson’s partnership and support.
“As the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I am grateful to be able to honor a remarkable graduate whose career has affected many,” Howard said. “I am grateful that this building and what happens inside it has the profound ability to shape the University, shape the future lives of faculty and students, and shape Butler graduates’ role in leading efforts to solve the challenges that will face this generation and generations to come.”
The sciences expansion and renovation project included a renovation of the Holcomb Building and the construction of Levinson Family Hall linking Holcomb to Gallahue Hall. The final phase of the project includes the renovation of Gallahue, which is currently underway. The completed Butler Sciences Complex will open in April.