INDIANAPOLIS – Julie Straub has been named inaugural Senior Executive Director of the Division of Professional Studies at Butler University. She comes to Butler from Miami University (Ohio), where she served as Co-Founder and Director of E-campus. Straub started in her new role with Butler on April 25, 2022.
Butler’s Division of Professional Studies (DPS) is a new unit designed to advance the Butler Beyond strategic imperative to broaden the University’s impact through, and the creation and delivery of, new and innovative programs for learners that desire a different educational experience than Butler’s traditional undergraduate offering. In her new role, Straub oversees all aspects of DPS, including leading the development, delivery, and expansion of a catalogue of credit and non-credit programs and degrees for adult, executive, and online learners across new markets both within its own unit and in collaboration with Butler’s six colleges. Externally, Straub will coordinate with various stakeholders—including corporations and workforce development organizations—to develop innovative solutions that meet the region’s talent needs.
Straub reports to Melissa Beckwith, Vice President for Strategy and Innovation, and Brooke Barnett, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
“Julie is an entrepreneurial, mission-driven leader and practitioner with more than 20 years of experience in the education field,” Beckwith said. “With deep expertise in adult, online and digital learning, Julie is most passionate about leading organization-wide innovation to expand equity, access, and engagement with digital learning programs that yield high impact outcomes for the learner and institution. She is a perfect fit for Butler and this role.”
Prior to her time at Miami University, Straub held faculty and leadership positions with Indiana Wesleyan University, Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, and University of Cincinnati. Prior to transitioning to higher education, Straub taught in Lakota Local Schools in West Chester, Ohio.
Straub earned a B.S. in Business and Education from Northern Kentucky University, an MSM in Management from Regis University, a ME.D. in Educational Leadership from Xavier University, and an EdD in Higher Education Administration from Miami University.
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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 98 percent placement rate within six months 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.