Butler Makes Princeton Review’s ‘The Best 385 Colleges’ For Second Straight Time
PUBLISHED ON Aug 06 2019
For the second year in a row, Butler University is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review.
Butler is again included in the 2020 annual The Best 385 Colleges guidebook, which showcases the schools Princeton Review recommends to college applicants. Only about 13 percent of the country’s 3,000 four-year colleges and universities are profiled in The Best 385 Colleges, which is one of the company’s most popular guides.
“We chose the 385 colleges for this edition as our ‘best’ overall, academically based on data we gathered in 2018-19 from more than 1,000 school administrators about their schools’ academic programs and offerings,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief and lead author of the book.
In Butler’s two-page profile in the book, students highlighted the impressive student-to-faculty ratio, the willingness of professors to collaborate with students on research, and the vast study abroad offerings.
Students said innovative technology is continually being introduced into the classroom, professors are willing to support student ideas and modify lectures to support student interests, and most coursework and internships provide real-life experiences.
“Different majors have inventive requirements and classes: some science classes have semester-long research projects; one class participated in a simulated village while studying modern China; while the business school has a Real Business Experience course,” the guidebook says.
Students highlighted the welcoming and accepting student body, along with the inclusive Butler culture.
The best 385 colleges are not ranked hierarchically. Published annually since 1992, the book features detailed descriptions of each college, including admission and graduation rates, as well as excerpts from surveys of students and graduates.
Butler Makes Princeton Review’s ‘The Best 385 Colleges’ For Second Straight Time
Students highlight experiential learning, study abroad offerings, innovation, and inclusive culture.
Republican Delegates More Likely to Disagree, New Butler Research Shows
PUBLISHED ON Nov 04 2019
Within any political party, there’s a multitude of views and approaches to campaigning. Some members want to advance specific policies, others just want to do whatever it takes to win.
Recent research co-authored by Greg Shufeldt, Butler University Assistant Professor of Political Science, found that at the 2012 conventions, Republican delegates were not only much more polarized within their party than Democratic delegates, but they were much more divided than in previous years.
While published results are from 2012, they shed important light on internal party processes that shaped the conflicts evident in the 2016 presidential primary contests.
“This was before President Trump,” Shufeldt says, “but this might inform some of the things that allowed President Trump to rise to power.”
Shufeldt culled his data from surveys sent to every delegate that attended the Republican and Democratic conventions. The Butler researcher helped draft the questionnaires in 2012 and 2016, which the delegates filled out online.
“We’re looking at fault lines within the parties,” Shufeldt says. “Congress is more polarized than it's ever been. The parties are farther apart ideologically but also more homogenous. Delegates or party activists are what connects these polarized elites with the general public.”
Shufeldt writes that delegates are classified as more pragmatist, or wanting the party to win elections at the expense of advancing specific policies, or classified as more purist, believing that advancing specific policies is the way for the party to win elections.
The research found not much variation between 2012 Democratic delegates, which offered more balanced pragmatic and purist tendencies. Shufeldt says the Democratic party is more used to navigating inner faction conflict because that is the nature of the Democratic party. Through group identities, they become Democrats. While Democrats internally balance these competing pragmatic and purist tendencies, Republican delegates are more divided into a clearer pragmatic wing and purist wings.
In fact, his research found that the 2012 Republican delegates were more internally divided than the infamous 1972 McGovern Democrats. Based on how delegates responded to questions about group membership, key policy areas, and attitudes toward key party groups, the study organized delegates into factions. On the Republican side, three factions were developed from the Republican delegate data—“contemporary conservatives,” “establishment Republicans,” and “Libertarians.” Among Democrats, the study identified factions of “cultural liberals,” “all-purpose liberals,” and “centrists.”
Looking back on 2012, the rise of the Tea Party and support for Rep. Ron Paul, who campaigned for the Republican candidacy, were influencers to Republican delegates within the “Libertarian” faction. Shufeldt reveals that those factors were less crucial in 2016, but new groups formed four years later within both Republican and Democratic parties.
“These studies inform our politics,” Shufeldt says. “We’re so evenly divided into red and blue states. It’s a really unique time to be talking to people that are at these conventions.”
Media Contact:
Katie Grieze
News Content Manager
kgrieze@butler.edu
260-307-3403
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Republican Delegates More Likely to Disagree, New Butler Research Shows
Research sheds light on what led to internal conflicts during 2016 presidential primary contests
Research sheds light on what led to internal conflicts during 2016 presidential primary contests
Kenzie Academy, Butler University Executive Education Partner to Accelerate Tech Careers
PUBLISHED ON Jun 20 2018
Kenzie Academy, an Indianapolis-based education and apprenticeship program that develops modern tech workers, and Butler University, a private liberal arts and professional education institution with a 160-year history of leading innovation in higher education, today announced a strategic partnership to offer a new model of education to the next generation of technology professionals. Through this innovative partnership, all Kenzie Academy graduates will receive a joint Kenzie Academy and Butler Executive Education certificate at the completion of the Kenzie Academy Front-End Web Development, Full-Stack Web Development, and Software Engineering programs.
The Kenzie-Butler certificate offers a new educational model with a path to employment to a wide range of Hoosiers looking for alternatives to a traditional, four-year college education. Kenzie’s programs are designed to be less expensive and less time-intensive than a four-year degree. By blending elements of traditional college with immersive learning and paid work, individuals from all different backgrounds, including recent high school graduates, those re-entering the workforce, and those looking to shift careers, will have the opportunity to gain education and work experience in high-demand, technical fields. Butler is adding Kenzie’s program to its offerings through its Executive Education program.
“We took notice of Kenzie Academy as soon as it appeared in Indiana,” said Jim Danko, President of Butler University. “The dynamics in higher education today require universities to think beyond the traditional models of the past century. Participating in a new model of education with Kenzie Academy, which is reimagining the way learning is delivered, will extend the market Butler currently serves beyond the traditional four-year residential undergraduate student. Butler University is excited to expand the way we serve the high-growth, high-energy technology community in Indianapolis and the greater Midwest alongside Kenzie Academy.”
Kenzie Academy, a college alternative, offers courses in Front-End Web Development (six months), Full-Stack Web Development (one year), and Software Engineering (two years). Kenzie’s career track programs combine paid apprenticeship work and immersive learning, closing the gap between learning and working. The software development courses cover modern programming languages and the most relevant computer science concepts. Students meet and network with local and national tech leaders, and are provided with one-on-one mentorship. Through Kenzie Studios, Kenzie Academy’s consulting arm, students complete real-world consulting projects for industry clients and are paid for their work. Students can use an Income Share Agreement (ISA) in place of tuition to finance their training at Kenzie, making the program accessible to people without the financial means to pay tuition up front.
“We feel Butler University is the perfect partner for Kenzie, and we’re proud to jointly offer a new type of learning model to the market. Kenzie’s unique approach to developing students who are knowledgeable in the latest technical competencies combined with Butler Executive Education’s proven success in developing workforce leaders creates a powerful solution for producing the talent critically needed by employers,” said William Gulley, Executive Director of Butler Executive Education.
Through the partnership with Butler Executive Education, Kenzie students will have the opportunity to develop skills in areas frequently noted by employers as critical to an individual’s overall success, including communication, problem-solving, change management and basic business acumen. These educational opportunities will be developed and delivered in the form of micro-credentials, allowing students to create a personalized curriculum, and additional certification, in the areas that complement Kenzie’s curriculum and are aligned with a student’s personal interest, capability and future career path.
“We can’t think of a better institution than Butler University to launch this first university partnership,” said Chok Leang Ooi, co-founder and CEO of Kenzie Academy. “Butler has a strong history of doing things differently. We’re excited to bring our innovative institutions together to level the playing field for anyone who wants a first-class education and a chance to be part of the tech ecosystem in Indiana.”
Media contact:
Rachel Stern
rstern@butler.edu
317-940-9257
Kenzie Academy, Butler University Executive Education Partner to Accelerate Tech Careers
Students completing the program will receive a joint certificate from Kenzie Academy, Butler Executive Education.
Students completing the program will receive a joint certificate from Kenzie Academy, Butler Executive Education.
Butler Theatre Gives Health Professionals SWAG
PUBLISHED ON Apr 22 2020
Butler Theatre faculty and staff are utilizing their skills and passion to keep healthcare professionals safe worldwide.
The Indianapolis-born Safer With A Gown (SWAG) project is helping remedy isolation gown shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic by urging home-crafters to download their medical isolation gown patterns. Butler Costume Shop Manager Megan Wiegand, Theatre Professor Wendy Meaden, and Deborah Jo Barrett, Production and Stage Manager for the Jordan College of Arts, joined the collective in mid-March. Meaden drafted the gown pattern, which is to be printed out and pieced together as a blueprint similar to purchased patterns from a fabric store. When finished, the isolation gowns would be donated to a community healthcare facility.
The SWAG website states “that these gowns are critical to the safety of doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and home health care workers to keep them safe when they are in close contact with patients.
So far, SWAG has received more than 2,500 downloads. The organizers received word that some expert-level sewers have crafted several gowns. So much stitching adds up.
"I have made only a handful of gowns for SWAG," Meaden says, "but if each of the 2,000 people who downloaded the pattern made only one gown, or two, it would make a huge difference."
Wiegand digitized the work, making it downloadable as a PDF.
Meaden says the gown’s design would take a novice sewer about an hour to prepare the pattern and two hours to sew together. More experienced crafters can get it done in half that time. Of course, the more gowns you make, the quicker the process becomes.
“I’ve noticed as I’ve been sharing this pattern around,” Meaden says, “so many people really want to help in any way they can. I think we all feel good about creating something that is very satisfying. That’s one of the reasons I got into design.”
Most SWAG stitchers have used bolts of fabric or lightly used or new bed sheets as gown material. Meaden recommends tightly-woven cotton or a cotton polyester blend for best protection.
“Cotton is the most comfortable for the wearer,” Meaden says. “The poly blend will make a little better of a barrier.”
Butler Theatre joined SWAG in mid March thanks to Barrett, who is friends with the Indianapolis family that came up with the idea. As soon as she heard of the need to draft a gown pattern for the project, Barrett immediately thought of Wiegand and Meaden.
“There wasn’t a moment of hesitation from Wendy and Megan,” Barrett says. “Our first line medical professions need all the help they can get and I just think it’s wonderful that there’s this opportunity that the public can help.”
Dr. Deanna Willis, an Indianapolis family physician and primary care doctor, is the aunt and mother of some of the young SWAG starters. She says most factory-made gowns are going to large hospitals nationwide. The shortages are being felt most in smaller healthcare facilities like urgent care clinics and homecare programs.
“Microdroplets can stay suspended in the air quite a while,” Willis says. “These gowns provide a really important source of protection for those folks.”
Meaden consulted with Willis in the gown’s design, and Willis says she was impressed with their approach. They asked questions about medical professionals’ activities during shifts.
“It’s designed to be simple, not a lot of ties for taking on and off,” says Willis, also a Professor of Family Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "They really understand that the garments must be functional. The choice of materials, how they are constructed, and how they are worn are all part of that."
Media Contact:
Katie Grieze
News Content Manager
kgrieze@butler.edu
260-307-3403
Butler Theatre Gives Health Professionals SWAG
Members of the program lent their skills for Indianapolis’ Safer With A Gown project for healthcare workers during COVID-19
Members of the program lent their skills for Indianapolis’ Safer With A Gown project for healthcare workers during COVID-19