Yesterday was Founder’s Day on campus and it was actually pretty fun! There were different celebrations on campus commemorating Ovid Butler‘s, Butler’s founder’s, birth. There were cupcakes in Atherton, letter readings in Starbucks, and other events on campus. The event I went to was a portrait unveiling and talk from a direct descendant of Ovid Butler.

The speaker talked about interesting facts about Butler’s life and the university’s beginnings. For example, I learned that when Butler first opened it was a Christian university and that Ovid Butler was a strict abolitionist and strived for diversity and inclusivity in the university from day one. I also learned that the first black female to graduate college in Indiana was at Butler. It was so cool to hear these things about campus that I didn’t even know before as a junior.

The Founder's Day talk in Irwin Library