• President's Office Home
• Biography
• Executive Council
• Shared Strategic Vision
• Speeches & Publications
  • Dialogue
  • State of the University 2012
• President's Office Staff
• Request an Appearance
• Past Presidents
• Bethanie Danko
• Carter House
• Student Office Hours
• Strategic Plan 2009-2014
• Office Visitor Parking Map
• President's Residence Visitor Parking

Shared Strategic Vision

Read the full text of
A Shared Strategic Vision

During spring 2012, the Board of Trustees and University leadership began discussions on the emerging vision for Butler University over the next 10-15 years, including the development of a set of proposed strategic action items intended to advance our University. The vision for the Butler of the future is one built upon the foundation of the liberal arts and sciences, complemented with nationally-recognized disciplinary and professional programs, preparing students to become outstanding global citizens optimally equipped to confront the challenges of their careers. We also accepted that the transmission of knowledge would no doubt evolve and Butler must adapt to those changes in order to assure a leading role in higher education.

Accordingly, the strategic action items are as follows:

1. Expand our undergraduate program at a measured pace, with more aggressive growth in graduate
   programs, with careful consideration of quality and demand.
2. Actively pursue an array of new degree, non-degree, and interdisciplinary programs, both on-campus
   and online, in areas where there is student interest, faculty interest, capability, and the opportunity for
   Butler to deliver distinctive and successful educational programs.
3. Increase emphasis on research to support growth and effectiveness of knowledge transfer in Butler's undergraduate and graduate offerings. This will be done consistent with Butler's overall mission without seeking to become a high research university.
4. Pursue innovation in program offerings, weaving experiential and online learning into Butler programs.
5. Aggressively strengthen Butler's national (and, in selected areas, international) reputation.
6. Aggressively strengthen Butler's reputation among, and relationships with, recruiters-across University programs, colleges, and disciplines-to improve career-placement outcomes for all Butler graduates.
7. Grow the endowment to $750 million by 2025.
8. Reduce tuition dependence from 87% to 75% by 2025.
9. Increase annual operating margins from <1% to 5% within the next 5 years by adding revenue-generating programs.
10. Update/develop Butler's Campus Master Plan to reflect the University's strategic direction and vision.

Now is time to actively engage the broader University community in discussion and determination of the appropriateness and feasibility of various initiatives. Let your voice be heard.