
Jonathan Purvis, a respected leader in higher education advancement with 19 years of experience, has been named Butler University’s Vice President for Advancement.
Jonathan comes to Butler from Indiana University where he has served as Vice President for Development and Regional Campuses. Previously he served as Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations for the Indiana University School of Education and Senior Director for Capital Projects at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to that Jonathan held progressive development responsibilities at the IU Foundation ranging from Executive Director of Special Gifts and Annual Giving to Assistant to the President.
"Jonathan possesses an exceptional depth of experience at the highest levels of the advancement profession," said Butler University President James Danko. "His proven success in development and demonstrated leadership in higher education make him exactly the right person to lead Butler toward achieving our ambitious fundraising objectives."
Jonathan holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive credential (CFRE) and has taught a variety of fundraising courses at Indiana University. He is a frequent presenter with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and a contributing author to the third edition of the acclaimed Achieving Excellence in Fundraising. He holds a BA in English and Master of Public Affairs, both from Indiana University.
Having grown up in Noblesville in a family of Butler alumni, Jonathan is excited to return to central Indiana to be part of the Butler community. He is joined by his wife Brittany, daughter Sophie and son Joshua.

The role of Sr. Executive Director for University Advancement & Campaign Director is charged with the following responsibilities in support of University Advancement’s purpose to connect and engage the Butler University community. University Advancement maximizes philanthropy in support of Butler’s mission.
Provide strategic direction and leadership for all operations that support major gift fundraising
Ensure University Advancement division operational alignment with expectations of the Office of the President


Larry Clow is a writer, editor, and marketing and communications specialist with a focus on higher education. He has been writing professionally since 2002 and his work has appeared in a number of publications throughout New England. He also spent four years as an undergraduate adjunct instructor and taught composition and rhetoric, critical thinking, and nonfiction writing.
He received his MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 2012 and was the recipient of the MFA Program’s Young Dawkins III Prize that year. From 2014 to 2016, Clow was the founding editor of The Sound, a weekly news, arts, and culture publication based in Portsmouth, NH. From 2016 to 2019, he was a member of the UNH communications and marketing team, first as a freelance feature writer for UNH Magazine and a variety of campus publications and later as the production editor for UNH Extension.
Clow joined the Butler University Advancement staff in 2019. He earned his Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist certification in 2022.