President Danko’s Biography

James M. Danko became the 21st president of Butler University in 2011 and has led the institution through a period of sustained momentum, strategic clarity, and national visibility. Under his leadership, Butler has emerged as a higher-education innovator, expanding academic offerings, reimagining how education is delivered, and transforming the physical campus through major investments in academic, residential, arts, performance, and athletic facilities.

President Danko has guided Butler through its most successful fundraising years in history. Among many philanthropic successes, a landmark $25 million gift from Andre and Julia Lacy led to the naming of the Lacy School of Business, strengthening Butler’s national standing and academic reach. Danko has also overseen multiple comprehensive strategic planning efforts, most notably Butler Beyond (2019–2025), which resulted in the launch of numerous new academic programs—many designed in innovative and non-traditional formats to meet evolving student and workforce needs.

A centerpiece of Butler Beyond was the creation of Founder’s College, launched in fall 2025 as a distinctive associate-degree pathway emphasizing affordability, applied learning, and career preparation. During this same period, Butler launched a new undergraduate nursing program and expanded health-related offerings, reflecting growing demand for practice-ready professionals. The Transformation Lab, established within Butler Beyond, has become a central engine for institutional experimentation, innovation, and cross-campus collaboration.

Building on this momentum, Butler has recently launched Boldly Butler, a new strategy and comprehensive campaign that anticipates $325 million in philanthropic support. The initiative signals a persistently ambitious approach to innovation—particularly at the intersection of higher education, artificial intelligence, and workforce preparation—ensuring Butler graduates are well positioned for future careers in a rapidly changing world.

During Danko’s presidency, Butler’s national profile has risen significantly. The University’s membership in the BIG EAST Conference has strengthened Butler’s visibility and positioned it among a cohort of highly regarded peer institutions, reinforcing the University’s academic and athletic aspirations.

President Danko’s path to higher-education leadership is notably non-traditional. An entrepreneur at heart, he founded a medical equipment company in Cleveland, Ohio at age 19, growing it into a successful multi-location healthcare and fitness equipment enterprise. He is an alumnus of St. Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, where he earned a degree in Religious Studies. He earned his MBA with highest honors from the University of Michigan.

Prior to Butler, Danko served as dean of the Villanova School of Business, where the school achieved national prominence, including recognition as the nation’s top undergraduate business program by BusinessWeek. Earlier, he held senior leadership roles at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Babson College, and the University of Michigan.