Founded in 1855 by attorney and abolitionist Ovid Butler, Butler occupies 290 acres in Indianapolis’ Butler-Tarkington neighborhood. The University emphasizes a liberal arts-based education with the goal of teaching clear and effective communication, appreciation of beauty, and a commitment to lifelong learning, community service and global awareness.
Butler offers more than 60 majors. Over the past five years, our graduates have enjoyed an average 96 percent job placement rate, with 100 percent in education and pharmacy. There’s always something new to learn about Butler. Get the facts here.

Butler University Ranks Second Among Best Colleges

Butler University moved up from the fourth position to second in the Master’s Midwest category in the 2010 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges. This is Butler’s 21st consecutive year of being ranked in the top 10 of this category. To be included in the Master’s category, a university must offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs but few, if any, doctoral programs. The 557 universities in this category are ranked within four geographic areas – North, South, Midwest and West.

After universities are grouped according to their region, they are then ranked in several indicators of academic excellence such as peer assessment, freshman retention, graduation rate, student/faculty ratio, acceptance rate and alumni giving rate. Butler sustained its performance in virtually every criterion and improved in the following five areas:

• 87% in average freshman retention; 85% the previous year.
• 56% of classes under 20; 53% the previous year.
• 3% of classes of 50 or more; 4% the previous year.
• 78% of freshmen in the top 25% of graduating high school class; 77% the previous year.
• 1080-1280 SAT in 25th-75th percentile; 1070-1280 the previous year.

“It is gratifying to see Butler continue to make steady improvements in standard criteria for educational excellence,” remarked Butler President Bobby Fong.

Founded in 1855, Butler University serves more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students in five academic colleges: Business, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Jordan College of Fine Arts. Butler University is consistently cited in such national college guides as US News & World Report, Kaplan/Newsweek, and Barron’s Best Buys in College Education.

Academic Excellence

Butler University’s goal is to provide the highest quality of teaching and to achieve the highest ideals of learning. We want our students to graduate from Butler with a commitment to lifelong learning, community service and global awareness.

Butler University consistently ranks among the top schools in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings in the Midwest Universities-Master’s category. In 2008, Butler moved up to No. 2 in that category, out of 145 schools.

Our five colleges – Business, Education, Jordan College of Fine Arts Liberal Arts & Sciences and Pharmacy & Health Sciences – deliver personalized education across 60 majors and pre-professional programs. Our student-faculty ratio is 11-to-1, so classes are small and individual attention is plentiful. And each freshman class is limited to approximately 915 students, which means your student will have the chance to experience all Butler has to offer without getting lost in a crowd.

Successful Beginnings

Butler University prepares students for the challenges of an ever-changing world and readies them for their next step in life. The five year average for successful placement within six months of graduation is 96%. For pharmacy and Physician Assistant graduates, as well as education and engineering majors, the rate is 100%.

If graduate school is in your student’s future, Butler’s Office of Post-Graduate Studies offers one-on-one guidance to help him or her research and apply to the appropriate school. The Office of Post-Graduate Studies also offers several workshops each semester regarding graduate school preparation.

In the past 5 years, 72% of our graduates chose to pursue full-time employment after graduation. They went to work at hundreds of different companies, from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

Internship & Career Services delivers a full complement of services to assist students and alumni through career exploration and preparation. Students are encouraged to visit the office early in their college career to meet the staff and take advantage of the many services available. More than 2,000 employers interact with the Center through information sessions, workshop presentations, on-campus recruitment and career expos.

Take The Lead

Preparing leaders for life is what Butler does best. You’ll learn to lead in the classroom, the workplace and the community by:

• Understanding and growing your own interests, strength and values
• Learning and practicing creativity, problem solving and good decision making – the hallmarks of a liberal arts education
• Using effective communication skills, technology and know-how
• Working cooperatively and valuing diversity
• Experiencing success through leadership in campus organizations, volunteer work, service-learning projects and philanthropic causes

A Butler education results in more than a diploma. It’s about who you become. Butler graduates leave here with more than a respected degree from a prestigious university. Regardless of their profession, they’re versatile, effective leaders in the many roles they serve in both their professional and personal lives.

Our students start charities, build houses and generally make themselves a helping presence wherever they go. You can develop your own leadership skills with the resources and activities available through our Programs for Leadership and Service Education. You’ll have the opportunity to get involved with BU’s Student Government Association, the Volunteer Center and many other student organizations. Stand out and be outstanding here at Butler.

Academics

We believe that great achievement starts with great opportunities. And that’s what you’ll get at Butler. From our core curriculum, based on the liberal arts and sciences philosophy, to how that learning is applied, Butler is about academic excellence. It’s a tradition that began in 1855 and has continued with each class of select students for more than 150 years.

Classes are just the beginning of your academic experience. You’ll have extensive possibilities to extend your education beyond the classroom through research opportunities, internships, and one of the nation’s best study abroad programs. And we blend the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs to offer the best of both worlds.

The 7 C’s … And More

U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges ranks Butler as one of top colleges in the Midwest, which is always nice to hear. But it’s what our current students and alumni say that matters most. If you ask them what they like about Butler, here’s what they’ll tell you. We call it our 7 C’s*:

Community. We’re a not-too-big, but not-too-small school where professors know you by name, and you recognize people walking around campus. It’s a place where you can stand out and be outstanding.
Collaboration. Call it teamwork, partnerships, interactive dialogue, collaboration…whatever word you want. It describes the special bond here between students and professors and among classmates. You’ll see it happening in class projects, research, volunteer work, academic advising and other situations and circumstances.
Choice. With more than 60 majors to choose from, special programs such as our outstanding Honors program, Study Abroad, Liberal Arts Works, Exploratory Studies and conservatory-quality fine arts college (to name just a few) there’s endless opportunity for academic excellence. We also have more than 100 very active student organizations.
Campus. “Beautiful” is the word you’ll hear most often to describe our 290-acre campus composed of Ivy League-looking buildings, gardens, performing arts center and observatory.
Connections. Active learning, mentoring, internships, practicum, and externships all contribute to valuable networks that open up infinite possibilities and opportunities for your future, regardless of where you go from here.
City Life. We’re located in Indianapolis, the nation’s 13^th largest city, known as the Crossroads of America. It’s big on opportunities, adventures and fun. Campus is just minutes away from both downtown and artsy Broad Ripple Village.
Culture. A look at the calendar proves there’s always something happening on campus. And if that isn’t enough, just down the road are all kinds of museums, concerts, art fairs, comedy clubs, historic buildings and amateur and professional sports, as well as world class hotels, restaurants and shopping.

*Some ancient civilizations used the phrase “seven seas” to describe the bodies of water known at that time. And the number seven has ancient magic of its own in many cultural and religious traditions.

Beyond our 7 C’s, there’s so much more that makes Butler special. Here are just a few things students mentioned when we asked them to name specifics:

• Starbucks (ours was the first on-campus location in the state)
• Hinkle Fieldhouse (the historical athletic building was the subject of an ESPN Classic documentary)
• No teaching assistants (that’s right, all Butler classes are taught by professors so you get top-quality knowledge from the most reliable sources)
• Open Forum with Dr. Fong (students meet informally with B.U. President Bobby Fong for candid conversation every two weeks at Starbucks)
• Blue II (Butler’s own bulldog lives and works on campus greeting students and visitors)
• Volunteering (boundless opportunities to serve others and make a difference in the world)
• Great guests (last year Butler hosted former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as well as other well-known scientists, authors, musicians and media personalities)
• New HRC (our state-of-the-art Health and Recreation Complex opened at the end of August. Inside you’ll find a gym, indoor jogging track, 6-lane lap/leisure pool, fully stocked weight training and fitness rooms, a student lounge and juice bar)
• Clowes Memorial Hall (our world-class auditorium venue for Broadway shows, concerts, lectures and more)
• Student discounts (students pay less for more entertainment)
• Division I Athletics (participate in competitive sports or attend on-campus sports events free as a student!)
• Butler Business Accelerator (a $22 million initiative for “real world” business opportunities and experiences)
• Tradition (In 2005 we celebrated Butler’s 150^th birthday – can you say sesquicentennial?)
• Holcomb Planetarium (home of the state’s largest telescope)
• The Butler Collegian (recognized as the “Best College Newspaper in Indiana,” by the Society of Professional Journalists)
• DawgNet (our journalism students were among the first in the nation to publish an electronic student newspaper)

Chances are, when you come to Butler, you’ll be able to add a few of your own favorites. Apply now!

Butler Stats

Who We Are

Butler is an independent, private, coeducational university founded in 1855. We’re a comprehensive university, which means we offer both liberal arts and sciences majors (like English and Biology) and professional programs (like Business and Pharmacy). Butler University is just that, a university. Which means we’re one institution made up of five colleges, each specializing in a specific area. This gives you more choices. More majors to choose from, more classes to pick from, more opportunities to create.

Our Location

Butler is located on the north side of Indianapolis, just five miles from downtown in a residential neighborhood. The Hoosier capital is the 13th largest city in the United States.

OUR STUDENTS

4,438 students
3,884 undergraduates
554 graduate students
Place of origin: 43 states; 53 foreign countries
2009 Freshmen Class Profile (Middle 50%)
GPA (on a 4.0 scale): 3.47 – 4.0
SAT: critical reading 520-630; math 540-650; writing 520-620
ACT: 25-30
50% in the top 10% of their graduating class

OUR FACULTY

306 full-time faculty; 0 teaching assistants (grad students teaching classes)

STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO

11:1 with an average university-wide class size of 20

RETENTION RATE

90% of freshmen re-enrolled for sophomore year in 2009, well above the national average.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

More than 60 programs of study within five academic colleges, including an Exploratory Studies Program for students undecided about their major.

PLACEMENT RATE

Average placement rate for the past five years is 94% within six months of graduation. For pharmacy and Physician Assistant graduates, as well as education and engineering majors, the rate is 100%.

2009-2010 COSTS

For freshmen (in and out of state):
Tuition $28,460
Room & Board $9,500
Fees $800

CAMPUS

The 290-acre Butler campus is hailed as one of the most attractive in the Midwest for its park-like setting.

RANKINGS AND RECOGNITIONS

• Ranked 2^nd in the 2009 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges in the Master’s Midwest category.
• Named ‘Best Value in Private Universities’ by Kiplinger’s (2009)
• Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) ranked among the nation’s best graduate schools in the 2006 annual U.S. News and World Report survey.
• ‘Best in the Midwest’ by Princeton Review
• Named ‘College that Rocks’ by Rolling Stones.
• Recognized in:
  • Princeton Review Best Colleges (Regional Edition)
  • Peterson’s Competitive Colleges
  • Barron’s Best Buys
• A $22 million grant in 2005 from Lilly Endowment Inc. created the Butler Business Accelerator.
• A $25 million grant in 2006 from Lilly Endowment Inc. supported the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Expansion Project.

ACTIVITIES

More than 135 student organizations from the Academy of Students of Pharmacy to Voices of Deliverance and the YMCA.

OUR MISSION

Butler’s mission is to provide the highest quality of liberal and professional education and to integrate the liberal arts with professional education, by creating and fostering a stimulating intellectual community built upon interactive dialogue and inquiry among students, faculty, and staff.

Butler Athletics

All but one of Butler’s 19 intercollegiate teams compete in the Horizon League, along with Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay, Loyola, Milwaukee, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State. The football team is a member of the Pioneer Football League, which includes Dayton, Drake, San Diego and Valparaiso.

It was clear from the earliest days that athletics was destined to play a major role in shaping Butler University. When the school moved to its current Fairview campus location, two of the first structures completed were a 15,000-seat fieldhouse and a 36,000-seat football stadium. The football stadium, which came to be known as the Butler Bowl, was downsized to a 20,000-seat stadium in the mid-1950’s, and is the home field for Butler football and lacrosse today. The fieldhouse, which was the largest of its kind when it was completed in 1928, is a historical landmark. The Butler Fieldhouse, which was renamed Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966, came to symbolize not only Butler athletics, but also Indiana “Hoosier Hysteria.” The building became the combined home of Butler basketball and the Indiana High School state tournament. The legends of Indiana basketball, from Oscar Robertson to George McGinnis to Larry Bird, all played in the Fieldhouse at one time or another.

While the Fieldhouse provided a nationally acclaimed setting for Butler athletics, it was Paul D. “Tony” Hinkle, credited with inventing the orange basketball, who brought national recognition to the school as a coach and athletic administrator. He came to Butler in 1921 and remained with the University until his death in 1992. Hinkle served as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator for nearly half a century and compiled more than 1,000 victories with the school’s football, basketball and baseball teams.

The Bulldogs have carried on the winning traditions set forth by Hinkle. In the past decade, Butler teams have captured 26 conference championships (in four different leagues). The Bulldogs have made appearances in NCAA National Championship Tournaments in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s soccer, volleyball, men’s cross country, lacrosse, and baseball. Butler won the James J. McCafferty trophy, awarded annually by the conference for all-sports excellence based on conference championship points, five times, including three-straight from 1996-97 to 1998-99 and back-to-back years in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Why Bulldogs?

Prior to 1919, Butler’s athletic teams were known as the “Christians”. But numerous losses in the 1919 football season caused Butler’s followers to grow weary of the nickname. During the week leading up to Butler’s game with the heated rival Franklin “Baptists”, Butler Collegian editor Alex Cavins and his staff, which included cartoonist George Dickson, decided something “hot” must be conceived for the school’s weekly pep session.

About that time, the mascot of a Butler fraternity….. a bulldog named Shimmy (you couldn’t shake him), wandered into the Collegian office. The idea was born. The next school paper came out with a big page-one cartoon showing Shimmy the bulldog, labeled “Butler”, taking a bite out of the pants seat of a figure labeled John the Baptist. The caption was: “Bring on That Platter, Salome!” (Butler lost the game to Franklin, 14-0, but the name “Bulldogs” stuck).

Butler War Song

We’ll sing the Butler War Song
We’ll give a fighting cry
We’ll fight the Butler battle
Bulldogs ever do or die
And in the glow of the victory firelight
History cannot deny
To add a page or two
For Butler’s fighting crew
Beneath the Hoosier sky

Hinkle Fieldhouse Seating Chart

The Butler men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams plays their home matches in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, which is located on Butler’s campus, northeast of the residence halls and main portion of campus. Less than a mile’s walk from anywhere on campus, Hinkle is accessible to all students and plays host to exciting athletic competition each year.

Hinkle Fieldhouse has reigned as one of the nation’s great sports arenas for more than six decades. The classic facility was constructed in 1928 and has stood up to the test of time, maintaining the splendor, character and atmosphere that made it one of the nation’s most famous basketball arenas more than a half century ago.

The Fieldhouse, which remained virtually unchanged for more than 60 years, received a major facelift during the summer of 1989. Among the changes to the historical building were new chair back seats in the lower arena, new doors and windows on the south side of the exterior, new offices for basketball, volleyball and sports information and marketing, a training room and locker rooms off the main arena, a VIP lounge, a repaved parking lot, outside landscaping, extensive interior painting and a new public address system. The renovation was geared toward upgrading the facility, while retaining the history and nostalgia of the home of “Hoosier Hysteria.”

The original construction of Butler Fieldhouse was part of a massive project designed to give Butler one of the finest athletic plants in the nation. The project was financed by a corporation of 41 prominent and farsighted Indianapolis businessmen. Completion of the Fieldhouse was guaranteed when Butler signed a lease agreement with the Indiana High School Athletic Association allowing the high school state tournament to be played in the massive new facility. Butler’s association with the IHSAA continued from 1928 to 1971, with a brief interruption during the war years, 1943-45.

Butler played its first basketball game in the Fieldhouse on March 7, 1928, defeating Notre Dame 21-13 in overtime. Since the Fieldhouse was not entirely completed at that time, the building dedication was held off until Dec. 21, 1928. The name of the facility was changed in 1966 from Butler Fieldhouse to Hinkle Fieldhouse in honor of Butler’s legendary coach and athletic director, Paul D. “Tony” Hinkle.

The Fieldhouse has served as host to four U.S. presidents (Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford), the Billy Graham Crusade, the Sonja Henie Ice Show, four professional basketball teams, the U.S. Olympic basketball trials, the first USSR-USA basketball game, all-star basketball games for the NBA, ABA and the East-West College All-Stars, the nationally prominent Butler Relays in track, tennis matches of both Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer, the 1982 World Goal Ball Championships, a three-ring circus, several equestrian events, the Roller Derby, a six-day bicycle race, and the popular movie “Hoosiers.” The building also housed the United States Air Force and Navy as a barracks during World War II.

During the summer of 1987, Hinkle Fieldhouse again received national attention, this time as the site for the volleyball competition at the tenth Pan American Games. The largest crowd ever to see a volleyball match in the United States (14,500) gathered to see the United States defeat Cuba in the men’s gold medal match.

When the Fieldhouse was originally constructed, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States, and it retained that distinction for more than 20 years. Recent renovation has reduced the seating capacity from 15,000 to around 10,000, but the aura that made Hinkle Fieldhouse one of the nation’s first great basketball arenas remains today.

Located on the northeast side of Butler’s campus just east of storied Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Butler Bowl provides a spectacular setting for athletic competition. The facility serves as the home of Butler’s football team and men’s and women’s soccer teams.

The Butler Bowl was designed as part of a massive project developed to give Butler University one of the finest athletic plants in the nation. Construction on the Bowl was completed in time for the start of the 1928 football season and Butler inaugurated the stadium by defeating Franklin, 55-0. The original Butler Bowl had seating for 36,000 spectators, with an option to enlarge the seating capacity to 72,000.

The first major change in the Butler Bowl came in 1955 when the Hilton U. Brown Theatre was constructed in the south end zone. The huge outdoor theater replaced 16,000 seats on the south end of the stadium and gave Butler one of the premier open-air stage facilities in the Midwest. For years, the Hilton U. Brown Theatre served as the summer home for the widely-recognized Starlight Musicals, which brought the best in off-Broadway performances to Indianapolis.

The most recent renovation saw the removal of the Brown Theatre and all of the permanent seating on the east side of the field to make way for the construction of the Butler Apartment Village, which gives the stadium a much more cozy and nostalgic feel. Additionally, the installation of an artificial playing surface makes the field more apt to handle the wear and tear it receives from the football and soccer teams throughout the year.

Currently, the Butler Bowl has permanent seating located only on the southwest side of the field, running from the south 20-yard-line to the end-zone, but additional seating is available on the east sideline and on the south end-zone lawn. The field runs north and south with the stadium scoreboard located at the north end of the Bowl.

Along with the Butler Bowl, Varsity Field serves as one of the homes of the Butler men’s and women’s soccer teams. A natural grass field, the complex gives the soccer teams a unique advantage in being able to play games and have practices on both the artificial surface of the Butler Bowl and the natural surface of Varsity Field.

Varsity Field features a covered area for both team benches, an elevated press box, a storage area for equipment and seating along the southern sideline for up to 500 spectators. The soccer teams are also able to take advantage of the practice fields located north of the main field.

The field is located adjacent to Butler University’s Holcomb Gardens across the Inland Waterway Canal. The facility is a part of the larger athletic field complex which also includes te Butler Softball Field, outdoor tennis courts and intramural fields

Bulldog Park serves as the home of the Butler baseball team. Located just behind Hinkle Fieldhouse and the Butler Bowl, Bulldog Park provides a nostalgic setting for collegiate baseball, with seating for up to 500 spectators and a fully functional press box. The field features symmetrical dimensions, stretching 330 feet down both lines, 370 feet to the gaps and an even 400 feet to the batter’s eye in dead center. The Butler dugout stretches along the third-base line with the visitors situated along first. The bullpens are located in foul territory in both corners of the outfield, while a batting cage sits along the left-field line out of play.

Originally a multi-purpose baseball field and football practice field, Bulldog Park became a baseball-only facility following substantial renovations during the 1990s, which saw the addition of a permanent outfield fence, bleachers, dugouts and a press box. Since its conversion, the field has been home to numerous players who have gone on to play in the professional ranks, including current Minnesota Twins pitcher Pat Neshek.

The Butler softball team calls the Butler Softball Field home, located adjacent to the Holcomb Gardens across the Inland Waterway Canal. The field is a part of a larger athletic field complex that features Varsity Field (the alternate field for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams), the outdoor tennis courts and intramural softball and soccer fields.

The field features brick dugouts for both the home and visiting benches, a bullpen area and batting cages located down the first base line out of play and spectator seating for up to 500 people. The field’s outfield dimensions extend to 200 feet from foul pole to foul pole.

A minor renovation during the winter of 2007 saw new dirt added to the infield and regraded for a more consistent playing surface.

The Butler University Health and Recreation Complex (HRC), which recently opened in the fall of 2006, is the practice home for the Bulldog women’s swimming team. The six-lane pool give the squad an on-campus site for conditioning and training. In addition, the HRC also features the following:

– Two-court gymnasium that can accommodate basketball, volleyball, and badminton.
– Leisure pool for water basketball, volleyball, bubble benches, or lazy river.
– Hot tub.
– Sauna.
– Men’s, women’s, and family locker rooms.
– Two multipurpose rooms for use with group exercise classes or club sport practices.
– Free-weight room with Hammer Strength equipment.
– Cardio and selectorized weight machine area that includes Precor, Matrix, and Cybex pieces (over 60 pieces in all).
– 1/10 mile jogging track.
– Fitness assessment & massage therapy room.
– Conference room that seats approximately 30-40

The Butler Outdoor Tennis Courts give the Butler men’s and women’s tennis teams an outdoor venue for their regular season contests.  Located near Varsity Field and the Butler Softball Field, the complex originally featured three hard-surface courts before an additional three were completed in the summer of 2009, making for an ideal location for hosting intercollegiate competitions during the warmer months

The Butler Bubble is home to the Bulldog men’s and women’s tennis teams and is used as an indoor practice facility for the Butler baseball, football and soccer teams. All of the Butler tennis teams’ home matches during the winter and early spring take place inside the bubble, which is located behind Hinkle Fieldhouse off of 52nd Street.

The Bubble was originally constructed at the far west end of the Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot, but was relocated to along the right field line of Bulldog Park after the original plot was broke for the construction of the new Health and Recreation Complex in the summer of 2005.

The Bubble houses four hard-surface tennis courts as well as additional room for storage of equipment for both tennis teams. The bubble itself is supported by higher air pressure inside and is permanently fixed over the courts.

Situated next adjacent to Bulldog Park as a part of the Davey Athletic Complex, the Davey Track & Field is used primarily by the Butler track & field teams and the football team for practices but is also utilized by the other athletics programs for conditioning.

All of Butler’s athletes benefit from an extensive strength and conditioning program under the direction of Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Jim Peal. The purpose of Butler’s strength training program is two-fold. One is to decrease injury potential and the other is to increase performance potential. By increasing the strength of each athlete’s muscles, bones and connective tissues, the chance of incurring an injury while performing lessens. To increase functional strength is also an important step towards an athlete realizing his or her athletic potential.

The conditioning coordinator has instituted a program for Butler athletes that stresses flexibility, agility, jumping sills, speed and reaction time as well as strength. The program utilizes free weights, strength machinery, manual resistance and additional innovative techniques to help maximize the chance for Butler athletes to succeed.

The center of Butler’s strength and conditioning program is the new 4,000 square-foot weight training room located in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The weight room, which features an entire outside wall of glass, is stocked with free weights, weight machines, stationary bikes, stairmasters, and related apparatus, which allows Butler athletes to train in an open and comfortable atmosphere.

Completed in the summer of 2009, the baseball Hitting Facility is located in foul territory down the left field line at Bulldog Park.  The 6,000 square foot multi-purpose complex will feature four turfed indoor batting cages and pitching mounds, pitching machines, drill stations and a bathroom.

The facility is also utilized by the Butler golf, softball and track teams

Source: Butler.edu