Butler University has appointed Shari Alexander Richey ’88 as vice president for university advancement. She has served as interim vice president since Oct.1, 2012.

As vice president, Richey directs the University’s fundraising, alumni and parent programs, capital campaigns, annual giving, and corporate and foundation relations. She is a former member of the University Board of Trustees and past president of the Butler Alumni Association board.

“Butler University offers academic challenge and personal guidance to its students,” Richey said. “Butler prepared me and other members of my family to succeed in our professions and in contributing to society. I look forward to telling the Butler story as vice president for university advancement.”

Butler President James M. Danko said Richey brings a wealth of experience, talent, and Bulldog loyalty to her new role.

“During her interim service, Shari has built momentum for our critically important development efforts,” he said. “Given her extensive University networks and institutional knowledge, and the strong support Shari enjoys among the trustees, administration, and advancement staff, she was clearly the top choice for this key leadership role.”

Richey graduated cum laude from Butler University with a degree in accounting. She earned her license as a certified public accountant, and ultimately served 10 years as a tax consulting partner at Ernst & Young, Indianapolis. After a successful 21-year career, she left the firm in 2009.

She has also been a longtime civic and community leader, having served multiple years on the boards of The Indiana Repertory Theatre, United Way of Central Indiana, and Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. She is currently a member of the Zionsville (Ind.) Community School Board of Trustees, and is a member of the Zionsville United Methodist Church.

Media contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
mestephe@butler.edu

College of Education alumnus Zach Zimmer ’08 has won a $6,000 grant to visit historic sites of Egypt and bring back lessons for his seventh grade students in Westfield, Ind.

A social studies teacher and baseball coach at Westfield Middle School, Zimmer was one of 15 winners selected in the Hilton HHonors Teacher Treks Travel Grant competition.

Thousands of U.S. and Puerto Rican teachers submitted essays for the competition, describing destinations they’d like to experience first-hand in order to enrich their curriculum and inspire students to explore the world. The public voted online during April to select the winning essays from 30 finalists’ submissions.

In his essay, Zimmer outlined his ideal trip to study and connect the history, geography, and culture of Egypt’s Nile River valley to his social studies curriculum:

“While in Cairo, I will visit mosques that connect to my world religions unit, such as the Mohamed Ali Mosque and the Mosque of Al-Azhar. Nearby, I will explore the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and the old ancient capital of Memphis. North in Alexandria, I will spend time visiting the Mediterranean coast and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, home to historic books and manuscripts.”

Visits to the Valley of the Kings and the tomb of King Tut at Luxor, and the Nubian Museum and Aswan Dam at Aswan, were also on Zimmer’s dream itinerary:

“Each winter, I teach a two-month unit on Ancient Egypt and nearby Nubia. The trip will allow me to explore the architecture and burial grounds of the civilizations and leaders that we study during the unit. Through pictures, videos, and notes, I will be able to bring history to life in my lessons when I return.

“Relating to the geography in my curriculum, I will explore a desert region that is non-existent in Indiana [and] the importance of rivers, like the Nile, to ancient civilization and the modern significance of dams, such as the Aswan Dam. My geography unit materials will improve significantly, and the science department of my school will be able to connect to my findings as well.”

 Winning teachers’ schools receive a $2,500 grant for cultural activities or enhancements.

 Zimmer plans to take his two-week trip to Egypt in early July and hopes to bring along his wife, Janell Callahan Zimmer ’09, a Butler College of Business graduate.

Hilton HHonors is the loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s 10 hotel brands. It developed Teacher Treks in partnership with the Institute of International Education, a world leader in the international exchange and administrator of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

Media contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
mestephe@butler.edu

Sixth Man, which manufactures and distributes a combination drink holder/seat cushion for fans at sporting events, is the winner of the second annual Zotec Business Competition, a contest for sophomore Butler University business students involved in the Real Business Experience (RBE) practicum course.

Sixth Man’s combination drink holder/seat cushion.

State Road 5, a company created to write, produce and distribute self-written and -produced music, finished second.

Dawg Decals, which produces and distributes promotional decals for fraternities, sororities, and other organizations, was third out of eight teams consisting of 29 students total.

“Thanks to Zotec Partners, our students were challenged to work harder and run their businesses more efficiently,” Butler College of Business Dean Chuck Williams said. “This was an exciting opportunity for our students to learn about real life, real business, and to be exposed to one of the leaders in Indianapolis.”

In RBE, all sophomores develop a business plan, present the plan to a board of local bankers and entrepreneurs to apply for up to $5,000 of start-up capital, and then, if desired, start and run the business. Awards are given to the RBE businesses that capture the true entrepreneurial spirit of risk taking, innovation and success.

For winning first place, Sixth Man—created by students Jackson Aldridge and Bailey Roberts—will receive $9,000 that can be split between them or reinvested in the company. The company has applied for a patent for its product.

State Road 5, run solely by Matthew Jordan, will receive $5,000. Jordan created the company to perform, sell, and promote music he and his brother write. His business model is to perform, sell their music (CDs and digital), and promote their songs and lyrics with the expectation that another musician might purchase their music.

Dawg Decals, a partnership of Kate Carroll, Abby Bath, Adam Hilgenkamp, Brandon Upchurch, and Nick Phillips, will get $3,000. Dawg Decals started off by providing promo/advertising decals to students for their computers. As their business model progressed, they produced decals for fraternities/sororities/other organizations and identified an opportunity with commercial accounts/businesses looking to advertise. 

Through the Zotec Business Competition, RBE teams were evaluated based on the five P’s (passion, perspective, persistence, predictability, and people) and awarded to the teams that best executed their business strategies during the semester.

Zotec Partners, provider of specialized billing services to the hospital-based specialty market, is a Butler College of Business REAL Partner. Zotec created the Zotec Business Competition as part of the partnership. All Real Business Experience (RBE) teams enrolled in the MG 202 course were eligible to compete.

“The Zotec Business Competition was a way for our company to give back to Butler for providing such a solid educational foundation that has contributed to the success that we have realized to date,” Zotec Partners President and CEO T. Scott Law ’85 said. “My family and I have a long history with Butler, and I am excited to have this opportunity to help mentor and develop students as they take their great ideas and make them into real, viable businesses.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ’79 of Indianapolis has been elected to the Butler University Board of Trustees. She will serve a three-year renewable term. 

President Barack Obama appointed Magnus-Stinson as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana in 2010, following her service as magistrate judge for the Southern District (2007-2010).

She was appointed, and then twice elected, judge of the Marion Superior Court Criminal Division (1995-2007). As supervising judge of the Marion Superior Court Probation Department (1997-2001), she helped create a volunteer mentoring program for young offenders. She also has served as deputy chief of staff and counsel to former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, and was in private law practice.

She earned her juris doctorate degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1983.

Magnus-Stinson graduated cum laude from Butler in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in French.

She serves on the College of Education Board of Visitors. The Butler University Alumni Association recently presented its Robert Todd Duncan Alumnus Achievement Award to Magnus-Stinson, in recognition of her professional achievements and contributions to society.

Three trustees stepped down from the board in May. They are Fort Wayne, Ind., businessman Jim Johnston ’66 MBA ’68; former Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) Superintendent Eugene White; and Florida attorney John Hargrove ’69.

Johnston is president of Corporate & Endowment Strategy, LLC. A trustee since 2007, he participated on a number of board committees, most notably the Endowment & Investment Committee. He was instrumental in Butler receiving major gifts from the English Bonter Mitchell Foundation (EMB) for The Campaign for Hinkle Fieldhouse and the College of Business.

During his six years as a Butler trustee, White served on committees for academic affairs, finance/facilities, enrollment management, trusteeship, and marketing. He initiated IPS’s partnership with Butler to jointly develop and operate Shortridge Magnet High School for Law and Public Policy and Indianapolis Public Schools/Butler University Laboratory School.

Hargrove’s law practice has specialized in media law, appeals, and commercial litigation in state and federal courts. He is a nationally respected First Amendment advocate. A trustee since 2001, he served as board chair from 2008 to 2011. He chaired the Academic Affairs Committee (2003-2005), co-chaired the Endowment & Investment Committee (2006-2007), and served on the Presidential Search Committee that brought James Danko to Butler.

Position Will Hold the Name of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu

 Christian Theological Seminary and Butler University have appointed world-renowned South African theologian Allan Boesak as The Desmond Tutu Chair for Peace, Global Justice, and Reconciliation Studies, a new four-year position held jointly with both institutions.

The title recognizes Boesak’s influential activism against racial apartheid in the 1980s in his native South Africa, where he worked closely with Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela, the country’s former president.

The first African ever elected president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Boesak continues to teach and advocate for social justice, reconciliation, and interfaith dialogue around the world. He spent the 2012-2013 academic year teaching at Butler and Christian Theological Seminary (CTS), addressing classes in peace and international studies, political science, religion, and philosophy. 

“I am very happy to accept this joint appointment,” Boesak said. “My teaching experiences at Butler and CTS this year have been wonderful, and I am excited for the chance to explore the global impact of Desmond Tutu’s values and thinking with students, colleagues, and the broader central Indiana community.”

Boesak will teach three courses per academic year: two will be taught at CTS, beginning in fall 2013, and one will be at Butler through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, beginning in spring semester 2014. Students from both institutions will be able to enroll in courses taught at either institution. 

Butler President James M. Danko and CTS President Matthew Myer Boulton said the two neighboring schools are currently exploring several opportunities to collaborate academically.

“By continuing Dr. Boesak’s time with our students,” Danko said, “we offer them an exceptional lens through which to view the world and their future as contributing citizens.”

Boesak’s appointment as The Desmond Tutu Chair for Peace, Global Justice, and Reconciliation Studies has the enthusiastic encouragement and support of Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, according to Boulton and Danko.

Boulton called Boesak “an exceedingly significant international figure in Christian theology over the last few decades.”

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Boesak working with our students preparing for church and community leadership,” said Boulton, “particularly in view of his experience with faith communities in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, as well as in the groundbreaking truth and reconciliation process that followed.”

Kathryn Morris, Butler provost and vice president for academic affairs, said Boesak “brings a wealth of experience and expertise to students at both our institutions, giving them the benefit of interacting with someone who represents a living history of anti-apartheid, social justice, and reconciliation efforts.”

Edwin Aponte, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at CTS, emphasized Tutu’s legacy. “Few people in the world today embody transformative religious and social leadership as does Desmond Tutu, and Dr. Boesak is the perfect person to interpret and carry forward that legacy for a new generation in North America.”

Butler senior Marianne Richardson heard Boesak speak during a “History of Christianity” course at Butler.

“He is very good at demonstrating, through his experience in South Africa, that religion—as a political agent—can either foster oppression or liberate from oppression,” said Richardson.

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About Butler University
Challenging and enabling students to meet their personal and professional goals has guided Butler University since 1855. Today, Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university that blends the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs. It seeks to prepare each graduate not simply to make a living but to make a life of purpose, in which personal flourishing is intertwined with the welfare of others.  Butler is known for its vibrant campus, superior academics, and dedicated faculty. The University enrolls more than 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students in six academic colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Located just six miles from downtown Indianapolis, Butler’s urban setting affords students internship opportunities that provide excellent graduate school and career preparation.

About Christian Theological Seminary
Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) is a fully accredited ecumenical seminary and is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It offers eight graduate-level degree programs, including theology, ministry, and counseling, with specializations in ministries that emphasize the arts and programs for life-long learning. More than 30 denominations are represented among CTS faculty and students.

Butler Contact:

Courtney Tuell
(317) 940-9807
ctuell@butler.edu

CTS Contact:
Susan Miller
(765) 620­-2007
www.ewingmiller.com

In writing about the arts, students in Butler’s JR333 Performance Lab class have been all over the map.

They wrote about the controversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, French chanteuse Edith Piaf, Americana musician Ryan Bingham, and Irish music in Indianapolis. They also chronicled a plant sale at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, young poets at Shortridge High School, and Butler ArtsFest.

They never left Indianapolis, but they did get a world of experience: Their stories were published, and they were paid.

It’s all part of a partnership with skybluewindow.org, a new website created to cover the arts scene in Indianapolis. Students in the class submit their work—either print or video—to the editor at skybluewindow and, if it’s accepted, their story appears on the website and they get a check.

“This is a great way for our students to experience firsthand the quality standards of a professional publication,” said Nancy Whitmore, director of Butler’s Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism. “Student work does get rejected, but when it’s accepted the student instinctively realizes the level of knowledge and skill required to publish professionally. Moreover, the entire process reinforces the rigorous standards our students experience throughout our journalism curriculum.”

Sky Blue Window is new on the Indianapolis scene, but its inspiration goes back to 2007, when creator/founder Mike Knight handled the public relations for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. He noted then that while the arts went begging for funding—despite generating nearly $500 million in local economic impact, $52 million in tax revenue, and 15,000 full-time jobs—athletics always got the support it needed.

He wanted to change that.

At the same time, Knight won a regional Emmy for a video he made in conjunction with WFYI (Channel 20), the Indianapolis PBS station, about public art. He thought: What if you could do great stories about the arts and let people educate themselves?

That became the starting point for Sky Blue Window.

Over the next six years, Knight wrote and revised a business plan, found funding (from the Central Indiana Community Foundation), and figured out how to populate the website with relevant, entertaining content that fit his budget.

The answer was to get college students involved. That would satisfy not only the need for content but become a way to get young people educated and exploring and supporting the arts in Indianapolis. It also would give students opportunities to refine their writing, reporting and video production skills.

Since the site launched on March 11, students from Butler, Franklin College, the University of Indianapolis, and IUPUI have contributed stories.

On March 12, Knight received an email from the mother of one of the student-writers that said, “My daughter was so thrilled when this went live, and I’m sending you a note to say thank you for giving her this opportunity.”

Evelyn Schultz, a sophomore from Columbus, Ind., who’s in Butler’s JR333 class, said she “felt so accomplished to see my stories on the website.”

“Writing for a class is educational, but seeing my articles published and getting paid for my work was a true learning experience,” she said. “I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to write for Sky Blue Window.”

Reader reaction has been immediate too. Stories are getting passed around via Facebook and Twitter, with one—about the Independent Music and Arts Festival in Indianapolis—earning 98 “likes” its first day.

“If you look at larger media sites and their pages, 98 likes is really taking names,” Knight said. “From that perspective, we do really well.”

Sky Blue Window tries to add a new local story every day. During the summer, when student-writers have gone home, the website aggregates from local sources, including the alternative paper Nuvo and the eclectic website Punchnels.

Knight said he and editor Natalie Atwell, who oversees Sky Blue Window, are constantly tweaking the site to get people to spend more time there and learn more about the arts.

They’ve also begun to publicize the site and to secure sponsorships and additional funding.

“I want to grow the site,” Knight said, “to make it as meaningful as it needs to be.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

By Linda Wang
Chemical & Engineering News

The American Chemical Society Board of Directors has selected Butler Chemistry Professor Robert A. Pribush as the recipient of the 2014 Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemistry Society.

Created in 2001, the award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the society’s goals and objectives. Pribush will deliver a keynote lecture during the ChemLuminary Award Ceremony at the spring 2014 ACS national meeting in Dallas.

Pribush says he was surprised and honored to be selected for the award. He normally shies away from recognition, he says, but this award is particularly meaningful to him.

“I serve ACS as a way of saying thank you for the opportunities that chemistry has given me to have a career that I thoroughly enjoy and by which I can help students realize their intellectual potential and the impact they can make in the lives of others,” he says.

Pribush’s involvement in ACS began in 1972, when he joined the then-Younger Chemists Committee Task Force. In 1978, he became the second chair of the newly formed Younger Chemist Committee. Over the years, Pribush has continued to serve ACS, including as councilor for the Indiana Section, program chair of the Central Regional Meeting, and Indiana Section organizer for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.

He has also been heavily involved with the ACS Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute, serving as chair of the Diagnostic of Undergraduate Chemical Knowledge (DUCK) Committee, the Inorganic Chemistry Exam Committee, and the General Chemistry Exam Committee.

Pribush “provides imagination that brings new, big ideas to an event and programmatic discussion. He cooperates fully with others and is never short in his personal commitment, and he takes responsibility for his part, completing tasks in reliable and creative ways,” says David J. Malik, a professor of chemistry at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who has served as a councilor and vice chair for the ACS Society Committee on Education. “These are the qualities that make one’s volunteerism substantive and memorable.”

Pribush earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware in 1968 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1972. He completed a postdoc at the University of Southern California in 1974.

Pribush is currently involved with the Indiana Section’s national meeting lead team, which is helping to organize, promote, and get more students to attend the fall 2013 ACS national meeting in Indianapolis. Pribush says this national meeting lead team is the first of its kind among local sections.

The Butler Business Accelerator is now the Butler Business Consulting Group, a new name that better reflects its mission: to help established Indiana companies by offering innovative strategies and services that support growth and improvement.

The consulting group (www.butler.edu/business-consulting) will continue to focus on its key areas of practice, which include operational discipline, organizational development, marketing and sales, financial services, and strategy, to help companies chart a new or expanded journey toward profitable growth.

“Our professional team and subject matter experts work alongside clients to build solutions that have immediate and long-term results,” said Operating Director Trent Ritzenthaler.

Ritzenthaler said the Butler Business Consulting Group will continue its excellent record of delivering value to its clients. Since its first client engagement in 2007,the consulting group has completed 120 projects in 19 industries with 49 clients around the state.

Its Indianapolis-area clients have included Langham Logistics, ChaCha, Café Patachou, Defender Direct, and Engledow. Clients outside Indianapolis have included Smithville Communications (Bloomington/Elletsville), WasteAway Group (Elkhart), Tedco Toys (Hagerstown), and Pet Supplies Plus and NT Supply (Johnson County).

“At our core is a belief in the benefits of partnership with clients,” Ritzenthaler said. “In fact, we think it is crucial. We will not recommend solutions and then disappear. We commit to see the process through to completion, ensuring that measurable goals and objectives are achieved.”

The consulting group also announced that it has appointed Ginger Lippert to the role of senior consultant. Lippert joined the business accelerator in 2010 as an MBA student project manager. Before coming to Butler, she was the vice president of sales for TF Publishing.  

“We are delighted to welcome Ginger as a member of the leadership team,” Ritzenthaler said. “Ginger brings unique perspectives and a broad range of abilities that help meet our clients’ needs.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

A team of Butler pharmacy students will receive the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2012-2013 Student Community Engaged Service Award, recognizing their work in a free medical clinic/pharmacy serving low-income residents of a northeast Indianapolis neighborhood.

Butler student volunteers operate the Butler University Community Outreach Pharmacy (BUCOP) as part of a free weekly clinic set up in Neighborhood Fellowship Church, 3102 E. 10th St. They collaborate with the Indiana University Student Outreach Clinic (IUSOC), which provides on-site services in medicine, law, social work, dentistry, and physical therapy to patients unable or ineligible to receive healthcare through other programs.

BUCOP has grown significantly since its start in 2009. Then, the pharmacy filled an average of eight prescriptions for 11 patients a week during its first month. In the first half of 2012, it filled 1,750 prescriptions and served 5,750 patients. BUCOP volunteers have also coordinated smoking cessation programs for patients and promoted healthy lifestyle changes.

The program is intended to encourage pharmacy students and faculty to design and build programs of community engagement and service learning, deliver consumer education about medication use, expand access to affordable medications, and improve public health.

“In BUCOP, our students develop their interprofessional skills by communicating with and working directly with medical students and physicians, answering their drug information questions, and making therapeutic recommendations,” said faculty adviser Kristal Williams, assistant professor of pharmacy practice.

BUCOP is one of four student-led programs to receive this year’s AACP award. Others included include the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Midwestern University/Downers Grove, and the University of Houston.

Williams and team representative Meagan Doolin will accept the award at the ACCP’s national conference in July, plus $10,000 for the College of Pharmacy and Health Science and $5,000 for BUCOP. Both stipends are to be used for expanding and sustaining service engagement projects.

Doolin said BUCOP has provided a great learning experience. “At the end of the day when you see how grateful the patients are, it’s just an awesome feeling,” she said. “I realize why the founding board members were so invested in it.” 

A new six-member student executive board has directed BUCOP each year since it opened, leading as many as 50 student volunteers at a time.

“The executive board members have poured their heart into the labor of strategic planning, grant writing, procurement of resources, establishing community partnerships, and the provision of patient care,” Williams said. [See list of executive boards below.]

The clinic sets precedence for future student-run clinics in Indiana, Williams said.

 It gives to this underserved community of Indianapolis—who once probably thought, “Does anyone care?’—empowerment, respect, and love,” she said. “I look forward to the continued unveiling of the positive impact this project makes on this community.” 

BUCOP Student Executive Boards
2009-2010
Chair Eliza Dy; Vice Chair Tyler Trueg; Development and Promotions Kalin Clifford; Resources and Records Katrina Coffey; Volunteer Opportunities Annie Webster.

2010-2011
Board Chair Justin Koch; Vice Chair Laura Beeson; Promotions Mike DeMarco; Finance Jen Macke; Resources and Records Michael Brockman; Volunteer Opportunities Kristina Niehoff.

2011-2012
Chair David Martin; Vice Chair Colleen Linsenmayer; Promotions: Shefali Patel; Finance Nicole Pallme; Resources and Records Aalap Modi; Volunteer Opportunities Meagan Doolin.

2012-2013
Chair Andrew Gonzales; Vice Chair Meagan Doolin; Promotions Amanda Shake; Finance Kyle Frantz; Resources and Records Troy Gulden; Volunteer Opportunities Kelly Kyrouac; Media Arts Consultant Stephen Small.

2013-2014
Chair Ryan Medas; Vice Chair, BUCOP East, Eileen Carroll; Vice Chair, BUCOP West, Amanda Shake; Promotions Stephen Small; Finance Gintas Kuseliauskas; Resources and Records; Stevan Tomich; Volunteer Opportunities Kim Kraska.

Special thanks to Dr. Javier Sevilla, clinic medical director; Pastor Jim Strietelmeier, Neighborhood Fellowship Church; Drs. Lalita Prasad and Mary Day, former BUCOP pharmacy resident preceptors; Dr. Bonnie Brown, associate dean of student affairs and volunteering pharmacist at BUCOP; Truvillie Myers and Lora Dorton-Cheney, IUSOC/BUCOP consumers.  

 —–

Four COPHS students won another recent national honor for producing a video about prescription drug abuse.

As part of their “Integrated Capstone Experience” course, Butler University’s MBA students have been given the opportunity to use their expertise to work with EnerDel Inc., a Greenfield, Ind.-based lithium ion battery manufacturer, to expand its presence in national and international markets.

Roberto Curci

The objective is to partner with EnerDel’s management team to construct a three- to five-year market strategy for its product lines. Recommendations will be based upon data and conclusions drawn from a thorough “situation analysis” and supported with a five-year financial forecast illustrating the costs and benefits.

“In today’s globalized business environment, leaders need to develop an international business perspective and a global mindset,” Professor Roberto Curci said. “Through this experiential learning opportunity, the students will develop a first-round level of proficiency in the process of leading the analysis, planning, and implementation of global business development efforts for U.S.-based companies.”

The class begins with students learning about the industry, the company, and business strategy. Students then conduct a situational analysis to understand market opportunities and trends, which requires extensive data collection and interaction with EnerDel staff as well as Butler University faculty.

Using the information they collect, teams of students will develop possible strategies for EnerDel that will complement and refine EnerDel’s existing strategies. The project conclusion is a presentation to EnerDel followed by gathering feedback about how these strategies can be implemented—or, in some cases, why they cannot.

Butler’s partnership with EnerDel began with a common connection, Ron Gress. Gress, an executive in residence at the University, identified the opportunity to assist EnerDel, which produces batteries for electric vehicles, such as cars, buses, and delivery trucks, as well as electric grid systems used in windmill and solar energy storage.

“EnerDel has great potential for growth into new markets, so this is a very exciting time for us,” said Dave Roberts, EnerDel’s CEO. “Our partnership with the MBA student’s is a win/win since it is an opportunity for both parties to explore new ventures and for us to receive independent, valuable input relative to our current strategies.  We are certainly honored to be working with such a talented group of developing professionals.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

President James M. Danko has announced appointments to two new positions at the University—vice president for marketing and communications, and general counsel.

Matthew S. Mindrum has been appointed vice president for marketing and communications. Mindrum comes to Butler from Eli Lilly & Co., where he serves as marketing director, US Alzheimer’s Products.

Claire Konopa Aigotti has been appointed general counsel. She comes to Butler from the University of Notre Dame, where she has served as associate general counsel since March 2007.

Both begin their duties at Butler on July 29.

Mindrum graduated magna cum laude from Indiana University with a bachelor of music degree in voice performance. After earning an MBA at the Harvard Business School, he returned to Indiana to join Lilly, where he has held diverse roles with responsibility for strategy, brand development, marketing, and communications.

He is actively engaged in the Indianapolis community and serves on the board of directors for Indianapolis Opera. He and his wife, MaryAnn, live in Meridian-Kessler.

“Matt brings talent, experience, and enthusiasm to this crucial role, in which he will lead a high-performing team, direct internal and external communications, and manage the Butler brand in collaboration with key stakeholders across the University,” Danko said.

Aigotti graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor of arts in English and earned her doctorate of law from St. Thomas University in Miami, Fla. After returning to the South Bend area, she worked at a boutique law firm with a concentration on civil litigation and personal injury matters. In the Office of General Counsel at Notre Dame, she focused her practice on litigation, risk mitigation, and student issues.

She was actively engaged in the St. Joseph County Bar Association through its Board of Governors and the Robert A. Grant American Inn of Court. More recently, Aigotti has presented on a variety of issues for the National Association of College and University Attorneys. She and her husband, Matthew, have three children: Zachary, Isabelle, and Mallory.

“Claire will handle all legal matters on behalf of Butler,” Danko said. “Her work with internal stakeholders across the University will be essential to the advancement of the University. The establishment of an internal general counsel position also will yield fiscal and organizational efficiencies for Butler, which will serve to benefit our core educational mission.”

Mascot Trip Prepares for the BIG EAST Conference
Student-produced video debuts at Butler BIG EAST Day, July 1

With Butler University moving into the BIG EAST athletic conference and Trip (Blue III) replacing Blue II as the University’s mascot, Butler student Tim Valentine wanted to make a video recognizing both accomplishments.

What he came up with is a funny two-minute clip in which Trip obeys Athletic Director Barry Collier’s command to get “bigger, faster, and stronger” so he’ll be ready for the BIG EAST.

We see Trip speed from Hinkle Fieldhouse to the Butler Bowl, tennis bubble, baseball field, and all over campus. Along the way, the bulldog gets words of encouragement from men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens, guards basketball player Alex Barlow, and generally has a ball—figuratively and literally—before his Rocky Balboa moment where he triumphantly races up the steps of the carillon tower.

“I wanted to show the school as one unit, working together,” said Valentine, who spent the better part of the second semester shooting and editing the video.

Valentine, who’s majoring in digital media production and minoring in marketing, was a freshman at the time. The graduate of Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, will be a sophomore in the fall.

He started making videos in high school, convincing his principal and teachers to dress up and participate. After a semester at Butler, he pitched the idea of a video to Michael Kaltenmark, director of web marketing and handler of the University’s live mascot. Kaltenmark supported the proposal and worked with Valentine to get Trip to cooperate.

Before long, Trip was an eager participant.

“It got to the point where Trip would sit at the door and wait for me,” said Valentine, who’s interning this summer for a Cincinnati-based company called Bright Light Visual Communications. “He knew that if I came in, he was going out.”

The video became part of Butler BIG EAST Day, a July 1 celebration signifying the University’s official entry into the new conference. Watch the BIG EAST Day press conference.

“It’s a great showcase of student talent and school spirit,” Kaltenmark said. “It was cool that the student came to me with the idea, and then he edited and did all the work.”

Valentine said he’s happy with the final cut. Producing the video also provided him with a needed distraction: During the semester, his French bulldog, Juliet, died.

“It helped me hanging around with Trip,” he said. “Latching onto Trip and becoming very close buddies allowed me to stay focused on my school work and take my mind off of that sadness.”

Contact: Courtney Tuell
(317) 940-9807
ctuell@butler.edu

Butler University has named Brandon Miller ’03 as head coach of the school’s men’s basketball team.  Miller, a former Butler point guard and assistant coach, replaces Brad Stevens, who left Butler to become head coach of the Boston Celtics.

“I am extremely pleased to announce that former Butler University men’s basketball player and assistant coach Brandon Miller ’03 has been appointed as head coach of the Butler men’s basketball team, effective immediately,” Butler University Vice President and Director of Athletics Barry Collier said.

“I am confident that Brandon will carry on the Butler University basketball tradition of excellence, especially as we make the transition to the BIG EAST Athletic Conference.  As a player, assistant coach, and person, Brandon has exemplified the Butler Way and brings a blend of energy, talent, and integrity to this role. With Brandon’s leadership, Butler is well positioned to expand upon the success of the last few years. “

Miller returned to Butler in April as an assistant coach after five years away from his alma mater. He last worked at Butler during the 2007-2008 season, helping the Bulldogs to a 30-4 record, conference regular season and tournament championships, and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Butler was ranked in the national top 25 for 20 weeks, reaching as high as No. 8.

Miller spent last season as a special assistant for University of Illinois’ head coach John Groce. With Miller on staff, the Fighting Illini recorded a 23-13 record and captured a spot in the NCAA Tournament Third Round. Last November, Butler faced Miller and the Illini in the championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Prior to his one season at Illinois, Miller spent six years on the staff of head coach Thad Matta, a 1990 Butler graduate, at Ohio State. He served three years as an assistant coach, two seasons as director of basketball operations, and one year as video coordinator. During his tenure at Ohio State, the Buckeyes won four Big Ten titles, made three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances, and advanced to the 2007 NCAA championship game. He began his career as a video intern on Matta’s staff at Xavier in 2003-2004.

A native of New Castle, Ind., Miller was a top performer on Butler teams that compiled a three-year 77-20 record, three conference championships, and three trips to postseason tournament play. He arrived at Butler in 1999, transferring to Butler from Southwest Missouri State. After sitting out one season, he started 97 straight games and was just one of eight Butler players to record more than 1,000 points in just three seasons. He was the leading scorer on Butler’s 2002-2003 squad, helping the Bulldogs to a 27-6 record, a league championship, and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.

He finished his career ranked among Butler’s all-time leaders in points (1,121), 3-point field goals (189), and assists (305).  He earned All-Horizon League, Horizon League All-Defensive and Academic All-League recognition, and he was named Butler’s Co-Team MVP in 2003.  As a senior, Miller was chosen as Butler’s Co-Most Outstanding Male Athlete, and he received the Horizon League’s Cecil M. Coleman Medal of Honor, the league’s highest individual award.  He also was named recipient of the 2003 Chip Hilton Award, presented annually to a NCAA Division I senior who demonstrates outstanding leadership, character, integrity, sportsmanship, and talent. In 2006, he was named to the 15-player Butler Team of the Sesquicentennial.

Miller earned a bachelor’s degree from Butler in 2003.  He and his wife, Holly, have two sons, Mason and Michael.

Contact: Josh Rattray
(317) 940-9994
(317) 828-9312
jrattray@butler.edu

Butler University is now offering a minor in neuroscience—the study of nervous system and its impact on behavior, cognition and emotion.

The interdisciplinary minor within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will introduce students to the brain, how it functions, and the consequences of its dysfunction due to abnormal development, disease or injury.  Students will take a combination of classes across biology, psychology, and philosophy to fulfill the requirements for the minor.

Tara Lineweaver

“We had a number of students who were interested in pursuing neuroscience, who wanted to go to medical school, or who simply wanted to better understand the brain,” Associate Professor of Psychology Tara Lineweaver said. “If students want to become neuroscientists, they can major in either biology or psychology, but having the neuroscience training in addition to their other science background will be beneficial for them.  We are confident that the neuroscience minor will help set Butler students apart when they are applying to graduate school programs, medical school programs, or future jobs.”

The minor will include two new courses: “Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology,” offered through the Biological Sciences Department, and “Advanced Applied Neuroscience,” offered through the Psychology Department. The primary philosophy course required for the minor, “Philosophy of Mind,” has been offered on a fairly regular basis in recent years.

The new minor “adds an opportunity for students from any discipline to enhance their understanding of the brain by studying it in more depth,” Lineweaver said. “Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the new neuroscience minor will provide students with several diverse approaches they can apply towards thinking about and understanding the complexities of the mind.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

From left, Katie Jane Blum, Kelly Kyrouac, and Generation Rx chapter founder Samantha Christie.

A video created by Butler students to increase awareness of prescription drug abuse by college-age individuals has won first prize in the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) “Pass it forward” video challenge.

Fourth-year pharmacy students Katie Jane Blum, Andrew Gonzales, Kelly Kyrouac, and Sora Lyu wrote, produced, and edited the video “The Rx Trap.”

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration will feature “The Rx Trap” at a September event in Washington, D.C., kicking off the observance of National Recovery Month. The video will also be showcased on multiple NCPIE websites.

Shot on the Butler campus, the video shows a fictional female student trying to deal with the stresses of college life by using prescription drugs. Blum’s sister Jessica portrayed the character, who records her increasing despair in emails and tweets to her grandmother.

Kyrouac said she and the other producers wanted to base the video’s dialogue in a social media exchange, something its intended audience could relate to.

“As our ideas evolved, we decided a two-minute video would be better suited to a one-way conversation, as it would be easier to follow,” she said.

The students developed the video as a fourth year pharmacy capstone project. At the same time, all four were busy gaining pharmacy experience in required professional rotations—rotations that took Kyrouac and Lyu not just off campus, but out of state.

Consequently, she said, “the video was made through splicing of different media. Sora and I recorded our voices remotely from South Dakota, and Andrew and Katie Jane filmed in Indianapolis. Andrew’s video-making vision and editing talent really helped the video stand out.”

One of Gonzales’ cousins, an amateur music producer in St. Louis, provided an original score for the video.

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) faculty Tracy Sprunger and Sam Gurevitz mentored the video project.

“The students were presented this opportunity and really make it their own from start to finish,” Sprunger said. “Sam and I will continue to work with them on the P-4 project in the coming academic year. We will incorporate the video as well as increased education to BU students and the community.”

The video was  part of a larger initiative to introduce the Generation Rx program at Butler. Started at The Ohio State University 2007, the program educates college and high school students about the risks of prescription medication misuse. Samantha Christie, another pharmacy student, founded Butler’s Generation Rx chapter last year.

One of the chief risks involves individuals who take medication that was prescribed for someone else, Gonzales said.

“Prescription medications are meant for proper use by a sole user. It can be very dangerous to take medications that are not meant for you,” he said. “Our Generation Rx chapter will actively promote this concept.”

 “Dr. Gurevitz has done a lot of work on the issue of substance abuse at Butler,” Blum said. “He has been a huge part of the Generation Rx Initiative, and also took COPHS students to the Utah School of Alcohol and Substance Abuse the last few summers.”

Students interested in Generation Rx memberships can contact Lyu at slyu@butler.edu and visit the chapter’s Facebook group.

—–

COPHS students won another recent national honor for their work with Butler University Community Outreach Pharmacy.

Media contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
mestephe@butler.edu

Managers and employees looking to gain a business/management essentials tool kit in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing, economics, human resource management, and leadership will have that opportunity in a Butler University College of Business Corporate & Executive Education workshop called “Certificate in Business Fundamentals.”

The sessions run for 12 Thursdays from 6-9 p.m., starting Aug. 22 and continuing through Nov. 14, on the Butler campus.

Registration deadline is Aug. 15. Register by calling (317) 940-8651 or by visiting https://www.butler.edu/executive-education/programs-and-services/certificate-programs/business-fundamentals/. 

Tuition and registration costs $2,400 (with a 10 percent discount for two or more people from the same company registering at the same time) and includes instruction and all course materials.

More information is available here or during a free webinar from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 30. For more information, call (317) 940-8651 or email ExecEd@butler.edu.

The sessions will offer a broad understanding of the key business concepts, tools, and techniques, and an introduction to trends and challenges that managers face and tools for addressing them.

Topics will include financial statement analysis, principles of financial management, financial markets and investing, marketing fundamentals, social media marketing, strategic human resources, performance management, strategy, change management, leadership, fundamentals of competition, and pricing strategies.

The workshop is ideal for individuals who need a refresher on the functional areas of business or to broaden their existing knowledge. Technical professionals interested in moving up to management or those who wish to add business acumen to fields such as teaching, law, medicine, and engineering also may find this workshop particularly useful.

In addition, this program will provide individuals considering enrolling in an MBA program with a greater understanding of the key areas of focus of such graduate-level business programs.

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

Butler University has again been chosen Best Local College/University and the men’s basketball team was named Best Local College or Amateur Sports Team by readers of Nuvo, the Indianapolis alternative newspaper.

The poll was released in the July 24 edition of the weekly paper.

“Hard not to be impressed by Butler lately,” Nuvo wrote. “Its new Schrott Center for the Arts is a nifty, state-of-the-art theater that’s just the right size for productions that would’ve felt oversized by Clowes Hall. Its authors’ series continues to bring in some of the best and brightest across poetry and prose, some of whom end up stopping by the Efryomson Center for Creative Writing for an in-depth workshop or additional talk. And the Center for Urban Ecology is showing how public/academic partnerships can end up benefitting both students and the city at large. And while Brad Stevens may have departed, we’re pretty sure Butler basketball will remain competitive and nationally renowned.”

About Butler men’s basketball, Nuvo wrote: “The big news of the summer for the Butler Bulldogs is the departure of super-coach and ageless wonder Brad Stevens, who took an offer that simply couldn’t be refused and became head coach of the Boston Celtics. The university was quick to name his successor, 34-year-old assistant coach Brandon Miller, a 2003 graduate who played for the Bulldogs as a point guard in the pre-Stevens era. What all this means remains to be seen, but it’s hard not to feel good for Stevens and the university, after all, who would’ve thought a decade ago of a Butler coach moving directly to the bigs?”

This is the fourth time in the last six years Butler has won Best Local College/University. The men’s basketball team has won Best Local College Sports Team in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and this year.

After 15 years as an Excel user, College of Business instructor Jason Davidson ’01 can now say that he wrote the book on the Microsoft product. The 2013 version, anyway.

Jason Davidson

Exploring: Microsoft Excel 2013, Comprehensive, coauthored with Keith Mulbery, is a 718-page textbook designed to walk students through Excel.  

“It assumes you have no working knowledge of Excel in the beginning and walks you through all skills needed to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist expert certification exam,” Davidson said.

In other words, readers start with plugging basic information into spreadsheets and ultimately learn what Davidson calls “aspects of business calculus, finance, and accounting” – things like mortgage amortization, data analysis, and business modeling.

Davidson began using Excel when he was in high school and continued through his undergraduate years at Butler and the completion of his MBA at Morehead State University.  As assistant manager of technical support for Wiley Publishing, he began to truly appreciate Excel for analytics and number-crunching.

“Sometimes things click,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have a mind that works in that way.”

He’s taught “Basic Excel Skills for Business Applications” since joining the Butler faculty five years ago.

A few years ago, while using an earlier version of the textbook in class, Davidson mentioned to a representative from Pearson Publishing that he felt the problems in the book weren’t rigorous enough. When the time came to update the book, the publisher approached Davidson.

According to the summary on amazon.com, where the book is available for sale, the text takes readers beyond point and click to help them understand why they use Microsoft Office skills along with how they perform them. “The latest edition provides an easy-to-follow map through each chapter to help readers learn, study, and review efficiently and be successful in this class and beyond,” the summary says. “The entire approach allows students to map their way quickly and easily through the book, focusing on the key objectives, and using their own efficient study habits as a model for success.”

The 2013 version of Excel came out around the end of 2012. But Davidson said it usually takes a year or two for people to convert to the newest version, so his book will remain relevant for the next few years.

He said he’s excited to have a textbook with his name on it in use in his class.

“It was written by someone else when I started,” he said, “so this is great honor.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822

What do one gong, 21 five-minute talks in healthcare, and fun have in common? If you guessed medication adherence, a $300 billion problem in the United States, you would be correct.

Julie Koehler prepares to strike a gong, signaling time for the next speaker at the “21 Flavors: Ideas on How We Might Increase Medication Adherence” symposium July 25 at Butler.

Community Health Network (CHN) and Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) teamed up to spread the idea virus on improving medication adherence—patients taking their medications as prescribed—during “21 Flavors: Ideas on How We Might Increase Medication Adherence.” The continuing education think tank was held July 25 at Butler.

Ideas proposed ranged from the simple—drinking water before taking medications or involving patients in healthcare decision making—to children’s books and wearable devices such as Google Glass and Jawbone Up wristbands. Other ideas included tools to teach empathy to pharmacy students via a pillbox simulation project, rapid assessment of adult literacy, and state of the art pill boxes that wirelessly upload medication adherence data to the cloud.

An estimated 40 percent of patients with a chronic disease fail to take medications as prescribed, leading to reduced quality of life for patients and unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations that add substantially to national healthcare costs.

The think tank was the brainchild of Butler graduate and Chief Pharmacy Executive at CHN Jim O’Donnell ’85.

“One of the biggest challenges keeping me up at night is medication adherence. How can we help our patients properly take their medications?” said O’Donnell. “I was passionate about bringing together a group of healthcare and life science professionals to start conversations with real-world ideas that might help improve medication adherence.”

Julie Koehler, associate dean for clinical education and external affiliations at Butler COPHS, agreed. “One of our goals at Butler is increasing the team-based approach to educating healthcare professionals, so we were thrilled to have Jim reach out to us and support this symposium for providers across healthcare.”

Twenty speakers presented their ideas for improving medication adherence during the half-day symposium, the first co-sponsored by Butler and CHN. (O’Donnell presented twice, for 21 suggestions.) Each speaker was given five minutes and five slides to get across one idea on improving medication adherence quickly and succinctly. A gong sounded between speakers to keep the aggressive schedule on target.

“I’m proud to say that all 21 talks fit into the day, and some great ideas not only were provided as stand-alones, but there were ideas presented that can be combined,” said Erin Albert ’94, director of continuing education and preceptor development at Butler.

Speakers each brought one guest, keeping the audience size manageable and the ideas flowing across professionals—including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, consumer behavior professionals, and physicians, Albert said. “This was a great half day of learning that I also think was fun!”

“I already have staff asking how they can attend ‘21 Flavors’ next year,” O’Donnell said. “We challenged every attendee to try at least one of the 21 ideas presented with their patients over the next three months. I can’t wait to see how the ideas spread over the course of the next three months.”

Media Contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
mestephe@butler.edu

The email came at an opportune time. Butler Associate Professor of English Chris Forhan had a number of poems written, but not enough for a full book.

So when Melanie Villines of Los Angeles-based Silver Birch Press wrote to say she wanted to publish his work in a poetry chapbook—a short collection of thematically connected poems—Forhan was ready.

He went through what he had written and pulled together a group of 24 poems.

“Most of them were disillusioned, bitter love poems,” he said, “from my dark period of 7-10 years ago before I met my wife and had children and came to Indianapolis.”

The chapbook, Ransack and Dance, is now available on amazon.com.

“This is an odd time in my writing life,” Forhan said. In the past six years, he met and married Alessandra Lynch and they had two sons, Milo, 4, and Oliver 2. “The last four years have been mainly about chasing after them. To write poetry, I need a lot of solitude and silence. Uninterrupted time. I haven’t had that. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to publish a chapbook, except Melanie asked to do it.”

The poems in Ransack and Dance start with disillusionment and end with grudging hope.

“Almost a happy ending,” Forhan said with a smile. “I hope in that title, there’s a pithy summary of the arc of the book. So it starts with ransacking and ends with dancing. It’s a movement toward a celebration of human connection, the possibility of meaningful love. But through the poems, there’s a grappling with animal desire and animal instinct—the desire that can create or destroy.”

This poem, “Nine Sentences About Her,” appears midway through the book:

In my dream I am telling her my dream and she doesn’t want

to hear about it.

I feel a little iffy, I say, unballasted, she says Compared to what.

We sprawl among the sheets, I kiss her hair, I whisper happy

birthday, she says It’s a lot of people’s birthday.

In the movie version of my life she plays herself and announces

she will appear in the movie version of my life

but otherwise forget it.

Play that song, she says, the one that makes me think of you thinking of

me thinking of  someone else.

As she enters the room I see her first in the mirror or I see the

mirror first and she is in it.

I ask are you listening to me, she says, Is it you who is speaking.

She plays the man for once, I the woman, and Bogie-like she grumbles

We had a laugh, kid, now buck up, you’re

embarrassing yourself.

In the poem I am writing about her I tell her I am writing a

poem about her and she says If I were you, I would end

it here.

Villines said she first read Forhan’s poetry while researching material for the Silver Birch Press Summer Anthology (June

Chris Forhan

2013), and found some of his work in Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems, American Places (Penguin 2012). She contacted him about including his poem “The Church of the Backyard” in the Summer Anthology, and he offered several other poems for the collection. 

That was the beginning of the dialogue that resulted in Ransack and Dance.

“Whenever I read Chris Forhan’s poetry,” Villines said, “I am awed by his mastery of language, originality of expression, depth of feeling, and dead-on insights. The single word that comes to mind is sublime. As soon as I finish reading one of his poems, I want to start over at the beginning. He is a writer that creates a sense of awe and wonder in me — and, really, what more can you ask from art or an artist?”

Ransack and Dance is Forhan’s third chapbook; he’s also published three full-length books.

“I like the compactness of the chapbook,” he said. “Something you can do with a chapbook that isn’t as easy to do with a full-length book is to have that thematic unity. It all happens pretty quickly and then it’s over and done with. If I had 70-100 pages of love poems, it would probably be too much. But I hope 30 pages or so is a quick, intense experience.”

Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822