Butler University and the dream of distinction.

Abstract

This history of Butler University in the period from 1915 to 1933 focuses on the institution's attempt, through the leadership of its Board of Directors, to become a major university serving Indianapolis and the Midwest. The study begins by describing the external context preceding the emergence of the "Greater Butler idea." The germ of the "Greater Butler idea" emerged out of a $250,000 campaign from 1905--1909. The success of this campaign strengthened the control of Hilton U. Brown over the Board. He assured the rise of Thomas Carr Howe to the presidency of the institution. This partnership and the support of a small circle of Board members and local civic leaders provided the early vision and energy to launch an effort to establish Butler as a major private university serving the Midwest. The study chronicles the efforts of Brown and a small inner circle to convince the Board, alumni, and the Church to support the ``Greater Butler idea'' and to move Butler to a new larger campus amidst the turmoil of World War I and a post war depression. In order to build a greater university, it was necessary to raise large sums of money in a short time. The success of this campaign rested on the shoulders of John W. Atherton, the son-in-law of Hilton U. Brown. Atherton's efforts brought new support to Butler from Arthur Jordan, who gave over a million dollars to build the academic buildings on the new campus. Even though President Howe left after the War, Brown, Atherton and William G. Irwin of Columbus, Indiana, formed a powerful triumvirate that kept the momentum going throughout the 1920's. The study also looks at the effort to use athletics to gain the support of alumni and local civic leaders. This led to a crisis over North Central Association accreditation and to the debacle of the presidency of Walter Scott Athearn. Athearn's efforts to force the Board to relinquish its control proved to be a losing battle that led to his dismissal and the retreat of the institution into quiet somnolence for the next fifty years.