Visiting Butler: Sparking a Culture of Innovation

On the latest stop of Future U.'s campus tour, Michael and Jeff visit Butler University to talk with Butler president Jim Danko and other campus leaders. They explore how, out of a mix of excitement about serving students and fear of potential competitive threats on the horizon, the university built a culture and infrastructure to encourage innovation. Relevant Links Butler University’s Transformation Lab website. Chapters 0:00 - Why We Wanted to Visit Butler University 3:46 - What Butler’s President Said He Would Do When He First Started 7:22 - Some Early Wins In Sparking Innovation 9:16 - The Importance of Time and Patience in College Leadership 13:25 - How Presidents Can Best Work With Trustees to Encourage Innovation 15:46 - How a Business Background Influenced Leading a University 19:37 - Why Did Butler Push for Innovation? 21:11 - Putting a Vision Into Practice 22:50 - The Importance of Wanting to Win 28:01 - A Chief Strategy Officer’s Viewpoint 35:35 - A Faculty Perspective on Innovation 37:04 - The 50-50 Rule of Running the Board of Trustees 38:53 - What Butler Ventures Looks Like Today 47:43 - What Grade Would Butler Give Its Innovation Efforts? 52:00 - Closing Observations Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads Connect with Jeff Selingo: Dream School: Finding the College That's Right for You Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

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Visiting Butler: Sparking a Culture of Innovation is an episode from Future U Podcast by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn.

This episode is 00:55:53 long.

This episode was published on Oct 30, 2025.

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