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CRITERION ONE: MISSION
BUTLER UNIVERSITY SELF-STUDY REPORT
Core Component 1.A.
The institution’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations.
If one were to ask the students and faculty of Butler University today how the University integrates liberal
and professional education, the most common response would be: by means of a liberal-arts-based
Core Curriculum (the core) required of all students. The core at Butler is a University institution; it is
the same for all undergraduates and is taught by faculty in all six colleges. While the core was significantly
revised in 1983 and again in 2005, the concept of a University-wide core has remained in place
since the 1940s. The liberal arts orientation of the core has also been constant, as has the overall size of
the core (about 30 hours in a degree of 120-plus hours).
The mission statements and advertising of Butler’s several colleges relate to the University-wide mission
in somewhat different ways. Only the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences specifically references
the liberal arts component of the University-wide mission in its own statement: “The mission of the
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is to provide effective educational experiences in the health
sciences. By so doing, the college facilitates the development of life-long learners with a liberal arts
foundation who are able to serve society as dedicated, competent health professionals and community
leaders.”
Three of the professional colleges make reference, however, to the goals of liberal education in a
number of ways. In a list of “core values” which the College of Education (COE) appends to its
mission and vision statements, the COE affirms: “We value dedicated, knowledgeable professionals
who demonstrate a passion for children and learning. To this end, our candidates are immersed in
the literature of our liberal arts tradition and develop deep, diverse conceptual grounding in
educational theory.”
The College of Business does not refer specifically to the liberal arts in its mission statement. The same
is true of the College of Communication (CCOM). However, in its mission statement found in the
Faculty Handbook, Sec. 10.20, CCOM states that “students will develop the ability to analyze and
synthesize human and mediated communication,” surely an important hallmark of liberal education.
Jordan College of the Arts references the liberal arts in the self-characterization that appears at the
head of its website, although it does not call this affirmation a mission statement: “JCA—a community
of artists preparing for careers as performers, professionals, scholars, and teachers. With programs
in arts administration, dance, music, theatre, and art, Jordan College of the Arts combines nationally
recognized conservatory-style programs with a curriculum rich in the liberal arts.” In its mission statement
found in the Faculty Handbook, Sec. 10.20, JCA articulates that “All undergraduate degrees
are enhanced by a required study of the liberal arts and sciences.” The mission statements of all of the
colleges can be found in the Faculty Handbook, Sec. 10.20.
Beyond mission statements and advertising, the curricula of the professional colleges are contexts
wherein liberal/professional integration can be seen. For example, most of the professional colleges
require courses in ethics, which, while oriented to the issues likely to arise in the professions, are
liberal arts courses at heart. Moreover, all of the professional colleges prescribe a number of liberal arts
courses beyond the minimum required by the Butler Core Curriculum in order to meet the criteria
set by their professional accrediting bodies. Jordan College of the Arts stands in a particularly close
relationship to the liberal arts. Most courses in art history, music history, music theory, dance history,
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