MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —
Middle Tennessee State University’s future academic growth and challenges
in its College of Graduate Studies and research efforts will rest in the hands
of David Butler.
Following a national search, Butler, 46, was named vice
provost for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, said Mark
Byrnes, interim provost, who announced the news to faculty and the rest of the
university community recently.
Butler, who officially begins at MTSU, Jan. 1, 2017, comes
from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he has served as chair in
the Department of Political Science and director of the doctoral program in
International Development.
A native of Houston, Texas, Butler will fill the dual position
previously held by Jackie Eller, who served in an interim capacity for more
than two years. Eller will return to the Department of Sociology as a professor
in January.
“Dr. Butler has a wide range of experience in research,
grant work, teaching and service,” Byrnes said. “He will bring great enthusiasm and energy to his new role. I have no
doubt he will help make our graduate and research efforts even more
successful.”
The MTSU College of Graduate Studies, considered a leader in graduate education in
Tennessee, provides academic, financial and other support services for
graduate students while upholding academic standards. More than 100 programs of
study are offered to students.
Butler will be tasked to provide visionary leadership to
advance MTSU’s research and graduate education mission; develop and implement
strategies for achieving the university’s research goals; and formulate and
promote scholarship and creative work at the highest levels.
Also, his responsibilities include developing recruitment,
strategy and marketing of the graduate programs; providing quality graduate
programs and develop policies and procedures governing the recruitment,
admission, support and education of graduate students; working with the other
colleges to increase external research funding; and providing oversight for the
Office of Research Services.
Butler
said he’s “excited about joining the MTSU family” as vice provost for research
and dean of graduate studies.
“MTSU
has succeeded very well in undergraduate student
enrollment and retention,” he added. “I hope to help
the university achieve similar success in grant funding and
graduate student enrollment.”
Despite the
political science career background, Butler’s three degrees have a heavy
concentration in geography.
Butler earned his
bachelor’s (1994) and master’s (’96) degrees from Texas A&M University,
majoring in history and minoring in geography for the undergraduate degree,
then majoring in geography and minoring in history for the graduate degree. His
doctorate, in 2001, came from the University of Cincinnati, where he majored in
geography and minored in political science and economics.
Butler’s research
interests include disaster recovery, call centers, heritage and tourism
development, nature-technology relationships and issues of national
sovereignty.
Nearly $2,800,000
in funding has been awarded to 14 Butler-led and involved projects since 2002.
He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters
and reports.
“My
success in grant writing is because I failed over and over again and
did not give up until I learned how to succeed,” he said. “I bring that
experience to help other MTSU faculty succeed in obtaining
grant dollars to fund their exciting research whether that is
in the sciences, social science, humanities, business or art.”
“I
am excited that I have been able to obtain research grant funding
from two of the three leading federal granting agencies,
the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health,” he added.
“I hope one day to also obtain grant funding from National Endowment for the
Humanities.”
Butler
said his career goal was to become a successful researcher with grant funding
supporting his efforts.
“I
have met and exceeded that goal and now I am interested in helping others
achieve the same success, or ideally more success, than I have to date,” he
said. “Equally, I enjoy building graduate programs and seeing students succeed
so I am thrilled to be able to work with faculty and directors of graduate
programs and department chairs to help them succeed to their fullest
potential.”
Butler
emphasizes he will “have a team of folks in both the graduate college and also
the Office of Research who will assist me in making the vision a reality. I am
looking forward to leading the people on my team to assist university faculty
to succeed.”
Soon
after Butler starts in January, MTSU will open the renovated Wiser-Patten
Science Hall and Davis Science Building to go with the $147 million Science
Building that opened in 2014.
Butler
has an MTSU-Southern Mississippi connection in USM President Rodney D. Bennett.
He earned three degrees (specialist in education, master’s in educational
administration and bachelor’s in mass communication/College of Media and
Entertainment) from MTSU.
An
avid college football fan, Butler said he will be seen at Blue Raider games in
the fall. He also has become a runner and plans to compete in his first
marathon in 2017.
An 18-member search
committee, chaired by Carroll Van West, director of MTSU’s Center for Historic
Preservation, chose Butler ahead of two other finalists.
Byrnes thanked
Eller "for her commitment to MTSU and her dedicated work as interim vice
provost for research and dean."
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