Susan Bulkeley Butler papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSA 17

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Susan Bulkeley Butler papers (1959 – 2006; 2.3 cubic feet) documents Susan Bulkeley Butler’s experience as a student at Purdue in the 1960s. The collection includes student artifacts such as ‘pots’ and a cord skirt, as well as correspondence, publications, and ephemera documenting Butler’s extracurricular activities and interests, newspaper clippings, documents about extracurricular projects, photographs, and artifacts.

Dates

Creation: 1959-2006
Other: Majority of material found in 1963 - 1965

Creator

Butler, Susan Bulkeley (Person)

biographical information

Susan Bulkeley Butler graduated from Purdue in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the Krannert School of Management. The following year, she joined Arthur Andersen & Co., one of the then Big 8 Accounting firms, as the first professional female employee. Butler went on to become the Managing Partner of the Office of the CEO for Andersen Consulting/Accenture, until her retirement from Accenture in 2002. Butler, who has established a reputation as a "benefactor extraordinaire" for Purdue, holds an honorary doctorate from the Krannert School of Management, where she has an endowed chair and a scholarship for women student leaders. A leading member of the Women for Purdue, a group that is dedicated to women's leadership giving, she donated $3.65 million in order to establish the Institute of Leadership Excellence in Discovery Park, as well as an endowed chair. Butler has served on the Purdue Research Foundation Board, the Dean's Advisory Council at Krannert, and is past president of the university's President's Council. She was presented with the Business Leadership Award from the Krannert School in 2004. In 2006, Butler was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels to Purdue's Board of Trustees, and participated in selecting a successor to President Martin Jischke, Dr. France Cordova. Butler's generous gift of $1 million to the Purdue University Libraries recently established the Susan Bulkeley Butler Women's Archives, which will document the lives and accomplishments of women affiliated with Purdue University and the state of Indiana.