About Susan Bulkeley Butler

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. Fourteen years later, in 1979, she became Andersen Consulting/Accenture's first female partner. Butler went on to become the Managing Partner of the Office of the CEO, until her retirement 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. The Institute and chair named in Susan Butler's honor aims to increase collaboration between corporations and academia, with a focus on the needs of women and other underrepresented groups. Butler has served on the Purdue Research Foundation Board, 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 decision to contribute to the Purdue Libraries came in Spring 2006, during a Women for Purdue event at which archivist Sammie Morris spoke on the importance of documenting the accomplishments of pioneering women at Purdue. Her gift of $1 million will help create the first archives dedicated to the lives and legacies of the accomplished alumnae, faculty members, and other distinguished women associated with the University.

Butler also heads the Susan Bulkeley Butler Institute for the Development of Women Leaders in Tucson. It was founded as an information clearinghouse for resources on women and leadership. She aspires to "help zillions of women and girls to be all they can be and to make things happen for them rather than let things happen to them." The Institute's principles are rooted in Butler's proprietary four-part 'Make-It-Happen model' which is discussed in her book, Become the CEO of You, Inc.

Butler is also a member of the Committee of 200, comprised of pre-eminent women in business, and the worldwide board of Junior Achievement.

To learn more about Susan Bulkeley Butler, please visit her website.