INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Butler University students return to class on Aug. 28. This school year includes new programs and a $22.5 million grant awarded to the school from the Lilly Endowment to improve neighborhood partnership initiatives.

On Monday, Jonathan Purvis, the vice president of university advancement, joined Daybreak to discuss the year ahead.

“This is huge. We’re so grateful to the Lilly Endowment for trusting this investment in the community to Butler,” Purvis said. “There are a few major things. One is investment in things in the community is really important. The Martin Luther King Center that Butler has a lot of partnerships with. Tarkington Park – that’s adjacent to the Martin Luther King Center – will receive additional equipment through this grant. Holcombe Gardens, which is a beautiful community asset on Butler’s campus will be enhanced through that. And very significantly, a transit and safety hub that will be located on Butler’s campus will provide parking and additional transportation services that will all flow through the campus for the community,” Purvis said.

The money will be used to enhance the Butler Gateway Project which is described as creating a vibrant, interconnected community between Butler University and Midtown Indianapolis.

“One of the things that we know is experiential education and community service which is not only a good thing to do that helps the community, it actually enhances the learning process,” Purvis said. “So, students thrive more academically when they’re engaged in the community. And so we support that and this grant is really providing again $22.5 million for programming that helps our students be more successful at Butler and obviously supports the community, as well.”

Here are a few things on the board for Butler this school year:

MLK Center expansion

• Funds from the Lilly grant will contribute to the construction of a 42,000-square-foot wellness center for youth and sports programming.

Tarkington Park Phase II expansion

• Funds will go toward additional playground and shelter enhancements that will be built around walking space, multi-use sports fields, pickleball courts, and green infrastructure that are under development.

Holcomb Gardens preservation

• Butler will partner with the Indiana Native Plant Society to replant and restore Holcomb Gardens and create sustainable landscaping throughout campus.

Midtown Indy, Inc.

• The grant will also support Midtown Indy, Inc.’s work to improve coordination among anchor institutions, build trusting relationships with community members, and strengthen infrastructure for the midtown region.

Safety and transit hub

• A safety hub built on Butler’s campus will service pedestrians, cyclists, and other traffic. Butler University Police, who patrol the neighborhoods to the south and east of campus, will be relocated to the hub. This will also expand parking options on campus.

Expanding community partnerships

• The grant will also fund a new community development director role who will expand community-oriented programming for Butler faculty, staff, and students, and support project management of the Butler Gateway Project.

“One of the things that we always tell our students is to take advantage of all the resources that the community has to offer. And this is a great collaboration between the community and Butler. Our College of Education students, our student-athletes all support and work with youth in the Martin Luther King Center,” Purvis said.

As students return to campus at the end of August, Purvis offered the following advice.

“We’re thrilled to welcome 1,100 new Butler students on the campus and into our community. One of the things that we always tell our students is to take advantage of the full Butler experience and a major piece of that – as we’ve talked about this morning – is all the opportunities to engage in the community. And of course, we always want them to be responsible citizens and we stress that with them, as well.”

WISH-TV’s Hanna Mordoh and Butler University VP of University Advancement Jonathan Purvis.
(WISH Photo)