Butler University is a private, independent institution of higher learning in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was founded in 1855 as North Western Christian University. The university was the second coeducational institution of higher learning in the United States, after Oberlin College in Ohio, which was founded in 1833. Butler has also admitted minorities throughout its history. It was also the first university in Indiana to offer an elective system that allowed students, with parental consent, to choose classes that suited their needs.
The university was renamed Butler University in 1877 in honor of Ovid Butler, a prominent Indianapolis attorney who had written its charter. The handwritten document is preserved in the school’s Irwin Library.
The university’s website at https://www.butler.edu/ offers additional information.
