• After a 44-year academic career (the last 34 at Trinity), Butler retired from the Trinity faculty in 2016 to take on a new position as the University's Alumni Engagement Coordinator. In this role he enjoys interacting with all Trinity alumni, especially his own former students (who number in the thousands).

    • S.M., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • B.A., Pomona College
    • Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Faculty Fellowship
    • Trinity University Award for Distinguished University and Community Service
    • Trinity University Award for Distinguished Advising
    • Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award, Southern Economic Assoc.

    Butler has practiced what universities such as Trinity preach about the diverse interests of a person with a good liberal arts education. In addition to his work in Economics, he has had a fruitful second career in classical music. He has become known around the Trinity campus as “the singing economist.”

    Butler has put his academic interest in public policy to the test by taking an active role in San Antonio’s civic life. He is best known locally as the founding entrepreneur and longtime CEO of the Alamo Area Academies, San Antonio’s innovative and nationally recognized programs for growing a high-skill workforce for the region’s aerospace, information technology and security, manufacturing, heavy equipment, and healthcare industries.