Three decades later, Barry Butler still frequently drops the name of a UI professor who had a particularly profound impact on his career.
It usually happens in those I-wouldn’t-be-here-without ... talks he’s given over the years as provost at the University of Iowa and, since March 2017, president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“I had many outstanding professors at UIUC. However, the one who had the most significant impact in shaping my career was Professor Herman Krier,” says Butler, who earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in engineering, all from the UI.
“To this day, I can vividly remember his lectures – and cigar smoke — as if they were just yesterday. His impact on me as an undergraduate studying aeronautical engineering resulted in my decision to stay at UIUC to pursue a Ph.D. under his guidance.
"We continued to work together for the next couple of decades on research projects as I pursued my career in engineering higher education.
“I often mention Professor Krier’s impact on me when speaking with faculty about how important we are in shaping the future of today’s students.”
