Butler Blue II and Trip are not the only related top dogs that work in the same office—several of Butler’s top administrators have spouses or domestic partners on the university payroll.

Butler’s practice of hiring its employees’ partners—including those of the university’s president, former provost, two associate provosts and a dean—is consistent with trends in higher education, Marcia Dowell, director of university relations, said.

At Butler, following the trend—36 percent of U.S. academics are couples­—meant the hiring of a university relations associate, a political science instructor, visiting professor, an associate director of pre-professional studies and a multimedia coordinator.

Dowell said these positions needed to be filled at Butler in order to serve students.

The Board of Trustees approved hiring First Lady Bethanie Danko as the university relations associate, which she said is a big role with a modest salary.

“It is indeed a demanding professional position with a schedule nearly as busy as that of the leading spouse,” Bethanie Danko said.

Her schedule includes fundraising, advancement, communication and event planning, along with appearance requests, including recently helping with Blue II’s birthday party.

Former First Lady Suzanne Fong was not on the university payroll.

Bethanie Danko also worked with Jim Danko at Villanova University before their 2010 marriage.

At the Villanova School of Business, Jim Danko was the dean, and Bethanie Danko was the assistant dean for marketing and strategy.

In order to preserve continuity in a trailing spouse’s career, it also is good practice to hire loved ones as long as all university employees follow human resources policies, Elaine Johnson, director of compensation and organizational development, said.

“It’s within the best interest of the institution to help a trailing spouse find employment,” Johnson said. “I certainly can’t say it’s a bad idea.”

Is the payroll bloated with unnecessary positions in order to satisfy the desire to support partners?

“Whether they are created for anyone specifically, there’s no way anyone can say,” Johnson said.

The university is required to publicly advertise its full-time position openings, Johnson said, which it does on Career Builder.

But if positions are contract or adjunct positions, Butler does not ordinarily post job openings, Dowell said.

The university denied The Collegian’s requests for the once-public position advertisements.

The policies that Butler has in place that relate to inter-institution couples include a conflicts of interest policy and consensual relationships policy.

The conflicts of interest policy states that conflicts could arise when an employee evaluates or has direct or indirect control over the work or performance of his or her romantic partner.

Johnson said the human resources office currently is in the process of reviewing its policies in order to make sure they are updated and being followed.

Despite the high number of spouses and domestic partners who are on the payroll, Johnson said she is not aware of any complaints from the rest of the university about this practice.

The human resources management office is open to hearing from all individuals about complaints, she said.

“We’re not here to police the university,” Johnson said. “We have to depend on other individuals to make us aware when there might be things happening in the university that are against policy.”

Bethanie Danko said she hasn’t noticed any conflicts of interest while working with her husband at Butler.

“It’s been a non-issue,” she said. “Although we often discuss issues with each other and voice our opinions on the pros and cons, I wouldn’t characterize this kind of dialogue as presenting any divergent or conflicting interests.”

Some universities are made to suffer the effects of odd, awkward or just downright weird mascots—consider Purdue Pete, Syracuse’s Otto the Orange, Delta State’s Fighting Okra and Stanford’s Cardinal Tree.

Butler University has been far more fortunate in this regard.

Not only is Butler Blue II, the current Butler mascot, still spunky in his seventh year of life —bulldogs usually live for about eight to 12 years—but he also consistently receives glowing remarks from his veterinarian, Kurt Phillips.

Bulldogs can face a large number of conventional health issues associated with the average bulldog.

The list of medical problems includes congenital heart disease, lymphoma, digestive disorders, loose kneecaps and pinched nostrils.

“Blue II is doing very well,” Phillips said. “He is quite athletic and fit for his breed, being kept so active.”

Photo by Maria Porter

Butler also has a budget set aside for Blue II. The majority of it is used for marketing, and the costs of nearly all of Blue II’s needs—including transportation, food and health services—are met through donations and gifts.

The only major cost is time, according to his owner Michael Kaltenmark, director of web marketing communications.

“It’s all positive,” he said. “There are certainly sacrifices we make—our nights and weekends get chewed up—but we find time to catch up.”

“We keep him as healthy as we can,” Phillips said.

Phillips most recently extracted a tooth and has been dealing with Blue II’s reversed eyelashes for some time.

Both issues are relatively minor compared to the more common problems found in English bulldogs.

“We always have a hesitancy with older bulldogs,” Phillips said, “and Blue is certainly a senior in his breed.”

Kaltenmark said Blue II is doing amazingly well, especially for how packed his schedule is.

The photo shoots and high-scale appearances would be the first things to go if Blue II started wavering, Kaltenmark said.

“I am always cognizent of him giving me signals,” Kaltenmark said. “But he is completely taken care of.

“For example, [he has] built-in naps so he’s not overworked or overtired. We take advantage of the PR, but his health comes first.”

Butler’s bulldog mascot has represented the school all across the nation, from local appearances with children to nationally-televised features on ESPN.

Blue II has become a prime-time phenomenon, attracting nearly 10,000 followers on his Twitter account @ButlerBlue2, which is run by Kaltenmark.

Blue II also has his own website, YouTube channel, Facebook page and sponsorships, including support from Nike, Holistic Select and Good Dog Hotel and Spa.

“Blue II is not your average bulldog,” Kaltenmark said. “He’s got it made.”

The New York Times recently published an article covering the health of bulldogs used as mascots, pointing out the supposed abuse live mascots put up with.

The author of the piece, Benoit Denizet-Lewis, specifically mentioned a letter from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to Georgia’s athletic director after the death of its last bulldog mascot, “asking him to use an ‘anamatronic dog’ or to rely solely on the school’s costumed bulldog mascot.”

“It is time for the university to put an end to the cycle of suffering endured by dogs who are brought into the world solely to represent the school’s brand,’’ PETA member Kristie Phelps said in the letter.

Any worry surrounding the well-being of Blue II has been kept to a minimum.

Butler’s future mascot, Blue III, could already be on his—or her—way, however.

The Twitter handle @ButlerBlue3 has already been claimed, with 72 followers and a biography pointing users to Blue II’s official Twitter account.

Blue II’s status as Butler’s mascot appears safe for now, though.

“If his health starts to deteriorate, that will be something to take note of,” Phillips said, “but I don’t anticipate that happening anytime soon.”

The Butler community proves just how savvy it is when it comes to Twitter

Sorry, Mark Zuckerberg, but Butler University is a Twitter-addicted school.

As more and more students add tweeting to their repertoire, the number of Butler-themed Twitter pages has risen, making the “must follow” list for Butler students a mile long.

The question is: who actually runs these pages? Who has the special authority behind the official university Twitter page to tell us we’re off school for a snow day, and who gets to tweet Butler Blue II’s sassy comebacks?

Ashley Plummer, social media coordinator for Butler, is the face behind @butleru. She says that she has set things to tweet about every day—such as the alumni—but other than that, she receives help from the public relations office and tries to RT (retweet, for any Twitter newbies out there) as many student organizations as she can.

As for Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson and President Jim Danko, Plummer said they do great on their own.

“I helped LJ in the beginning, but he really took off on his own,” she said. “Students really like to follow him, and he certainly knows his audience.”

Plummer said Danko came in with his Twitter and manages it on his own. His wife, Bethanie, also runs her own, tweeting about her husband’s op-ed pieces and what she’s enjoying about both the city and campus.

The Butler admissions office, @gobutleru,  is handled by Kristen Raves, the coordinator for electronic communication. While she tweets mostly for the incoming Bulldogs, she tries to update information about campus and any “Butler happenings.”

However, no piece can be complete without the quintessential Butler Twitter page belonging to Blue II. Michael Kaltenmark, director of web marketing communications, and Blue’s owner, maintains the page, illustrating the bulldog as a sassy and spoiled Butler-loving puppy.

And of course there are a few Twitter pages dedicated to poking fun at the daily lives of Butler students. @butlergirlprobs and @butgrlproblems cover the trials of Pinterest and Brad Stevens.

@total_gdi_move promotes the independent lifestyle and @busororitywire tracks what each sorority is doing—incorrectly.

Beyond that, be sure to tune in to the tweets of Lauren Pedigo,  Student Government Association’s vice president of public relations, @SGAatBU, for information about shuttles and Program Board events, see what the @campusfarm is growing this week and  follow
@BUpoliceChief to keep yourself safe.

Time to start tweeting.