Butler University President Jim Danko hosted a dialogue with students where they discussed “A Shared Strategic Vision” for the university’s future.

Danko told the gathering of faculty and  students about his plan, which includes raising the endowment to $750 million by 2025  and making additions to campus as outlined in the master plan.

He said there are many areas of campus that are terrific, but some classrooms and residence halls “just look pathetic.”

“The problem is that we don’t have the economic resources because our endowment is so low and our revenue is just on the brink of being okay to allow us to invest back into the university,” Danko said.

The hour-long presentation included a session where Danko addressed students’ questions regarding the vision.

Students raised questions about the quality of campus dining, maintaining the ethics being taught and maintaining small class sizes and undergraduate focus.

Danko told students the university is working with Aramark, the food service company, to provide higher quality and healthier options.

He also said small classes will continue to be a focus because they are part of the Butler experience of having a good student-professor relationship.

Student Government Association President Mike Keller said that his own vision was for students to be more involved, and Danko is doing the same thing by sharing his vision.

“I really commend President Danko for doing this,” Keller said. “He is taking the time to listen to what the students have to say and respond to our feedback.”

“I thought this discussion went fine,” Danko said. “I was very pleased to see the turnout. I think we had some very good questions that hopefully were answered.”