University President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D.

P. Barry Butler serves as president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, composed of Colleges of Aeronautics, Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering, and Business Security and Intelligence. Embry-Riddle educates over 30,000 students annually at campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, and through the top-ranked Worldwide Campus.

Since 2017, Butler has expanded academic, industry, and government collaboration to advance the study of aviation and aerospace safety, data analytics, and aviation cybersecurity. These partnerships have strengthened discovery-driven education and led to the creation of two new centers of excellence, the Center for Aerospace Resilience and the Boeing Center for Aviation & Aerospace Safety. Butler has also expanded the university’s research park, home to aviation- and space-focused entrepreneurs.

As an advocate for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, Butler supports the dual-enrollment Aerospace Career Academy, which offers university courses to high school students throughout Florida. Campuses also host STEM-intensive summer programs for younger students.

Enhancing space-related curricula is a presidential priority, which has resulted in the launch of a Master in Space Operations degree. Additional areas of focus include space tourism; the technical, business and cybersecurity aspects of commercial space; and the analysis of how the space economy affects national airspace.

Butler also encourages student engagement in hands-on, real-world research, such as the NASA Microgravity Challenge and the United States Space Force Hypersonic Competition. Students have sent projects to space, including a camera system that became the first student-designed project to reach the moon. Another point of pride is the commissioning of ROTC graduates to serve in the U.S. Space Force.

Previously, Butler was Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Iowa, a position that followed ten years as Dean of the College of Engineering. He has served as a visiting research fellow and consultant to government and private R&D organizations.

He earned a bachelor’ and, master’s in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a licensed pilot and glider pilot.