Butters Receives 2021 Trumbo Award for Excellence in Teaching

Aurora University awarded its most prestigious faculty recognition to Professor of History Gerald Butters. The Marcus and Mark H. Trumbo Award for Excellence in Teaching acknowledges the finest work of full-time AU faculty as teachers, mentors, and scholars.

Butters has been an engaged citizen of the AU community for more than 20 years. He has been active in the Celebrating Arts and Ideas series and has worked to extend student learning beyond campus borders by leading field trips near and far.

A former Fulbright scholar, Butters has published four books and is working on his fifth. His research and publications focus on the intersection of race and gender in American popular culture. He has organized countless dynamic discussions for students and alumni, and most recently hosted forums on race relations and on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Before coming to AU in 1999, he received a PhD in History from the University of Kansas, an MA in History from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, and a BA in History and Political Science from Washburn University. Butters was lauded for instilling a love of lifelong learning in his students.