Lecturer in economics Lewis Butler said he is used to being busy, and two teaching positions at two schools are the newest additions to his schedule.
This past summer, Butler was hired as an adjunct professor of economics at Ferris State University, located in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Butler graduated from Hillsdale College in 2007 and earned his teaching position at Hillsdale in 2012. He earned the adjunct teaching position at Ferris this year, after a recommendation from David Hebert, an assistant professor of economics at Ferris.
As a Hillsdale graduate, Hebert knows Butler through their shared three years in undergraduate studies. When a spot opened at Ferris for an economics teacher, Hebert knew exactly who to call.
“Butler is a great teacher,” Hebert said. “He gets students involved in class and has already built a pretty good group of fans at Ferris after only two weeks.”
Besides teaching, Butler’s schedule includes running daily, managing a small business, working with the Detroit Achievement Academy, a charter school in northwest Detroit, and planning his July wedding.
Before teaching, Butler also worked as an economic consultant for the Detroit International Bridge Co., earned a fellowship at the Mercatus Center, a Virginia-based think tank, and coached a cross-country team for a Catholic high school in Virginia.
Although constantly busy, Butler’s packed schedule was not a concern to those hiring him at Ferris.
“Lewis has always been pretty busy; he’s always doing 20 things at once, but always finds time to give them all at- tention and works hard to get them done well,” Hebert said.
Butler said he excelled even while working at his part time job during graduate school as the Bishop O’Connell High School’s cross-country coach.
“When I started coaching, we only had five guys on the team who could break five minutes for the mile, and during my last season there, we probably had 30 guys on the team and eight guys who could break five minutes,” Butler said.
On Mondays, Butler drives to Ferris from his home in Rockford, Michigan for an economics lunch and afternoon classes. On Tuesdays, he wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and arrives at Hillsdale morning classes, an economics lunch, and one afternoon class. He runs, then drives home. On Thursdays, he also has an evening class, preventing him from returning home until 10:30 p.m. or later. Butler has no classes on Fridays, but is still hard at work, managing economics for his small business, answering emails for his board position at the charter school, and preparing materials for the next week’s classes.
“Butler is a testament to the fact that, if you want to do something and work hard, you can have a great and fulfilling life. He’s only 29 and has already done so much,” Hebert said.
