James Danko Biography
James M. Danko became the 21st president of Butler University on August 1, 2011. Prior to his Butler presidency, he served at other top institutions including Dartmouth College, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and, most recently, Villanova University.
During his six years as the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business, President Danko helped the school achieve higher levels of excellence and national recognition while maintaining its traditional priorities – including a student-centered, community-minded learning environment with a focus on ethics. He also continued his track record as a steadfast advocate of Liberal Arts education for business students.
Throughout his career in higher education, Danko has emphasized faculty recruitment, retention, and support as crucial to the provision of outstanding academic programs for students. During his Villanova tenure, new endowed chairs were established, research centers were created, new teaching and research awards were put in place, and undergraduate and graduate curricula were revamped. Under Danko’s leadership, VSB went from being unranked to being consistently ranked among the top 20 undergraduate programs in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Danko views advancement and alumni relations as key priorities in institutional leadership, as evidenced by his successful engagement of external constituents in the achievement of Villanova’s vision. Financial giving to the school more than quadrupled during his deanship. In keeping with his student-centered approach, he also worked with alumni to establish a “one-stop-shop” undergraduate program services center, which now serves hundreds of business students each week.
Prior to his academic career, President Danko was a successful entrepreneur and business leader for nearly two decades in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio, where he established his own medical equipment company. His experience as a company president, his open-book management style, and his interest in innovation provided the foundation for his collaborative and creative leadership approach in the academic world.
Danko is regularly invited to speak at conferences and is featured in the media as an expert on higher-education strategy, advancement and fundraising, curricular innovation, and executive development. He served on the international board of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) from 2009-2011. He also served on the board of the MBA Roundtable from 2000-2009 and on the Pennsylvania Economy League from 2005-2008.
President Danko earned his bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University and his MBA from the University of Michigan. His wife, Bethanie, is a professional writer who is passionate about literacy and has volunteered extensively as an English teacher in international and domestic settings. Danko has two daughters in college, Melanie and Meredith. He and Bethanie enjoy spending their free time visiting with Melanie, Meredith, and their family members throughout New England and Ohio. They also enjoy reading, going to the movies, and traveling to the North Carolina coast with their rescue dog, a Schnoodle named Zooey.
