by Bethel University
Alumni Spotlight: Joseph Butler
Bethel University Alumnus, Joseph Butler, was elected as mayor of Carroll County in August of 2018 and began his term this past September. Having grown up in Huntingdon, Tenn., Butler is a Carroll County native and takes great pride in the community. Butler worked diligently towards the betterment of the Carroll County community for many years prior to his election through his roles as a board member for the Carroll County Habitat for Humanity and council member of the Huntingdon Vision Council. Within the region, Butler also serves on the Board of Directors for United Way of West Tennessee and as a mentor for TN Achieves.
Butler earned an undergraduate degree in business administration with an emphasis in computer information systems (CIS) from Bethel University in 2008. Butler attended Bethel University’s main campus, located in McKenzie, Tenn. While in attendance, he was a member of the Bethel Wildcat Baseball team during the 2004-06 seasons. In addition to being a full-time student and collegiate athlete, Butler worked as an executive consultant for Savant Learning Systems, an online education management company, where he aided in special projects and software development with partnering institutions. Butler continued in this position until his election as mayor of Carroll County in 2018.
Butler continued his education with Bethel University by earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 2014. “The quality of the program and faculty at Bethel University was so obvious, and I knew I needed to earn my MBA in order to take the next step in my personal development,” Butler stated. At the time, Butler hadn’t yet decided to run for office. It was the affordability and convenience, along with the quality of the content offered by Bethel University that drove him to choose the MBA program. Butler added, “The level of expertise of the facilitators and professors in this MBA program is clear, and what’s even more impressive is that this quality is available at a small university in West Tennessee. You can’t get that kind of quality anywhere else in the area!”
In reflection on his current position as mayor, Butler said, “Looking back now, I can’t imagine jumping into my job without having gone through the executive MBA program at Bethel University.” The executive MBA program is designed to give working professionals the tools they need to move forward in their careers. The online delivery paired with an accelerated timeframe for completion makes the MBA program at Bethel University an achievable task for working adults. Butler advised, ”I think people would be amazed at how manageable the program can be once you learn to tailor your schedule, not to say that it’s an easy task, but it’s a task that is so well worth it.”
If you would like to be featured in a future Alumni Spotlight, please fill out the alumni information card on the Bethel University website or send a detailed email highlighting your accomplishments to webba@bethelu.edu.
Written by: Ashley Webb
July 5, 2019
