Craig Butler’s MSES deegree from OHIO vaulted him into environmental leadership roles

Craig Butler knew he had found a second home as soon as he drove onto the Ohio University campus 36 years ago.

A native of rural Pennsylvania, Butler had been accepted at another school’s environmental engineering graduate program when he was contacted by OHIO about an open scholarship slot in the Master of Science in Environmental Studies (MSES) program, which is now housed in the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.

“So I drove to Athens – I had never been to southern Ohio – I drove on campus and literally came up on College Green and said: ‘I’m not leaving – I don’t care what it is,’” he said of the scholarship offer.

“It was like coming home," Butler said. "You get a sense of walking into the hills and ‘this feels right.’ It’s a magical place.”

Butler, who holds an undergraduate geography degree from Commonwealth University-Mansfield, dove into what he called a “diverse” program that led to his MSES degree in 1991 and an internship at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that turned into a lengthy career in public service.

“At that time, it was a self-directed, multi-disciplinary program. What I had the advantage of doing was basically creating my own environmental program around environmental policy,” Butler said of his MSES experience.

His courses included a blend of engineering, political science and natural sciences including geology and biology, he said. They also involved the “experiential learning of getting out in the field and doing the work so you have the expertise to do it when you graduate.”

“It also gave me a chance to meet a lot of people in state government,” he added. “That’s when I got my first internship at Ohio EPA that allowed me to do some work and complete my degree. It was a foundation that was very strong.”

Butler’s initial duties at the Ohio EPA were in a program called Pollution Prevention, which today would be referred to as sustainability as it dealt in part with recycling issues. It would inform his MSES thesis on the measurement of pollution prevention policies within industry based on case studies of companies’ recycling programs from year to year.

“I thought I’d be there six months, and I ended up staying 32 and a half years” at the agency, he said.

Butler’s career at the Ohio EPA culminated in his service as the agency’s director from 2014-2020. After leaving state service he assumed his current post as executive director of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD).

Remaining connected to Ohio University

Throughout his professional; career, Butler has maintained close ties with OHIO. Those connections included serving as a southeast regional nonvoting member of the Ohio University Board of Trustees appointed by then-president Hugh Sherman.

“It was fabulous. I got to go out and represent the president at regional events and be his eyes and ears at regional campuses and report back to him and the board about current events and issues,” he said. “It was fascinating because it opened your eyes on how a university works. Just like a major corporation with all the challenges and troubles. And it’s all about recruiting, with everyone recruiting a smaller pool of students.”

Butler called the Voinovich School a “unicorn” at the university given its external focus on collaborations involving economic development, technology, local government and health initiatives, etc.

“Everywhere you look they have partnerships,” he said. “They are just an obvious convener for lots of things in Southeast Ohio that wouldn’t otherwise get done.”

Butler has personally been involved in those partnerships, as MWCD has worked with Dr. Natalie Krus Daniels, director of the Environmental Studies Program at the Voinovich School.

“We have helped students by using our MWCD lakes as a living laboratory and more recently she assisted Dr Chris Winslow and others from The Ohio State University to identify key research areas across our watershed for us to fund via grant dollars we have provided to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio,” he said.

The former Ohio EPA director said his involvements with the Voinovich School date back years to former dean Mark Weinberg and have included serving as a guest lecturer for the MSES program. He has also worked with the Mayors’ Partnership for Progress, led by the Voinovich School’s Amista Lipot.

Supporting local communities

“This critical program provides support to small local communities that need technical, regulatory, and political support,” Butler said. “The Partnership helps elevate the voice of Appalachia and the needs of struggling communities.”

Butler said he stays active with several other OHIO faculty members in his current post while working on projects dealing with coal waste recycling and rare earth minerals, among others. Those connections include Jason Trembly, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment and professor of mechanical engineering, and Interim Provost John McCarthy.

Butler also stays active in his personal pursuits.

“I don’t have a lot of spare time, but when I do, I love to ride my bike, do ultra trail running, and I’m an ultra-marathoner still,” he said.

His work at the Conservancy District also affords him time to be on the water, Butler said. “So I spend as much time outside as I can.”