In this episode of Humans of Iowa State, Steve Butler, a mathematics Morrill Professor, discussed his status as a campus celebrity and his motivation to pursue mathematics, as well as his connections to his students and wife.
“I came to Iowa State in 2011,” Butler said. “I was post-doc[torate] and I was looking for jobs. I interviewed at several places. As I tell people, ‘Iowa State had that one special quality: they were willing to pay me.’”
Butler began his episode with his Iowa State story. He originally came to campus because it was a well-paying job at a respectable university. Little did he know, he would soon fall in love with the campus culture and the reform of the calculus program.
“[The University] said we want people to really focus in on undergraduates,” Butler said. “That was my job.”
Butler discussed his motivation to pursue mathematics. In high school, Butler struggled with his math grades until he realized it was all one big puzzle. From then on, math was the only class he wanted to take.
“How do people know me?” Butler said. “A lot of people say, ‘Steve, that’s the guy in charge of the math department.’ No, I’m not. Or they’ll say, ‘That’s the guy in charge of the calculus program.’ Not anymore. In some sense, I have very little responsibility.”
Students at Iowa State have come to love Butler for his calculus review videos. These videos consist of course material review as well as conveniently placed jokes to keep his students entertained. Now, Butler has more subscribers than Iowa State’s very own athletics YouTube channel.
“What I am known for is calculus, and mostly because I have some videos,” Butler said. “This started many years ago. Back in 2016, I thought, ‘Maybe I can record and post my lectures online.’”
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To view Butler’s story, click the watch link at the top of the article.
jennifer frisvold | Feb 12, 2025 at 1:59 pm
Thank you for featuring Steve Butler. He truly is an amazing instructor and Iowa State is so lucky to have him and so are our students!
Cyclone Mom | Feb 12, 2025 at 11:13 am
I went to Iowa State (back in the day). So did my husband- we met there. We love it – it’s home to us. Now our son attends, and I’ve heard him talk about Steve Butler a lot. I also come to ISU twice a month as part of a volunteer ministry, and I am outside on campus during that time.. I’ve noticed Steve when he walks by because students always comment and point him out when they see him. I watched this interview to learn who he is as a human.. I had some pressing things I needed to do at the time, but once I started watching, I couldn’t stop. It was one of the most fascinating interviews I’ve seen – because he is so simply human, and I was so touched by how he cares about the students at Iowa State and about the calculus program. I confess – I’ve shunned and badmouthed math my whole life. I went to ISU to get my English degree and taught high school for the first part of my career. I always thought my brain wasn’t meant for math and that math-inclined students probably didn’t like my classes very much because I saw math as an opposite interest to my own. I take it all back. I think I just was not exposed to the beauty of math and assumed because it was more tedious for me than my peers that it was simply something I could never do well. I believe now that I could, with the right teaching. I am so grateful that Steve has stayed at Iowa State, that my son and so many other students have had the opportunity to learn from him and other faculty who dedicate themselves to being good teachers who care about their students and want to interact with them. I had a wonderful instructor in English at Iowa State like that whom I will never forget. Iowa State is special for lots of reasons, and many of those reasons are teachers and advisors like Steve. I love the students at Iowa State as well – these precious young adults are the future of our world, but they need so much encouragement, mentoring, patient teaching, reassurance, care, concern and love during this crucial, and often difficult, time in their lives. Steve shows that through his teaching of math. The end of the interview is the best part when he shares what he wants the students to know – that he wants them to come to class and engage and be encouraged. I was surprised that an interview with a math professor changed my whole outlook on so many things and brought tears to my eyes when it finished.