Peter W. Butler, MHSA, is a nationally recognized health care executive with more than four decades of experience working in teaching hospitals and health care systems. He is the former president of Rush University Medical Center, and he is a professor in and the chairperson of the Department of Health Systems Management. Butler first joined Rush as budget director and as a faculty member. He went on to serve as president and chief executive officer of the Methodist Hospital System, now known as Houston Methodist, and as senior vice president and chief administrative officer of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. He then rejoined Rush in 2002. During the course of his career, he has been a frequent speaker at national forums and has authored or co-authored more than 40 articles on the financing and management of health care organizations in journals ranging from the Journal of Healthcare Management to The New England Journal of Medicine. Butler received the 2000 Torchbearer Award from the Black Methodists for Church Renewal for his service to the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. In 2014, he received the James A. Campbell, MD, Award from Rush for distinguished leadership and service. The following year, he was one of the recipients of the Becker’s Healthcare 2015 Leadership Award. In 2016, he was awarded a doctor of humane letters from Rush University and provided the commencement address. In 2016, he also received the prestigious AUPHA Filerman Prize for Educational Leadership.
In addition, he has been recognized as the Outstanding Faculty Member by his own health systems management program students. Butler has a long history of mentoring and supporting career development beyond the master’s level of training. He has started and been a mentor to administrative fellowship programs for new graduates for more than 25 years, totaling over 50 administrative fellows. He also oversaw the development and launch of a state-wide Leadership Academy for Healthcare Transformation in partnership with the Illinois Hospital Association. Butler is a graduate of Amherst College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He received his Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Michigan.