Butler, Nicholas M

Butler, Nicholas M(urray)

(born April 2, 1862, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.—died Dec. 7, 1947, New York, N.Y.) U.S. educator. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was the founding president of what is today Columbia's Teachers College (1886–91). As president of Columbia University itself (1901–45), he led the institution to world renown. Early in his career he criticized prevailing pedagogical methods, but later he turned on pedagogical reform itself, decrying vocationalism in education and behaviorism in psychology. A champion of international understanding, he helped establish the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 and served as its president (1925–45). In 1931 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Jane Addams.