7. Butler University

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

Website: https://www.butler.edu/

Putting aside for a moment the fact that Butler University’s mascot, a bulldog named Butler Blue III, has his own Twitter account to promote athletic events and celebrate new scholarships and other happenings around campus, the school is also among the more forward-thinking educational institutions when it comes to student accessibility. The university’s computer science students are currently developing a mobile app to help their visually impaired peers navigate the campus. As a partnership between the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Butler’s Engineering Projects in Community Service course, beacons placed around campus are hoped to warn users of potential hazards, like new construction. Beta testing for the second version of the app is slated to begin this summer. The app’s name? Guide Dawg.

Spent my morning one of the best ways I know how. Surprising deserving students with their full tuition scholarships to @butleru! Congratulations! ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/E48CpY6t4U

— Butler Blue III (@ButlerBlue3) February 13, 2020