Before joining UNLV, Isrea Butler was head of the Department of Music at Valdosta State University. Prior to his appointment at Valdosta State, he was music department chair at North Carolina Central University. He has taught and held a range of other leadership and teaching positions in universities throughout the country. Butler also enjoys a distinguished career as a jazz trombonist and conductor. He earned his bachelor of music and master of music at the Eastman School of Music and his doctor of music degree at Rutgers University.