On July 9, the Penn State Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Jack D. Burke Research and Economic Development Center at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. After 29 years at Penn State Behrend, Burke retired from his position as chancellor on June 30.
The $30 million, 160,000-square-foot Burke Center opened in 2006. It houses the college's Sam and Irene Black School of Business and the School of Engineering, making Penn State Behrend one of the first institutions of higher education in the country to house its business and engineering schools under a single roof. In the years since, Penn State Behrend has established the Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies degree program and two minors, which reflect the collaborative, multi-disciplinary mission of the facility.
Burke began at Penn State Behrend in 1981, having served as senior associate provost and senior associate dean prior to being named to head the college in 2001. As the college’s chief academic and administrative officer, Burke was responsible for Penn State Behrend's academic programs in teaching, research and service in addition to campus operations, strategic planning and budgeting, and marketing and fundraising.
In the Erie community, he served as a member of the board of directors of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, chairing the Economic Development Committee, and the board of directors of the United Way of Erie County. He also was a corporator and past member of the board of trustees of Hamot Health Foundation.
Previously, Burke served as a faculty member and as associate dean at the State University of New York’s Empire State College, where he was in charge of academic affairs for the college's Buffalo Regional Center. As a faculty member at Empire State, he was awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Burke holds a bachelor's degree in geography from the State University of New York at Oswego, and earned his master's degree and doctorate, both in geography, from the University of Buffalo. In 1986, he earned a certificate from Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management. He is the author of more than 30 journal articles and conference presentations.
Penn State Behrend has named two other buildings for previous academic leaders. In 2002, the college announced the naming of the Irvin Kochel Center and the John M. Lilley Library. Kochel Center houses the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and was named for Irvin H. Kochel, who led Penn State Behrend from 1954 to 1980. The adjacent Lilley Library was named for John M. Lilley, who led the college from 1980 to 2001.